Thoughts from Chickadee Lane

Rainbow photo from our back yard. It is with humility that I offer today’s thoughts from Chickadee Lane - a critique of the use of the word ‘guys’ to address all people - a bee in my bonnet, a thorn in my side. Some might say that I am the last one to critique how we use language. For with my Island accent I drive on ‘slippy’ roads and often drop the ‘g’ as "I am goin’ to town.” I who have confused every church music director by mixing up hymn numbers. I who can never quite understand when to use ‘I’ and when to use ‘me’. To the point that in my early ministry a women of the congregation, frustrated with my mixing up ‘I’ and ‘me,’ presented me with an English grammar book, “The Use of I”! And to you who read this blog, you already know I am not an expert in grammar and have never figured out when to use a semicolon.   Still… I am not a ‘guy’! My protest is about the use of the word ‘guys’ to address all genders. I am old enough to recall when male exclusive language was used for a

These past few weeks I have been walking through the valley of death.   My oldest brother, Robert, who lived in PEI, had been unwell for the past few years and hospitalized off and on for the past few months. On March 17, I received word that he would be receiving ‘comfort care’ only. On March 18, a crazy weather day of hail, wind, rain, sun and rainbows, word came that my brother’s soul took flight. It’s strange this thing we call death. We know we are all going to take that trip. For as someone said, it is the “high cost of living.” Still. In recent years my brother and I were not particularly close. Time, distance and different interests, took us into different circles. Still when death happened, I became that 7 year old little sister and tears and memories flowed. Memoirs of playing ball with big brother. Building forts in the woods and hay loft. Walking home from the one room school house. Picking potatoes on cool September days.   Memories of driving in his first car. Walking dow