Heather Down
Bio
I am an observer of life through the lens of middle age. Owner of an independent publishing house and a published author, I spend my time obsessing about all things communication. Follow me at Wintertickle Press.
Stories (58/0)
Even First Responders Need Help Too!
Mere minutes from her home, Andrea simultaneously noticed the early morning lineup outside the local grocery store and the bumpiness of the road. She was on her way to The Hospital for Sick Children where she worked in the emergency department some weekends when she wasn’t straddling her full-time job as a pediatric nurse practitioner at Barrie’s Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre and Orillia’s Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital. I don’t remember the road being this uneven, she thought as this single mom chatted hands-free with her son Colby, “Good morning, bud.”
By Heather Down4 years ago in Journal
An Open Letter to the Employees at a Small-Town Nova Scotia Grocery Store
This is an open letter to the staff at the Antigonish Superstore Even though I live halfway across the country from you, you guys rock. And your story brought me to tears when I most needed to see the good in humanity. You see, I had just received news that my 93-year-old aunt who lives in a long-term care facility had tested postive for COVID-19 and my cousin, her son, had passed from cancer mere days before. There could be no funeral; gatherings were not allowed.
By Heather Down4 years ago in Journal
40,000 Wedding Guests
Although their relationship is nothing to sneeze at, it began with precisely that—a sneeze. Achoo! “Bless you,” Josh said as he turned around in his seat to face the culprit sneezer. He was at a youth workers conference in Abbotsford, BC. His gaze lingered slightly longer than it should have, landing somewhere in between noticeable and socially acceptable. He was smitten.
By Heather Down4 years ago in Marriage
The Tooth Fairy Is Not Cancelled
Being a nurse at a local hospital in Belleville, Ontario, Tania’s anxiety rose with the curve of the pandemic. This single mother, primary caregiver for her two girls ages twelve and fifteen, didn’t want to take any chances of exposing her family to COVID-19. Her oldest had severe asthma and her parents, who lived in a nanny suite in her home, were in a higher risk category as well.
By Heather Down4 years ago in Longevity
Pluto Saved the Day
I was having a...day. You know the kind—the type where you work really hard to remain positive and optimistic, but you come to the point where you run out of energy to keep the the party going. You try desperately to buoy the balloon with air but finally it pops, without warning, and there isn’t a darn thing you can do about it.
By Heather Down4 years ago in Petlife
An Open Letter to the Canadian Government
Dear Canadian Government: I was texting with my sister-in-law yesterday. She is a kind and wonderful person, a retired school librarian who spent a good part of her career serving the needs of students at an inner-city school. We live about an hour and a half drive from one another, and checking in isn’t uncommon. What is uncommon, however, was the subject matter of our texts. Overnight, we found ourselves in an entirely new world; Ontario, where we live, just declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19.
By Heather Down4 years ago in The Swamp
3 Writing Mistakes That Make You Look Like an Amateur
Do you have a blog? Write for sheer enjoyment or hope to be a published author? Maybe you are a published author looking to improve. Whatever your modality of writing pleasure, a lot of us make the same three writing mistakes. These pitfalls drive professional editors and publishers crazy, and if you fix these common mistakes, you can push yourself from being a good writer to a polished one.
By Heather Down4 years ago in Journal
"It" Happens Around the Bay
On Christmas Day in 1894, Billy Carroll, the Hamilton Herald Newspaper and a cigar store owner, was the original sponsor of a 30 km run called Around the Bay. It is the oldest road race in North America; its inception three years before the Boston Marathon. Its early winner, Jack Caffery, went on to be the first Canadian to win the Boston Marathon. Hoping to make my mark in history, I too, signed up for the Around the Bay race. And, it did not disappoint. In fact, it turned out to be a historical run for me too, but for a very different reason…
By Heather Down4 years ago in Longevity
5 Ways to Stay Connected Amidst Social Distancing Due to Covid-19
The World Health Organization has now declared that the corona virus is a worldwide pandemic. Depending upon where you live, you may have been encouraged to practice “social distancing.” Never has a new term entered our lexicon as quickly as the virus itself has spread. In a nutshell, social distancing means avoiding crowds, groups and any unnecessary people-to-people interaction. Many organizations, sports events, and entertainers have taken it upon themselves to cancel or postpone conferences, games and concerts in the interest of helping to curb the spread of covid-19.
By Heather Down4 years ago in Longevity