In loving memory

In the last week my life turned topsy-turvey. On Sept 4th my mother died in a car accident.
We, my brothers and sisters, supported each other in our time of need. We also needed to prepare for her funeral, which was today- September 10th.

Our friends and family and our mom's friends all gathered to remember and celebrate her life. Our minister had prepared a eulogy that touched our hearts. Made us laugh - made us cry.

The day was a beautiful one with sunshine, a few clouds and a gentle breeze swaying the trees that stood tall - as they protected her final resting place. As the sun playfully peeped out from the clouds once in a while we reminisced, celebrated and remembered the vibrant and dynamic woman who was our mom.

• This is a poem I wrote in remembrance of our mother. She used to comment on the way she liked the rhythm of my poems.. I have dedicated this one to her.

A brief moment in time

It was a fateful day in early fall,

When life threw us all a curve ball

On that day our lives changed forever

When our physical ties with you were severed

The plane of your existence has been changed

The daily routine on our plane has been re-arranged

Our physical interaction has been interrupted

We, who love you dearly- our emotions have erupted

In time we’ll come to terms with how this came about

Our personal hardship- the sorrow we’ll overcome – there is no doubt

We- the ones to stay behind

We need to bear in mind

There is a trenchant and intense bond

That spans between us on any plane – and beyond

Our physical ties have been severed

And now you are on your way to new endeavours

You live in our hearts forever and ever

Forgetting you is not an option –never, no never

We will have our dearest memories of who you are

As we see you off – we will not bid you “au revoir”

But rather- an “a la Prochaine”

Because we know we will see each other again.

BlogTalk Radio Interviews

My author assistant continues to promote me. As a result I've had a few blogtalk radio interviews and one blogtalk TV interview
On Tuesday, I had a blogtalk radio interview on the Renee Bobb show. It was a very exciting and fun interview.
here's the link. Check it out!

http://didilemay.com/interview-q-a/media/

When Fish Cry

Hello Everyone,

I would like to share this poem with you.

WHEN FISH CRY

As I reminisce about times gone by,
I cannot help but sigh.

Thinking back to when I was young,
The exciting adventures and the fun

We used to swim in bright clear waters, oh so blue
With patches of bright sunlight shining through

Frolicking, playing with my sisters and brothers
Such fun times we had with one and other

That was a long time ago
The ocean where I live has since taken a major blow

I now swim through the muck and the dregs of man
Wondering how and when this darkness began

My tears blend with the salt,
I don’t understand -who is at fault?







The bright clear world we had at one time,
It has all changed, what is all this grime?

No more, do I see the patches of sunlight
Now, darkness and murkiness is my plight

All around my old eyes see,
Lots and lots of debris

Gloom and darkness for miles and miles
Pale, bleached out coral around the isles

Where my beautiful home used to be
There is no plant life, no fellow ocean dwellers, nothing to see

I’m coming to my end, I am old
But, I hope that the our story will be told

A deep sadness fills my old soul
As I wonder - who was it that stole
The beauty of my world

By: DiDi LeMay

A Poem - When Fish Cry

I want to share a poem with you that I wrote. I was inspired to write about the plight of the fish after I did a book reading and a young boy was concerned about the depletion of water in our lakes and rivers.

WHEN FISH CRY

As I reminisce about times gone by,
I cannot help but sigh.

Thinking back to when I was young,
The exciting adventures and the fun

We used to swim in bright clear waters, oh so blue
With patches of bright sunlight shining through

Frolicking, playing with my sisters and brothers
Such fun times we had with one and other

That was a long time ago
The ocean where I live has since taken a major blow

I now swim through the muck and the dregs of man
Wondering how and when this darkness began

My tears blend with the salt,
I don’t understand -who is at fault?

The bright clear world we had at one time,
It has all changed, what is all this grime?

No more, do I see the patches of sunlight
Now, darkness and murkiness is my plight

All around my old eyes see,
Lots and lots of debris

Gloom and darkness for miles and miles
Pale, bleached out coral around the isles

Where my beautiful home used to be
There is no plant life, no fellow ocean dwellers, nothing to see

I’m coming to my end, I am old
But, I hope that the our story will be told

A deep sadness fills my old soul
As I wonder - who was it that stole
The beauty of my world

DiDi LeMay

G20 weekend in Toronto

Normally I don’t write about political issues, but I’m going to make an exception today because of what happened in Toronto these last few days. For me it was, even though unfortunate- expected, not wanted- but expected. Hope against hope, I, like a lot of residents of Toronto were crossing our fingers that we would skip the violence. But, when one follows the trends of other cities hosting the G20 summit, it is quite a “normal” part of the protests.

I feel very uncomfortable and upset that something like that would happen in Toronto. We generally have a peaceful city and as the media is quick to say, this is the first time that something like that has happened in Toronto. This, of course is a record we Torontonians are proud of and it is a shame that a bunch of people whose only agenda is destruction and violence should be the ones to break that record!

As a writer for children’s books, I’m always concerned about the impact of “adult issues” has on our kids and how they see these situations. It is an unfortunate circumstance that some of our kids were exposed to the dramatic situations this weekend.

