I’ve Been Tired

I’ve been a little quiet lately, and if I’m being honest, I’ve just been tired. My body has been hurting, too…Other than doctor’s appointments, the only fun thing I’ve done was the trip to Signal Hill over the weekend, and that wiped me out.

Not the kind of tired that disappears after a good night’s sleep, but the kind that settles in after weeks of carrying emotional weight. Sometimes life has a way of pressing the pause button, even when the rest of the world keeps moving. That’s how the past little while has felt to me.

Since my mother-in-law passed away, my husband and I have been waiting for the legal process to move forward so we can begin settling her estate. It’s one of those strange periods where there is plenty to think about but very little you can actually do. You’re waiting, preparing yourself for what comes next, and trying to carry on with everyday life at the same time.

It leaves you feeling suspended between the life you knew yesterday and the responsibilities waiting for you tomorrow. It’s a feeling I am used to now.

I’ve noticed that my energy hasn’t been the same. My mind wanders. Projects that normally excite me have taken a back seat. Even writing has required more effort than usual. Sometimes I sit down with every intention of creating something meaningful, only to realize I don’t have the emotional space for it.

I’ve learned not to fight those moments anymore.

There was a time when I would have criticized myself for slowing down or worried that I wasn’t accomplishing enough. These days, I understand that rest isn’t laziness. Sometimes it’s simply what healing looks like.

For now, I’m permitting myself to move a little more slowly. I’m still here. I’m still learning. I’m still writing. I’m simply taking life one day at a time, trusting that my energy—and my sense of normal—will return when it’s ready.

Sometimes the strongest thing we can do isn’t to push through our exhaustion.

Sometimes it’s to acknowledge it, be kind to ourselves, and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

That’s what I’m doing right now.

The Courts Approved the Application

Now, on to the next phase, so I’d say I will be busy the next couple of weeks.

Politics

For most of my life, politics stayed somewhere in the background. I knew it was there, but it never felt close enough to matter to my everyday life. I grew up with politics around me rather than in it. There was a journalist in my family who covered political stories as a career and later wrote a book about his experiences. You might think that would have sparked my interest, but it didn’t.

I’ve always believed that if something didn’t directly affect my life, I didn’t need to carry it around in my head. Instead, I paid attention to the news that could shape my own day-to-day life and let the rest drift by like the fog rolling over the Harbour.

That has changed.

Over the past year, the actions of the U.S. government have reached into my life in ways I never imagined. Decisions made thousands of kilometres away—in offices I’ll never enter, and by people I’ll never meet—have had real consequences for me as a Canadian. What once felt like distant political theatre suddenly became personal.

Once politics becomes personal, it’s impossible to look away.

I’ve found myself reading more, asking more questions, and trying to understand not only what is happening but why. I want to know how decisions made in another country can ripple across borders and reshape the lives of ordinary people who had no voice in making them.

I wouldn’t call myself a political junkie. I’m still the same person who prefers learning about psychology, human behaviour, health, and the quieter moments of life. But I’ve come to realize that politics isn’t just about politicians or election campaigns. It’s about the decisions that shape our economies, our communities, our freedoms, and sometimes even our sense of security. It is about the patterns of behaviour I see.

I suppose this is what happens when the world gets a little smaller. The lines between “their politics” and “my life” begin to blur. And when those lines disappear, you don’t have to become obsessed with politics.

You simply become someone who pays attention. These days, as a Canadian, that is important.