I am wearing my underwear in the middle of downtown Montreal, with my friend Dawn, who used to be my friend Phil. No, this is not a dream.

I met Phil at 14. He was my first guy friend, and, before he moved away in the summer of 10th grade,...

I've been afraid to write about this for a long time.

First of all, I work freelance. Essentially, this means I'm always looking for a new job. I know that someone might read what I'm about to write and not want to hire me, especially as what I'm about to...

Saturday, my husband, my mother-in-law and I headed to an official Big Fat Greek Wedding.

My husband, Tony, is of Hellenic origin, and although we've been together for six years, this was my first wedding as part of the family. (Our own, with an outdoor ceremony conducted by a Unitarian...

Ten years ago last Sunday, I sat by a window at a breakfast restaurant on de Maisonneuve, ordered a plate of pancakes, got out my journal, and wrote:

"What have I just done?"

I'd been in love with Montreal for years. From the night I'd arrived for a weekend visit...

We bear our children at the feet of mountains.

Not literally. I mean, some people might. Personally, I'm still on the fence about giving birth any further than 10 feet from a spinal tap. But figuratively, everyone is born at base camp. And it's only uphill from there.

We give...

I didn't learn to swim until more than 10 years after the day I almost drowned.

I'd loved being in the water as a kid, but had been a terrible swimmer. Where I grew up, the swimming levels were ordered by colour, so as we learned to dog paddle and...

Yesterday, I found myself in a 2000-year-old theatre on the side of the road.

I'm in a small seaside town in Turkey, where I've come to spend a week writing. I know, idyllic, right? For example, before I got to the theatre, I was taking a walk along the shore....

The other night, my husband Tony and I decided to make pizza, a tradition we've begun ever since we found pre-made gluten-free crust at a nearby health food store. Except that when Tony went to pick up the crust, the store had run out. Apparently a woman has started coming...