Author: Welcoming Wellness
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The Zone 8 Thompson-Cariboo swim team gathered for a photo at the 2026 55+ BC Games. Back row, left to right: Rosemary Kendall, Gail Russell, Richard Forehead, Rudolph Ingehorst, Gregory Hall, Sharon Tracz, Diane Coleman, Amy Tucker. Front row, left to right: Richard Greenwood, Kathleen Aldus, Maureen Thomas, Cathy Thibault. Missing from the photograph: Linda Hall, Sandra Fukushima, Paul Mackey.Sometimes just showing up is good enough
You know the feeling, whatever your sport happens to be. You are the slowest runner in the group, the weakest server on the court, the one who finishes last and still claps for the winner. It shows up on golf courses, curling sheets, cycling routes, and pickleball courts across this province, carrying the same quiet…
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Nobody told them it was over
Fire season teaches us to measure things by their absence. We learn what a horizon is worth by losing it for three weeks. Then the wind shifts, the world hands it all back without ceremony, and we are left holding a gratitude with nowhere to put it. September gives us somewhere to put it, and it…
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Life changes when the skies turn grey with smoke
This morning, I stood at my window and searched for the hills. They had disappeared overnight. In their place was a wall of smoke, thick and quiet against the glass. Before I had taken a single breath outside, I felt my chest tighten. Some of that tightness was physical. Most of it, I suspect, was…
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Sometimes it’s enough to just show up
You have been staring at your phone for twenty minutes. You have typed and deleted the same text four times. You have driven to the store, stood in the card aisle, and left with nothing because every card felt like an insult to what your friend is going through. I know. I have been right where you are standing. …
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Honouring the pause that summer brings (or, how I finally admitted I was tired)
There is something about the end of May that feels unfinished. School is out. Summer is here, technically. The streets are quieter in the mornings and louder in the afternoons. The work is still there, lingering in emails, in deadlines, in the quiet fatigue held in the body. And yet, the light has changed. The…
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Maybe the month of May can be medicine
If you have been reading this column for a while, you already know I struggle with depression. I have written around it, written through it, and occasionally written directly at it. Today I want to write about what happens when the season turns, and the light comes back, because May has always been the month that reaches…
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The only one in the room who was not somewhere else
As the snow melts and temperatures rise, gardeners eagerly anticipate the growing season. One of the most crucial steps to ensure a productive garden is proper soil preparation. Healthy soil sets the foundation for strong plants, increased yields and reduced maintenance throughout the season. Many beneficial insects, such as solitary bees, butterflies and ladybugs, rely…
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Finding the courage to just exhale
It has been almost a year since I stepped away from a career that shaped nearly two decades of my life. Seventeen years of classrooms, curriculum design, early mornings, late-night emails, and the steady rhythm of being needed in a way that was visible and measurable. When I left, I braced myself for longing. I…
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Living on cruise control
How many of us are living on cruise control? Not thriving. Not struggling, exactly. Just … moving. Getting through days rather than living them. Ticking boxes. Showing up. Going through motions that used to mean something but now just feel like motions. I didn’t notice when it started. That’s the thing about cruise control. You…
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Feeling alone but not lonely
January is the month that tells the truth. December distracts us with sparkle and obligation, but January removes the decorations, lowers the volume, and leaves us alone with ourselves. No soundtrack. No script. Just us, standing in the kitchen, wondering who we are now that the calendar has flipped. This January feels particularly honest for…