We Are Family
I’ve been listening to a lot of 70s music lately. Call it reflection. Call it a distraction. Call it sticking my head in the sand, because most days I can’t bear to scroll through my Twitter feed. Recently, a song with a very specific memory stood out to me. I remember dancing on the playground, linked arm-in-arm with my friends, to “We Are Family,” belting out “I got all my sisters with me.” We felt like family. We were family. My family has changed since then but my idea of what constitutes a family hasn’t. They are people I feel a kinship with: friends, relatives, a neighbour who regularly brings me pasta and helps me shovel my walk.
It’s hard not to think about love and family in the month of February. There’s Valentine’s Day—the day that people either love, or love to hate—and Family Day. Both are rife with expectations and “shoulds.” You should eat chocolate, buy flowers, go for a romantic dinner. You should have the perfect day. Everyone should get along. I think deep down the intentions are good (love, a sense of community) even if the limitations and pressures are less than ideal. No one likes to be told what to do, or when.
Which is why our cover story is about dessert. What makes dessert so wonderful is that it’s a choice! No shoulds, all coulds. And we’ve laid out twelve options for you. Whether chocolate makes your heart go pitter-pat, or cheesecake makes you weak in the knees. Blondie, brownie? Yes please. We also visited two bakeries in an amicable north side vs south side feature and Tiffany Jarva went on a Sally Ann scavenger hunt—wait to you see what she found.
February might be the shortest month but there’s no shortage of things to do. Cambrian Players’ presents Hamlet, there’s a Classical Cocktail Party at The Chanterelle, and you don’t want to miss reading about Gail Bannon and her beautiful birch baskets.
This month also marks a change in the size of our magazine, which will make it easier to tuck into your bag. Plus we’ve updated the design. Let us know what you think.
And finally, no matter who you love or how, if you’re a family of two or ten, or it’s just you and your plants, I hope that February is good to you.
-Rebekah Skochinski
