The pandemic has brought about big challenges for businesses--small businesses in particular. So I am so pleased to help Indigenous Tourism Ontario to highlight Indigenous entrepreneurs and artists. Take a look at the amazing work happening there. 

Raven Rising

Sweet Water

Undeniably Good Paint

Paint it Bright

Intergenerational trauma

ILLUSTRATION BY TSISTA KENNEDY

It's rare for me to experience emotional labour when writing a story that isn't a personal one. For this piece about intergenerational trauma, specifically regarding Indigenous peoples, I felt spent on more than one occasion throughout the process. I had to first learn about the concept for myself; there was so much to learn and understand to do the piece right--even asking about someone's trauma can trigger pain and further trauma. And I didn't want to use anyone's pain to tell a story they didn't want to tell. So it took a while to even find someone who was willing to share. What I experienced was but a fraction of what Indigenous peoples may experience their whole lives. I did find someone to share their experiences (thank you, Christy Morgan) and I hope her story helps explain what intergenerational trauma is so that the burden on Indigenous peoples to continually have to educate on top of their pain, can ease even a little. I felt honoured to listen and share Christy's story.

Pandemic parenting and mom rage

As we pass the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's safe to say that life will never be quite the same as before. In some ways, that's a good thing such as with improved hygiene regimens and an appreciation for doing less, but in others, we may have lost the joy and innocence of large social gatherings forever.

For parents especially, the pandemic has brought about challenges that we never anticipated. I didn't expect to spend months on end with my children by my side, 24/7. Overall, it wound up being quite a beautiful and sacred time that we wouldn't have had otherwise. But there were days when I felt overwhelmed and ragey. Yes, the ol' mom rage would bubble up like nobody's business. Here's a story I wrote about how to deal with mom rage for Today's Parent.