When I was 11 years old, my Girl Guides leader taught us how to estimate length and distance. The knowledge I acquired that day has served me well my whole life.

We used a tape measure to find the average length of one pace so that we could estimate distances by pacing them off. Using a ruler, we discovered that our thumb was approximately one inch wide. The width of my hand was approximately three inches. The span of my outstretched fingers, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger, was approximately seven inches. These approximations of distance are collectively called “rule of thumb”.

Using the body as a measuring tool is nothing new, of course. The measurement we use today called “foot” is 12 inches long and was actually the length of the foot of King Henry 1 (1068-1135) of England. He established the inch as the length of three grains of barley end to end or the width of a man’s thumb. The length between a man’s outstretched arms was called a fathom. He set the yard as the distance from his nose to the thumb of his outstretched arm. Today, a yard is 36 inches.

“Rule of thumb” originates from the centuries-old practice of using the human thumb for rough measurements. The phrase is associated with tradesmen and first appeared in print in 1658 in a sermon by James Durham referring to “foolish builders” working by guess and “rule of thumb” and not by “square and rule house”.

Historically, the width of a thumb was used as a standard for an inch and the span for longer, less precise measurements.The thumb was used to measure cloth, wood, or other materials. Cooks and brews used fingers and thumbs to gauge quantities.

We still use the body to provide rough estimates. You’ve likely seen someone hold the edge of fabric to their nose and pull it as wide as their arm will stretch to the side to estimate one yard of fabric. It’s not an exact measurement, but it’s a good way to determine if there is enough fabric for the use intended.

In today’s digital world, we have many sophisticated methods of measuring distances, both long and short. However, even though the concept is centuries, old, you probably use “rule of thumb” daily for quick, practical estimations.

What do you remember from your childhood that children today would find incomprehensible?

We all heard grandparents tell about how they “walked to school five miles, barefoot, in the snow, uphill both ways”. But all kidding aside, many of the things that I did as a child are probably unknown to my grandchildren.

The most dramatic changes in Canadian culture have been in communications. When I was a child, we had a rotary phone hung on the kitchen wall. There was no such thing as a private conversation on the telephone. I was glad when we no longer “dialed” the phone, but instead pushed numbered buttons to place a telephone callToday, Most children today have a mobile phone, often because their parents want to keep track of time. When it was decided that children should not be using their phone in the classroom, some parents fought it because they wanted to be able to talk to their child at at any time.

Today, students use ballpoint pens and fine-tip markers, writing tools that were not yet invented when I was young. When I was in Grade 6, I felt very grown-up when we graduated from pencils to fountain pens. There was an indentation in the school desk to hold a bottle of ink. The pen was filled from the ink well, with a pumping mechanism. Learning to use an inky pen was a challenge because it easily created blots and smudges on the paper. My mother was upset when I got ink stains on my white shirt; I’m not sure if I told her it was because the boys had an ink fight while the teacher was in the hallway.

We had no mechanical or digital calculators in the classroom. Today’s students often use their phone as a calculator.

Some of the toys we played with would no longer be considered safe. For example, I had a tiny stove and oven that could be plugged into the wall. It created enough heat to boil potatoes! Fortunately, I never burnt myself severely on it.

Back then, every kid had a jackknife to whittle a point on a willow branch for roasting wieners over a smoky fire. A gang of us would set off on our bicycles and usually ended up down by the river where we “smoked” the hollow stems of wild carrot. I don’t remember anybody starting themselves on fire. Most children today have never seen a wooden match and don’t know how to use it.

Growing up in a small town, I had great freedom to roam the neighbourhood with my friends. We played outdoor games well into the evening and only went home when it was too dark to play “hide and seek”. Today’s children have fewer playmates living in their neighbourhood and more perceived dangers, so most parents don’t allow children to roam around unsupervised.

My bicycle did not have a chain guard, so the leg of my pants often got caught up in the chain, bringing the bike to an embarrassing halt. The solution was to constrain the pant leg at the ankle with an old rubber sealer ring. The bicycles were rudimentary, which allowed us to do most repairs ourselves. If the chain came off, we figured out how to put it back on. If the tire went flat, we learned how to patch it. Today’s bicycles are so sophisticated that a child cannot fix it easily.