I overheard a child ask his father: “Why are there were so many police here? Why do they have guns? Are cars that were on fire were part of a movie?” The poor father had a very hard time trying to explain the situation to his son.

Shocked by what the little boy had said and I started to wonder how the children saw what actually happened here this weekend. I was able to ask some children what they thought about the violence that they had witnessed.

There were circumstances under which these children were exposed. They live close to the area or were in an area that was deemed safe until the riots unexpectedly took a turn for the worst –literally. The children ranged from ages 8-12 and this is what they had to say:

“The people who hurt other people are not nice- they have to go to jail” Michael aged 8.

“Do those people want to hurt us?” – Allison 8 years old.

“Are the people going to come to my house?” Tyler – 10 years old.

“Some people have to shout and be angry because they want something they don’t have”

Jody – aged 12

How do you answer these questions? How do you quell the fear that is underlying those questions? Do we tell our children that the world at times is not safe? Do we protect the children and make sure that they live their lives with rose-coloured glasses firmly planted on their noses? Do we tell them what this is all about? Is it appropriate? What is appropriate?

When I brought up these questions to a few parents I realized that they were struggling with those questions and it became quite a discussion.

There are parents who feel that their children should see what happens in the world today.

“Because they need to know” was the answer.

Other parents want to protect their children from scenes like this.

“Because they don’t need to know, yet” was the other answer.

So the question is:

Is there a right or wrong answer for this issue and for that matter for other world issues? When do we expose our children to these issues?

Struggling to find the correct way to answer those questions, I think we can all work together to raise our kids in a way that they become responsible, level headed adults, who are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in, but who also respect other people’s opinions, lives and livelihoods.

Busy life- Full speed ahead -Part 2

In the past few months my career as a writer has grown in leaps and bounds! I've been busy, busy, busy!!

Last time I told you about "Freddy's French Fries Fiasco" The book is now published I've had some great reviews and a lot of interest.

My third book has been illustrated and we are now preparing the layout of the book. I am looking for a new publisher - I hope I find one soon.
"The Big Blue Bed Monster" is for younger children. I'll keep you posted on the development.

My web-site is ready! Very exciting! Go check it out. www.didilemay.com

The best decision I have ever made in my writing career is to work with an Author Assistant!

She has helped me with my web-site. She has helped me with the social media exposure. She has developed a media kit for both my books. Through her, I have gotten a few internet radio interviews and blog exposures.

We are now working on more exposure. My author assistant is a gem! If you are serious about being a writer, you need to find your author assistant!


In the past few months, my other job has also kept me busy. About a year ago, as some of you know, there was a fire in the building we manage. It took one full year to renovate and in April of this year we were able to move back. The building is beautiful. Of course part of my job was to re-populate the building - all 47 units. Quite a job.

I am now also the proud mama of a 6 month old Golden Doodle- Rosie. She has taken up a lot of my time with training and walking. It is truly like having a baby. The work and the joy!

Here's a picture of Rosie

Busy Life- full speed ahead

Hello everyone,
I'm back!

Wow! What a few busy months I’ve had. My teaching job took over for a while. Interacting with my Brazilian students and showing them around Toronto, I certainly had my cardio-work out. We usually were walking and traveling the TTC from about 1 pm to six or seven pm, 6 days a week. I showed them, the CN Tower, ROM, Casa Loma, AGO, China Town to name a few places. And, of course we went shopping. Hunting for bargains- a great pastime

It was fun to show them around town, sharing interesting stories and other tid-bits about our great city. Now that they are back in Brazil, I’m back to my usual routine.

I have been very busy with the development of my next book “Freddy’s French Fries Fiasco which will be published by end of April, beginning of May.

Of course tax season is also upon us, so preparing for my tax guys kept me hopping as well.

Now I’m working on a new web-site and preparing my media visibility. Writing, editing and preparing my third book is now scheduled. My next book, “The Friendly Big Blue Bed Monster is a book for younger children aged 3-5 years old. I will introduce The Big Blue Bed Monster soon.

The anticipation of getting “Freddy’s French Fries Fiasco” published is very exciting. I had a few parents and children read it this is what they had to say.

This is what two moms had to say about “Freddy's French Fries Fiasco”:

Freddy’s French Fries Fiasco has it all!! It is filled with great lessons from eating healthy, getting exercise, working hard towards your goals to the benefits of great friends who are there to support and help you when you need it most. It contains loads of adventure and keeps you riveted to the very end. A great book for any parent to share with their children.
P. Neill
A Mom

Freddy and his three friends are very cute role-models. They have shown my two children the value of friendship, supporting each other. Freddy and his friends have given my kids an incentive to eat properly. Don’t get me wrong, we still eat French fries, but now my children have set their own menu during the week and they voluntarily decided to cut back on the french fries. “Freddy’s French Fries Fiasco” has a fun approach to eating well. Thanks DiDi, for such a fun and helpful tool.
A mom of two fantastic children



I'd like to invite you to join my page for Freddy's French Fries Fiasco at

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Toronto-ON/Freddys-French-Fries-Fiasco/192410934833

There you will also see -in their original writing what a few children had to say about Freddy's French Fries Fiasco

Hope to see you there.