daily: Browse The Strips

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I have several friends, now, who are living in assisted care facilities. They each have small, comfortable apartments; they make their own breakfasts, but lunch and dinner is provided in a spacious, nicely decorated dining room. All three ladies admit that there is a very active social life going on around them, and it's not all provided by the entertainment committee.

Friday, September 16, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My friend, Anna, confessed that the elevator in her residence can be particularly challenging. As it provides an intimate space for a certain amount of time, proposals of a suggestive nature can be made quite discreetly between floors. She said it was not uncommon to see people get off the elevator on the "wrong" floor and stay there until morning.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Some problems might have been seeping into my own marriage at the time, but we managed to keep things going because the kids were young, we both had a lot to do, and we both had a great sense of humour.

Monday October 3, 2016

Lynn's Comments: This is the way I talked to my kids; trying to let them know that they hadn't fooled me. I knew exactly what they were up to and it wasn't working. From their point of view, of course, everything worked perfectly.

Tuesday October 4, 2016

Lynn's Comments: The complex business of when to tell and when not to stymies everyone. Sometimes you're a tattletale; sometimes you're a hero. When I wrote for the kids, I could feel the inconsistency and the unfairness, and it occurred to me that "telling" is a tattletale when said with a whine, and information when said with anxiety.

Wednesday October 5, 2016

Lynn's Comments: A kid in my neighbourhood taunted us all with a bowl of ice cream--just the way Richard is doing here. I went home and asked for ice cream and my mother told me I should have something healthy instead. She gave me a big carrot. I went outside, chewing the carrot. When the kid came up to me to taunt me again, I spat my mouthful of pulverized carrot into his ice cream. I still feel good about that today.

Monday October 10, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I had fun with this story. It occurred to me that in her later years after being alone for so long, Mrs. Baird should find a loving and considerate partner. Why not!

Tuesday October 11, 2016

Lynn's Comments: When my marriage dissolved, I was on my own wondering if I would ever find someone to share my life with again. When I did go out with a gentleman, I always wanted to know if they met with my children's approval!

Wednesday October 12, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Last year, I met someone with whom I have a lot in common. We have been seeing each other for almost a year, now. My children approve.

Thursday October 13, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I have friends who live in seniors' homes, and the number of connections made between the residents is heartwarming. What I never knew when I was young is that relationships can be exciting and fulfilling and romantic at any age. Thank goodness for that!

Friday October 14, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I have a friend who was forced to break away from a man she dearly loved because his children were afraid she would get some of their inheritance. It was the saddest thing.

Monday October 17, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My job sometimes required me to work all hours; weekends, evenings, and sometimes, holidays. Even though Kate and Aaron understood what it meant to be working on a deadline, they often wished I'd break away from my drafting table and be mom for a while.

Tuesday October 18, 2016

Lynn's Comments: As a kid, I was on my own a lot. My folks had a gift and jewellery store, which meant that they worked all day, every day, weekends and evenings, too. It was my job to get the dinners ready. My mom would put all the ingredients together and leave a detailed description of what to do. After awhile, I considered myself the chief cook! By the age of 13, I was proud of myself for being able to make meals for everyone, and I still use the recipes my mother wrote for me then!

Thursday October 20, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I wanted to be a teenager so badly. Ten wasn't good enough, and twelve was agonizingly close. When I finally added the "teen" to my age, I felt I had achieved something wonderful. I know I had an attitude. Like all my friends, I suffered the ups and downs of fitting into a new body with all the hormones raging. But it was a time of great positivity as well. I guess it was confidence that made being thirteen so wonderful. I had a supportive and loving family, I was doing well in school, I had confidence, education and security. I never knew how lucky I was.