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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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Life In This Family
The sun’s refection bounces off the iced-over lake and warms my face. Any minute now, Buddy and Princess will pull up with their partners. I have tiny butterflies in my stomach. It’s the anticipation of family time. The Consultant and I will enjoy our afternoon with them. We will spend some time outdoors, today. There’ll be skating and ice sailing. Back at the cabin, we’ll gather around the table to chatter and share favourite snacks – chicken wings, smoked turkey, buns, fresh veggies and dip. I know ours is just like many others but I still want to believe my family is unique. Our Family – is…
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A Brand New Year – I Will Be Brave
Slow as molasses in January. That’s me. (Especially on a January day like today where the temperature will be -27 C.) I like to be sure. My tendency is to “sell no wine before it’s time.” I write, rewrite, and change a word here, a word there. Leave it for a day and revisit it the next to tweak some more. In other words, I strive for perfection. Perfection is weighty. It presses heavily on my shoulders, keeps me still. It stresses the body and suppresses forward motion. It repeatedly asks, “What if this work isn’t good enough?” Understanding perfection has been part of my creative process. This year, I…
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My Gift to You This Christmas
My friend and fellow blogger, Janine over at Internal Ink, inspires me. In today’s post, Giving – The Holiday Spirit, she reminds us that not every gift fits nicely under the tree. She encourages us to think about “what you can give from yourself “ this Christmas season. I thought about her post for quite a while this morning and decided I’d like to offer my readers the gift of Optimism by sharing the poem, Desiderata by Max Ehrmann, 1927. Les Crane first introduced me to Desiderata in the 70’s. His narration of this work set to music, is on my IPod. I listen to it often as a gentle and comforting reminder…
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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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Burned Evidence
Who, in their right mind, burns their diaries? I did. I sat out in the back yard and set a match to every page of two diaries and watched as ticket stubs, photos of my best friends and memories of day-to-day life went up in flames. In a few moments, all written evidence of a young girl’s life were lost and gone forever. I can’t imagine what I was thinking. Intellectually, I understand that I was not in my right mind. Scientists discovered teen brain grey matter changes well into the early 20’s. Now, we know enough to forgive teens for any irrational or risky behaviour. I know enough to…
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Distracted by Beauty II (It’s Everywhere)
Beauty is everywhere. Just look. I recently stopped everything to watch this sunrise. I am reminded to slow down. Stop if I must. And notice. Somewhere between this little bug under the butter cup and the sun rising below these clouds. There you are. Stop. Look. Do you see it? See the original Distracted by Beauty post here. My blogging friend, Jan, over at Travel With the Strings posted this recently while I was working on Distracted by Beauty II. A nice serendipitous occurrence.
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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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Making BIG Memories
Oh, how I wish I’d followed through on plans for this one dream – to take a big trip with Mom – just the two of us. Over the years, we took a few little ones here and there but I wanted something adventurous with special bonding time. We’d even talked about what that trip would be – a Caribbean cruise. Time went by. Life got in the way. We never made it happen. Since I became a mom, I’ve carried that regret with me. Now I’ve waited long enough. My kids are starting their adult lives and I’m carrying the dream forward. Over the next few years, one of…
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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…
