Uninhabited Spaces

As Mark and I celebrate our 20th anniversary this weekend, I’ve been wondering which of the many stories of our journey so far you might like to read. I think I have one worth taking your time. … In May 2008, we drove to New York City with our dearest friends Ingrid and Edward . Yours truly had a master plan to propose to Mark in Central Park. Did NYC or the Park have anything to do with our history? Nothing whatsoever. I just happen to like grand gestures. My friends were in on the plan, of course. On the big day, we enjoyed a few hours at the Met and then they came up with an excuse to leave. I suggested to Mark we go for a walk in the adjacent Central Park. Now, those who know we well like to claim that my mantra is “There’s no fun like planned fun”. Ahem. Am I organizer, a planner, a details person? Guilty. I knew exactly where I wanted the proposal to happen—Bow Bridge. I had prepped my message, and all I needed to do was to get Mark to his designated spot. Alas, Mark was a ver...

I met my darling Mark Julien 20 years ago this weekend. For this entry, I will step back and feature Mark as my special guest author to share our origin story… Stacy is the love of my life. He is my soul mate, my best friend and confidant. We have been together now for 20 years. To me he is always the best looking man in any room, and if he is not in that room I find myself missing his presence. To honour my relationship to this wonderful man, I thought that it was finally time for me to share with you how we first met. In August of 2001, I was struggling to make a career for myself as a freelance illustrator. My friend Jan Sage was then director of admissions and recruitment at OCAD and, wanting to help me supplement my income, offered me a job as a recruiter for the university. Expressing an interest in the position, but not sure that I wanted to commit to the job, Jan suggested that I attend the annual recruiters’ workshop that was being hosted that year by Queen’s University. The...

20 years ago this month my darling nephew Kaelan Kelly arrived. Not only am I his uncle, but I also have the privilege of being his godfather. Sadly, I don’t get to see him very often, as we moved westward and he remains in my hometown. Still, he is often in my thoughts and I hope he knows how much I treasure him. As I never had children, Kaelan is a special part of my heart. I love that he always makes time for me when we do visit (he never got too cool for his old uncle). Kaelan was 9 when we lost my dad, and I spent a lot of time with him during those tough final weeks. I remember reading to him one night after Dad had died, and I was tucking him in and he looked up at me and asked “Do you have any feelings to share?”. It broke my heart that my little nephew, who was deeply grieving his beloved grandad, was concerned about his very adult uncle. It’s my favourite moment of many memories of times with Kaelan. Thankfully, I will finally be able to see him soon. I can’t believe he turns...

I was 9 when my first sister, Angela , arrived in August 1980. As I recall, I was a welcoming little fella, and was eager to help my mom with my new sister. I’ve written this in a previous post, but Angela always seemed to love to talk to me, even when it was in that unique pre-language gurgle burgle. She would just talk at me and share whatever it was she needed to share in her baby chatter. All these years later, she still seems to really like to talk to me, which always fills my heart with joy. I remember coming in from outside when Angela was still a toddler, in her baby carrier in the kitchen, and she just lost it and laughed her little head off. Apparently her big brother was a source of humour. I’m glad to be of service. Our baby sister, Marsha, arrived in March 1982. I distinctly remember she adored her toy rabbit “Bunny”, and she used to organize her large collection of stuffed friends around her bed in a very particular order (I’m pretty sure there was a Glow Worm in there)....