I’m not arguing against the safeguards that have been added to many items to prevent children from injuring themselves. I am an advocate of wearing a helmet, mouthguard, and strategic padding, for example. The injuries my generation sustained have helped to create an awareness of the need for the safeguard that help to prevent injuries for my grandchildren.

Many people my age are nostalgic about the innocence of their childhood. Today, children are bombarded with the same kind of stressors that cause their grandparents to turn off the TV news and stop reading the newspaper. One of the biggest differences in childhood today is that we are now aware of all of the troubles, in all the world, all the time. And still, children laugh and play and learn and grow. Some things just don’t change.

Most people have a favourite colour. They enjoy wearing the colour or decorating their rooms with it. Your favourite colour might say something about who you are. Some people believe that colour preference says something about your personality.

Some researchers believe people have favourite colours primarily because of personal experiences, emotional responses, and positive associations with objects in their environment. These preferences are rarely innate; instead, they are shaped by memories, cultural background, and unconscious feelings about a particular colour.

“Colour psychologists” suggest colours can reflect underlying personality traits, emotional needs, and environmental preferences. A growing field of research suggests hues affect mood, behaviour, and perception. For example, pink walls may calm prisoners, and orange walls make you eat more quickly in the fast-food restaurant.

Studies as early as 1941 indicate that blueish hues were the most preferred. Recently the world’s favourite colour was declared to be a particular shade of greenish blue based on a 30,000-person survey across 100 countries.

The claim that favourite colours reveal people’s personalities is popular but lacks scientific support. But just for fun, here’s what colour therapists say your favourite colour says about you.

White is found in many serene, natural elements like snow, clouds, and the moon. The colour white represents purity, goodness, hope, divinity, innocence, and peace.

Red is bold and vibrant. Red is found in ripe fruit and blossoming flowers, signalling fertility or life;  red is often associated with passion, romance, anger, and aggression.

Purple cannot exist without the mixture of red and blue. It is associated with creativity and magic; people who are drawn to purple identify with characteristics such as sophistication, elegance, or uniqueness.

Blue is associated with the sky and the ocean. Blue creates a feeling that is tranquil and soothing, although it’s sometimes related to sad feelings. Blue exudes waves of trust and dependability, which is why people who are attracted to blue may appreciate qualities such as coolness, calmness, and loyalty.

Green is all around us in nature. In the natural world, green beans life  and health. Green is the colour of spring renewal and rebirth. People who like green may identify closely with nature, growth, and vitality.

Orange appears in sunsets, autumn leaves, and campfires, but you can also find orange in fruits, vegetables, and butterflies. Orange comes from mixing red and yellow, two colours that are already intense on their own. Orange is associated with vitality, energy, warmth, and comfort. Someone who likes orange may be considered outgoing, warm, fun, inviting, and cheerful.

Yellow makes you smile. It is often related to words such as energetic, happy, warm, cheerful, and bright. Yellow is the colour of light from the sun which illuminates an area in darkness. Yellow brings on a hopeful and optimistic feeling. Anyone who takes a shine to yellow may identify with usefulness, brightness, positivity, and being noticed.

Pink is referred to as  a lighter shade of red, which is why it can be associated with words like tenderness, romance, and softness. Your preference for pink suggests  affection, innocence,  and sweetness.

These statements about colour preferences are gleaned from a blog by Josiah Soto and are not presented as facts.

Baby’s first word is usually mama or dada, but, horror of horrors, sometimes that wee tot starts swearing!

It’s no wonder that babies learn to swear because the swear words are spoken with  great force and emphasis. The child’s young brain says “this must be an important word.” The swearword is implanted on the baby’s memory quickly and easily.

Babies also pick up nasty and rude tones of voice from the conversations they hear around them. Most babies are excellent at mimicking, or parroting what they hear and see.

