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Blissful and Blessed
I haven’t quit smiling since I left Calgary for Slave Lake yesterday. After a week of connecting with family and friends, I am feeling truly blessed. I can’t express these feelings any better than Janelle Ross has in her post, All My Blessing Breathe. Thank you, Janelle, for allowing me to share it with my readers here today. All My Blessing Breathe They drive off, the three of them, in the oldest’s truck, and I walk back into an empty house. Not empty-sad, mind, just empty. And I think, there go my blessings. (to READ more click this link – Source: all my blessings breathe | My Men and…
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Mother to a Son
Growing up, I didn’t know boys. My family was made up of girls – my Mom and three sisters. The lone male of the household, Dad, moved out when I was 14. As a young girl, I thought boys were immature and rude. They laughed at things that weren’t funny, like farts and boogers. Boys wrecked stuff. I hated when mothers brought their sons over to our house to play. They pulled off my dolls’ legs and poked pins in their plastic belly buttons. They were violent, running amok, using their fingers as guns, “pow-pow, pow-pow-pow.” They’d keel over dead for a few moments only to jump back to life…
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Do My Kids Need a Better Life Than Mine?
One evening a while back, I was sitting around with friends after a Calgary Stampeder football game when one of them said, “All we want for our kids is that they have a better life than us, right?” Actually, when I think about my life, I have to wonder whether it is possible for my kids to have a better one. Mine’s been pretty darn good. I’ve always had a roof over my head and never gone hungry. Most importantly, I’ve always felt loved. My sisters and I were fortunate to be born in this time and place. Canadian women experience more equality than most women in the world.…
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A Valentine for Mom
Mom, it’s only been through taking the writing you left for us, transcribing it and setting photos to it, that I’ve fully grasped the magnitude of your legacy. Your family has learned so many lessons of love from you. I always knew your love was there. When I was young I guess I took it for granted, like kids tend to do. But being a Mom myself, I see it clearly now. We get the best and the worst of our children and no matter how we handle the behaviour, we always forgive. You were the best at it, Mom – loving and forgiving my sisters and me, over and…
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Dad Skis With Me
It’s that time again. The ski hills in Banff are opening for the season. We’ll be digging out our equipment, dusting it off and heading to the mountains in no time. At 55, most of my friends have retired and sold off their equipment long ago. But, I’m not ready to let go. Skiing is what gets me through the winter. I’ve grown up with it. When we lived in Trail, B.C. in the 60’s, it was our big thing. We weren’t a sports family, but Dad’s bachelor buddy, Ed, had taken it up. As a young father, I’m sure Dad realized if he was going to ski with Ed,…
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Princess, Our Fifteen French Favourites and Me
Princess and I had great plans to post on my blog while in France. Despite our best intentions, we found ourselves too distracted by the experience to focus on writing. It was our last day together before we jotted down some ideas and agreed on our highlights. Then I left her to continue her travels with friends while I made my way back to Canada on my own. So now, at last, here are our thoughts and memories. The Trip From Princess’s Perspective – The thought of travelling with my parents has always excited me. Growing up hearing their stories about adventures they have had all over the world…
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Full in Slave Lake
My situation never seems quite right. When I’m in Slave Lake, I miss Buddy and Princess. When I’m in Calgary, I miss The Consultant. Whenever I start feeling the “empty” in empty nest, it usually takes a trip to Calgary to visit with my kids, family and friends in order to make it all better. I drive to the city, fill myself up then take all that fullness back to Slave Lake, where I dump myself out through my writing. Living this lifestyle is an adjustment, for sure. Sometimes I get so caught up in my own feelings that I forget it’s not all about me. The Consultant’s nest…
