This morning I awoke with a troubled heart. My Dog Keeba has reached a grand 18 years old, but these last few days her health has been going downhill quickly and I realize the inevitable lies ahead. And, aside from my personal woes, when I turned on the news I saw that Lytton, a small town of 250 people in BC, which less than 48 hours ago made national headlines after hitting the country’s highest heat ever recorded at 47 degrees, it burned to the ground in a matter of minutes last night when a wildfire raged through. No doubt a sure sign of Global Warming in my mind!

Then there is the shameful subject of our country’s role in the compliance, ignorance, and what amounts to genocide of over 1000 and counting Indigenous children, decades ago tore from their tribal lands and family members to die under the hands of representatives of the Catholic Church. On reflection, I was a child myself living in Canada’s capital in a safe white privileged middle-class home and school environment when these atrocities were taking place. I grew up oblivious because history failed to teach the truth in our classrooms! It was not until I took a class on Aboriginal Studies at UWO and befriended survivors, students in my study group who had defied the odds, and then later on the streets of Toronto in my associations with the homeless and some troubled individuals told me bits and pieces of their personal experiences that I began to get a glimpse of understanding. However, nothing would prepare me for the truths that are just now being exposed.

So, whilst today is a day of sadness, and with respect all of us have our own additional tribulations and the world is riddled with injustices, it is Canada Day and I am Canadian! So, I do hope you enjoy because Covid appears to be losing its battle here in Toronto and that in itself is worth celebrating.

https://genius.com/Aerosmith-deuces-are-wild-lyrics

“I woke up when someone slammed the door.”

What looked like a full pack of cards lay sprawled out upon the lawn.  Most were face down and I couldn’t resist drawing up a singleton to turn over and test my luck. Six of hearts! A low ranking number, but a prize in the roll of the dice and the flush suit is my personal preference when playing the deck. Seemed a positive sign so I stuffed it into my shorts and there it stayed until now. That was a week ago. Since then my daughter has given birth to a baby boy. I had the fortune to be by her side at the hospital during the emotional and blessed occasion and to spend a few days with my granddaughter as well, which may seem a normal occurrence, but not so straightforward during the pandemic.

 Today, after retrieving that six of hearts from my pocket I Goggled the significance of the lone card. The first interpretation (out of over 300,000.000 results) was spot on! According to sevenreflections.com, it is a “birth card” and the “card of a Soul. It represents the Law of Love – the Christ principle, which itself entails sacrifice and selflessness. It stands for a family – Father-Mother-Child principle, for beauty, harmony, order, and completion. It is union and cooperation, adjustment and responsibility.”

My granddaughter was trying my glasses on her new pug puppy. Look closely and you will see her smiling face!