Some families will inadvertently further embed the objectionable words by laughing when the baby swears. The baby gets attention when it cusses the cat and the family doubles over in laughter. Small wonder the baby repeats the words that get such a big response.

When the toddler tells you to F off, resist the urge to chuckle because she’ll take it as wonderful reinforcement for swearing.

Children pick up swear words from many sources outside and inside the home. Not all children learn swear words from their parents. Exposure to swear words in the media can lead to an increase in swearing in children.

To avoid swearing in front of the children, many families adopt swearing alternatives.

My mother said fiddlesticks. I have also heard fudge, snickerdoodle, and sugar used as expletives. When you bump your sore toe against the chair, it sometimes helps to exclaim a strong word, even if it is an inoffensive substitute for swearing. (One researcher suggested that swearing helps us to cope with the pain.)

Words that we substitute for swearing are called minced oaths. A minced oath is defined as a euphemistic expression formed by deliberately misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous, or taboo word or phrase to reduce the original term’s objectionable characteristics. For example, “gosh” substitutes for “god,” and “fudge” stands in for another F word.

The next time you have coffee with your friends, you could have fun making a list of all of the euphemistic swear words that you can come up with. Just don’t say them around the baby!

Every year, people start the year with hope and a positive mindset. We buy a gym membership, start a weight-loss program, and stock up on self-help books. We resolve, “This year will be my year!”

If you have already failed to keep your New Year’s resolutions, you are not alone. In fact, a fitness company found that many people abandoned their resolution by the second Friday in January.

About four out of five people will abandon their New Year’s resolution by mid-February. Less than 10% actually achieve their goals.

Studies show that many people give up quickly on their resolutions.

Why does this happen? The goals we set are often based on our current state … the person we are right now. But when we dream big, the person capable of achieving those goals isn’t our old self; it has to be a transformed, more capable version of us.

Most people start the year with good intentions and clear objectives, but they quickly get stuck in a loop of knowledge without action. They try a new diet or read a new book, but they never finish or never apply what they’ve learned.

In short, we know what to do, but we stay the same … carrying limiting beliefs, outdated habits, and fears that hold us back.

The most common mistake we make with resolutions is to treat them like a checklist to complete rather than an invitation to become a new version of ourselves. Before achieving anything in the external world, you must work on your internal world, your beliefs, your habits, and your emotions.

If you, like most people, have already “fallen off the wagon” and failed to achieve your New Year’s resolution, remember that it’s never too late to get back on the wagon. It’s a new day and a new opportunity to form better habits.

Here are some suggestions for creating better habits:

• Avoid tempting situations. If you always stop for a doughnut on your way to work, try a different routine.
• Replace unhealthy behaviour with healthy ones … try exercise, a favourite hobby, or spending time with family.
• Prepare mentally and make a list of the people and things that can support you.
• Reward yourself for small steps. The journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step.

I no longer make New Year’s resolutions. I have not found them to produce lasting change. I view the year-end as an opportunity to review what went well in life during the past year and what I would like to improve on. From there, I can take steps to improve in the future. That means my goals are more achievable. It might involve getting outside help for finances, health, or recreation.

You have probably heard the saying “this too shall pass,” but there’s an old Zen parable that takes this idea even deeper. This 2,500-year-old story shows how our constant need to label things as good or bad might actually make life feel harder than necessary. 

The ancient story takes place in a small village among rolling hills where lives an old farmer known for his calm approach to life’s challenges. One day, the farmer’s prize horse runs away. The neighbours exclaimed, “That’s terrible, bad luck!” The farmer just shrugged and replied, “Maybe, maybe not.” 

A few days later, that horse returned, bringing with it several wild horses. The neighbours cheered, “Wow, that’s wonderful, fantastic!” The farmer replied,  “Maybe, maybe not.” 

The following week, the farmer’s son tried to tame one of the wild horses and got thrown off, breaking his legs. The neighbours shook their heads, “What terrible misfortune.” The farmer, steady as ever, said, “Maybe, maybe not.” 

