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Sixty Candles on the Birthday Pie
He doesn’t like cake, so we celebrate his birthday with pie. This year it’s a milestone. The big 6–0. It seems like a good time to share some thoughts and feelings about this guy we call The Consultant – son of G-pa, Buddy and Princess’s dad, my husband of thirty-one years. G-pa has known The Consultant the longest, for all of his sixty years. He’s the only one around who has seen him grow from a sweet, redheaded baby boy born in Squamish, B.C. to the lightly greying man that he is now. It occurs to me that G-pa probably has a few untold stories to tell and I’ll have…
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Building A Life
Do you remember finishing high school or university and wondering, now what? Up until this point in life, everything seemed so nicely laid out for you. You knew you were working toward a diploma or degree to be proud of in the end. You could count on a large friend pool to draw from and knew you’d likely meet your next date somewhere within that system. It was such a neat little package. For many of us, it was fun. Then, that time in life seems to end suddenly. You’re thrust out into the world and there’s so much life stretching out ahead of you, you’re overwhelmed. The landscape looks…
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A Love Letter to My Daughter
Seven and a half years ago, I wrote a love letter to my daughter. It was part of a high school assignment. The purpose was to involve her family members in her life experience. Participation in her experience meant we’d be touched, too. I wish love letters to teenagers were required writing of all parents. Writing a love letter to Princess put a magnifying glass on my connection to her. It helped us know each other better. That’s what happens when you connect through writing. I decided this would be a good day to revisit my letter to her. Today Princess turns 25. Reading it now, makes me think. We…
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The Kids Didn’t Know What They Were Doing, or Did They?
What were our kids thinking when they decided to throw a surprise 30th anniversary party for us? After all, I wouldn’t consider thirty years one of those great milestones. They said this was how they decided to thank us for all that we’ve done for them since, well, basically the beginning of their lives. We were just doing what parents do, taking care of their kids’ basic needs and a little bit more – a place to try sports, a good education, and a little vacation once in a while. We were trying our best to prepare them for life. That night back in April, we arrived at our neighbourhood…
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The Family That Skis Together
Like all families, mine is not always at our best. All it takes is for one of us to show up a little grumpy and we all suffer. It could be due to stress at work, lack of sleep or simply hunger. I’ve learned not to set myself up for disappointment by attaching expectations to big events – just in case. You know how that goes. But, get us in the right setting, doing the right activity, at the right time and we are golden. A couple of weeks ago we experienced one of those times. Attitudes and conditions lined up for the making of a most memorable weekend. It…
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Family Echoes
I am one of four sisters and our names all begin with “K”. Growing up we were called the 4K’s. I’m K3 in the birth order. So far, a great deal of my focus for 2016 has been on my sisters. K4 had knee surgery last month. I wish we lived closer so I could help her. K2 and K4 are in my online Journal Your Legacy course. K1 had a milestone birthday this month – 60. K2 and I stole her away from her busy life for a whole afternoon – such a treat to have her all to ourselves. We were the decoys for the big party in…
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Christmas, With Love
Christmas is coming quickly and we are wracking our brains for those perfect gift ideas. In Canada, we have so much. Add our tough economy this year and we’re asking, “What do we buy for someone who has everything they need, within a smaller budget?” I know of an inexpensive, yet valuable gift idea for all those difficult-to-buy-for people on your list – the love letter. A love letter is a true gift of the heart. Gifts of the heart are often creative and well received. You feel good knowing you are giving the greatest gift of all, a piece of yourself, expressed in your handwriting. The receiver feels…
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When Your Kids See You, Who do They See?
Remember what it was like when we saw our parents as perfect? They were strong and never got sick. They were smart and had all the answers. They were there to encourage us during the day and calm our fears at night. I believed mine were on this earth solely for me. That’s the way it should be when you are a little person, right? But at some point, we begin to see our parents for who they really are. I started knowing Mom and Dad as people when I was 14 and they were around 40. They announced they were divorcing and that was enough for me to realize…
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G-Pa Turns Ninety
There’s a pretty special man in my life turning 90 years young today. When I was calling to invite my father-in-law’s friends to his celebration dinner, they were surprised. Ninety? Already? Yes, it’s hard to believe this young-at-heart grandpa to my kids is hitting this milestone. Buddy and Princess call him “G-Pa.” They’ve grown up close to him mostly due to time together at the family cabin. When they were young, he’d load them and his dog into the aluminum boat and putt along the lakeshore from the cabin to the village so they could play with some of the other kids. Over the years, he’s handed them paper and…
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Back to My Accidental Dream Home
In a few days, season three of our temporary life in Slave Lake will come to an end and we’ll be heading south – home to the starter house we bought 30 years ago. It’s nothing fancy. My 1,050 square foot, ‘50s bungalow was never meant to be my dream home. We bought it because it was affordable and in a good neighbourhood. It was always our intention to pay this house off quickly, keep it as an income property and move on up. But, priorities changed when two kids came along. Neither The Consultant nor I had anticipated the emotional impact starting a family would have on us. Our…
