There was a Christmas once when I had no home. No tree glowing in the corner, no warm kitchen humming with the smell of spices or a dinner cooking, no soft bed to curl back into after the world got too much. Instead, I carried everything I owned in a couple of bags, moving from one borrowed space to the next, trying to stay invisible to keep safe in the small hours, trying to stay brave. The nights were the hardest. There is a quiet that only winter knows — the loneliness

There comes a time in a woman’s life, often somewhere around our sixties, when the world seems to start looking past us. We are no longer the ones people invite on wild weekends or impulsive adventures. The phone rings less for holidays or family gatherings. And sometimes, it’s not strangers who forget us, it’s our own grown-up children, our daughters, our sons, the ones we once carried, nurtured, and poured our whole hearts into. It can hurt. Really hurt. There’s a deep, q

As Samhain, Calan Gaeaf, Halloween or whatever you know it by approaches. I always feel a little doleful. I have had a thoughtful few weeks as I prepare to slow down for winter. This time of the year always brings to my mind, those that are no longer here with me. And as I get older, they become too many to mention. I know some of you will remember the stories of an elderly couple I used to care for. I was blessed to have had them in my life, for over 20 years. Their names,