A war was going on, and soon after the incident with the horse, some military officials came to the village, conscripting all healthy men to fight in the war. Because of his broken legs, the farmer’s son was left behind, and of course, the neighbours cheered, “Such good fortune.” The farmer, looking out across his field, just smiled, “Maybe” because that was the way of things. 

Life rolls on, changeable as the weather, and the farmer just kept planting his  crops because he accepted what his neighbours didn’t … life is a constantly shifting mess of changing circumstances, and planning to label them as good or bad can make the journey harder. The farmer knew it is better to trust the process and just keep moving, and if you are really lucky, maybe you’ll end up somewhere beautiful … maybe not. But along the way, you’ll learn something new. 

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed or as if life is falling apart, remember this moment is already passing. One day, this will just be a story, and who knows what the next moment might bring.

People often ask how I choose the topics for my columns. Sometimes the topic I choose is seasonal, such as the Advent series in December. But most often I write about something I have thought about while talking to other people. During conversation, a question will arise which sparks my interest. I wonder “how, when, why._”

I love to research and learn about new things. Readers tell me they enjoy learning about new things too. But sometimes my “research” comes from conversations because the richest source of wisdom is from a life well-lived.

At breakfast, I might ask, “How are you today?” Sometimes the answer is, “Well, I woke up!” There comes a time in life when simply greeting a new day is enough. We don’t have to prove our worth to anybody anymore by being productive. Simply living a good life is enough.

When I was a child, I learned the bedtime prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die, before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

This old prayer acknowledges our fear that death might overtake us while we sleep. In fact, death is sometimes called “the long sleep.” But amongst the senior population with whom I live, the thought of dying during sleep is not feared. In fact, many people say they hope they will die peacefully in their sleep.

In this, my first column of 2026, I might have been talking about greeting the new year and making predictions. Instead, I’m talking about death and dying peacefully. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you that I am anticipating death at any moment, although that is the reality for all of us. I intend to live a long, long time yet, and I work hard in order to live a happy,  healthy life. But I have been thinking about what it means to live a “productive life”. Should I be shifting my expectations? Perhaps at the end of the year instead of totalling up my accomplishments, I should be satisfied that I have lived another day and look forward to a good night’s sleep. If I should be so fortunate as to wake up the next morning, then surely I have succeeded in life.

North Americans place great emphasis on productivity. Although we say “every life matters,” we give preference to people who are doing things. We give priority in the healthcare system to wage earners and try to get them back into the workforce as soon as possible after an illness or injury.

When I had my first assessment of my low vision disability at the CNIB office in Saskatoon, they were happy that I was still earning income because they could then access a federally funded program to assist disabled people to continue working.

Now in the last quarter century of my life, I need to remind myself not to focus on productivity. I am a “human being,” not a “human doing.”  Every day I’m doing the hard work of being me. I woke up!

The Christmas story is about the birth of Jesus. Not surprisingly, the fourth and final theme of Advent is love.

In Sunday school, I learned that God’s love for us is like a parent’s love for their child. God’s love is all encompassing and everlasting. Because we are human, and imperfect, most parents don’t love everything about their children all the time. But at the moment of birth, a parent has boundless love for their newborn child!

Such was the case when my granddaughter was born 16 years ago. I remember that holy moment, as if it were yesterday.

While the nurse bathed and wrapped the newborn baby girl, her parents embraced, looked into each other’s eyes with great love and promised to be the best parents ever.

I was so privileged to witness that miracle of birth and great love. I stayed out of the way in a corner of the birthing room because it was such a precious private moment for my daughter and her husband. I felt blessed to have participated in that miraculous event. In the blink of an eye my daughter and her husband were transformed by love for each other and love for their newborn daughter.

This month I have been writing my columns on the themes of Advent: hope,  peace, joy and love. Because I write about Advent themes every year, it has become increasingly difficult to find a new approach. So this year I have been sharing personal stories. The story of my granddaughter’s birth is one of the  most special moments of my life. I have my daughter’s permission to share it with you. As you celebrate Christmas and the end of the year, perhaps you can find time to contemplate hope, peace, joy and love. What are the stories from your life that correspond to these themes?