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Diana Joy


This is Scratch Fury Slayer of Worlds. Her human (my first son) found her more than ten years ago in the glove box of a Plymouth Fury that was about to go into a car crusher. She is otherwise known as Mommy and is staying with me and my parents right now because my son is between houses, having recently returned from a couple of years on the Sunshine Coast. He is temporarily bunking in with my third son, who has two cats of his own. Number two son also has two cats. So you see, we are kind of a cat family.


This is my cat, Soleil. She is Fury's daughter. No, Soleil is not smiling. She is hissing, at her mother. Despite this, the two of them get along well, kind of like human mothers and daughters. The point of all this is the power of cats. Mommy has been with us for almost a month now and is getting comfortable enough in this environment to exercise her catly powers. She has already cast a love spell on my Dad.

My mother requires the assistance of a power chair to get around the house most days and I can't remember the last time I saw her stand without the assistance of a cane or walker, until yesterday. Yesterday she stood in the middle of the kitchen with a fish on a stick toy in one hand and absolutely nothing in the other hand, playing with Mommy. Last night Mommy came onto my parents' bed, just for a few minutes. This morning my mother cut her own fingernails. I have been doing that for her for months as she could no longer manage it herself.

Is it the power of cats? I can't say for sure, but Mommy is the only thing in our environment that has changed in the last month.

Diana Joy

Hello Reader! Just a quick note to say, check out my "News & Events" page to find out about a cool new project I am involved in. If you have an association with the Newton community and have a story to tell, we are currently receiving submissions for a neighbourhood anthology. Oh, and, if you haven't already done it, check out my "Works page". Click on the image of my lovely little book and buy yourself a copy!

Diana Joy

I have been in a slump. I've hardly written a creative word since April (NaPoWriMo, so hard, didn't think I'd get through it). My creative flow gets blocked when I have to extend extra mental effort into survival. Maslow's hierarchy of needs - true that. As a full-time live-in caregiver to my elderly parents, I define my survival as safe, healthy, happy, functioning of the household. This means that my parents medical conditions are stable, I am able to accomplish the daily needs of the household and still have a bit of a life of my own, nobody is yelling, and the cat hasn't made anyone bleed lately (she is a good stress indicator). Oddly enough, I discovered recently that freeing the creative flow meant adding more onto my plate rather than taking some off. I am painting the kitchen cabinets of my sometimes home in Port Coquitlam. It is physical and mental work that uses different muscles than writing does and it has a concrete, seeable, result. The positive vibe is paying off. I'm starting to write again. Just in small ways, like the haiku I shared with you last week (one of my favourite forms). It feels really good, really alive.

Peace, love, and joy,

Diana

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