Editor’s letter

Also in this issue

HOW TO BUILD A FEMINIST CITY Imagine if cities were designed to make daycare drop-offs easier or walking at night safer (page 46).

IN JEN GUNTER WE TRUST The Winnipegborn ob-gyn just wrote the book on menopause (page 48).

A RELUCTANT ICON Meet a Calgary grandmother and cookbook author who shared her spicy touch with the world (page 71).

SALADS THAT SATISFY Four meals-ina-bowl featuring hearty add-ins and fresher-than-fresh flavours (page 80).

On moms and Mother’s Day

I’VE BEEN THINKING a lot about my mom lately. We are incredibly close—she raised me largely on her own, after my dad passed away when I was 10—and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her unwavering love and support for every single choice I’ve ever made (including, in retrospect, some pretty dumb ones). In normal times, even though we live in different cities, we’d usually be able to spend one weekend together each month. But I realized the other day that I’ve only seen her for three 30-minute visits in the past year, due to COVID restrictions at her long-term care home (including an excruciating 81-day outbreak). It hurts my heart to think about this for too long, and I hope we can start making up for lost time soon.

Pandemic aside, loving someone who has Alzheimer’s—as my mom does—is also a very particular form of loss; one that’s hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t experienced it. Unfortunately, as I’ve become more open about my mom’s condition, I’ve realized just how many people’s lives are impacted by this insidious disease, including Lisa Raitt, the former deputy leader of the federal Conservatives. In this issue, she shares a candid and intimate look at what it’s like to be a caregiver to her husband, Bruce, who has young-onset Alzheimer’s (page 62). I’m grateful to Lisa for sharing her experience, and I hope it provides some element of recognition, and comfort, for anyone coping with similar circumstances.

Lest you think I’m a complete downer—which one reader recently wrote in to tell me I am!—there is a lot of joy to be found in this issue. I was lucky enough to drop by the tail end of our (masked, shielded, socially distant) mother-daughter fashion shoot, and the enthusiasm emanating from the pair of models I briefly met, Simone and Jenelle, was palpable. I love that they had so much fun on this shoot, and the proof is in their radiant portrait as well as those of our other mother- daughter duos (page 20).

Also joyful: a peek inside the prettiest laundry room I’ve ever seen (page 26), dispatches from five unexpectedly sweet pandemic weddings (page 54), and four easy-bake cake recipes (page 74), including the strawberry-chocolate stunner on our cover.

Wishing you a happy, healthy, safe and sunny month as we inch—however slowly—out of this pandemic.

Maureen Halushak

@maureenhalushak letters@chatelaine.com