Julie Gauvin is in her 40s. She likes saying that because it feels flirtier and freer, than saying she’s standing at the gate about to unlock the next decade. It allows her a few more twirls, squinting up at the sun before she gracefully steps into her 50s this summer.

Every birthday should be celebrated. She knows this viscerally, but yet, there is some definitive line in her mind about becoming a 50-year-old woman. One thing is for sure, and that is that there are many things still to learn and explore. She is not done yet!

Julie lives in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, which is a very cool city to live in with all the green space, hiking trails, ski hills, rivers and fun festivals.  She grew up in Toronto, moved to Ottawa for school, fell in love and that’s how the story goes.  A hundred years later, she is still married to the guy she met over beers at the Chateau Lafayette, which was not exactly the swankiest place in town at the time.  They have three delightful children, well, teens and young adults, still living under their roof (still).  It perplexes Julie that three young people who can feed and dress, can still command so much of her time and drain so much of her energy.

In the last few years, Julie faced her mortality head-on with a metastatic cancer diagnosis.  While she has enjoyed some stability in the last year or so, she had to retire from a very satisfying career in the health field.  Becoming a Nurse was never her childhood dream, it was more of a natural inkling, with a touch of sensible choice when she needed to get moving into adulthood.  It served her well, and she served others well.  She loved her job.

However, now she is working on uncovering her life-long love of writing and it is a joyous feeling! Like her favourite quote from the late great Canadian poet, songwriter, and singer, Leonard Cohen.

Ring the bells that can still ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack; a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets in.

It is joyous. It is hopeful.

And just take hold of what is there in front of you for now.

Julie had two articles published in Wildfire magazine in 2020.