Jennifer Morash

Christmas is a time for giving. We all know that. But as you make your way to the tree to open gifts, or to the table for your Christmas feast, think about the story I have to tell you, and how sometimes the simplest gifts are the most profound. So settle in, all cozy in your Christmas jammies or resplendant in your holidayfinery, and enjoy a Christmas story. Tansin was cleaning, as she always did, in the wee hours of the morning as the family slept. Outside, softflakes were starting to fall through the darkness. The ground would be white by morning, though Tansin would tell that the snow wouldn't be deep. Heading into the living room, she stopped. blinking. There it was again. Every year at about this time, her family brought a tree in from outside and hug bright lights and shiny things from its branches. Soon, she knew, boxes all covered in paper and ribbons would start to appear beneath it. More and more would show up there for the rest of the month, until one night they'd...

This has been quite a year. Some of it good, some of it bad, but on balance I would say more of it fell on the better end of the spectrum. Back at the start of the year, I had no idea that I'd be writing this, or that I'd even have a blog, let alone post to it weekly. I had no idea I'd resurrect my penchant for writing. Honestly, all that was really on my mind most of the time was planning my trip to Disney, with occasional thoughts straying to this novel idea that kept popping up to wave at me. Well, and the issue of recovering from minor whiplash and concussion, but by the time 2019 rolled into existence, that recovery was pretty well in hand. In February, I turned 43, but more importantly I took the vacationI had been planning; a mother daughter trip with my Mom and I to the most magical place on earth for a week. It was glorious. Rides were ridden, good food was eaten, and I even met a lovely lady named Pammie for whom I had recently offered to help run a Facebook gro...

Massage therapy really is an excellent choice for a career. The job market is actually pretty good, particularly compared to some others, or at least it is in my little corner of the world. But what is it like, and what does it take to become one? First and foremost, a little disclaimer. While many of my readers are local to me, there are also a fair few who are not. Requirements can differ pretty widely, especially once you hit the global level. What is true for most of Canada is not true for the United States, the UK, Australia, etc. I will mainly be speaking to my own experiences here, you will want to look into how things work for your area. So, firstly, what is it really like? It is hard, glorious work. Massage therapy is one of those careers that requires exercise of both your brain and your muscles. Physically, it can be strenuous, especially once you venture into the realms of deep pressure. But you can't just turn off your brain and exert yourself, as you do need to fig...

About a month ago, I announced that I had begun my second novel. Not only that, but I was going to finish it, or hit 50000 words before the end of November as part of NaNoWriMo. I did not. In point of fact, I stalled out about halfway through the month at roughly 20000 words and ten chapters. Technically, this counts as failure. I mean, I set a goal and didn't meet it. Now, I could hang my head in shame. I could take this as a sign that I'm not cut out to be a writer. After all, I wrote my first novel in less than a month. Sure, it was super short at roughly 35000 words in the first draft, but I finished it. (And, yes, the second draft is more than twice as long) I'm not going to do that, though. This little endeavour taught me a few important things. First and foremost, it taught me that this style of daily goal oriented writing simply does not work for me. The NaNoWriMo model gives you a daily suggested word count. It's not static, mind you. It is the number of wor...