One Part Inspiration...

In the late, late summer, my husband announced an end-of-summer celebration. We went to the P.N.E. (Pacific National Exhibition). There we enjoyed a wide range of entertainment. My favorite of the day was the Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride - where officers from all over the country showcased the talents of their horses in an inspirational one-hour show. The first time we'd seen the show was about twelve years ago, when my youngest son was calling horses "Yee Haws". I was so excited to see them again. They put on quite a show. We got there in time for the warm up. Each horse has a Maple Leaf shaved into it's flank. The reason I know this is because of where my husband found seats for us. Right in the front row. I could have reached out and patted the horses. I 'd never been that close before. It was incredible! And I found out that horses kick up a lot of dirt as they go by. There were lots of impressive maneuvers . One had the look of a wagon wheel. Th...

Mrs. Hansman was a friend of my Mom's. She made this book for me many moons ago, when I was just five years old. She understood little girls get restless in church and need something to do, other than kick the pew in front of them. The outside is leather( ette ?) and each page held something different. When I first got it, the flower smelled of perfume. I used to spend lots of time switching the hands on the clock to make it say different times. I took the felt dog out of his house and pretended he was eating from the dish. Then I would make him walk back into his house. He had a leash made of yarn. Sometimes I would make up little stories in my head about him. The dog no longer lives in the house. He fell victim to too many trips back and forth for food. I especially loved this pocket. I would zip and unzip it, pretending to be surprised at the contents - a little book to read to myself while the pastor expounded on the theological aspects of the genealogical order of Adam's ...

So many new things have crowded my mind this week. It has left me having some pretty crazy conversations inside my head. Here they are in no particular order, because I am too overwhelmed to categorize them. " Man, there's a lot of paper used in the pursuit of knowledge. I can't possibly read all that stuff and retain it ." " Every sector of learning has so much to know. I can't possibly be expected to figure it all out ." " Wow. Look at that. Another load of paper stapled together - this one is highlighted with the key points that I am to learn and execute. That's not going to happen anytime soon. " " By the time I learn this job, it will be over ." "Y ou know what I'd like about now? A cup of tea and a chance to do what something familiar. Something I know how to do, because I have been doing it for so long, that now I'm just tweaking it to suit the occasion. ""I 'm never going to be able ...

A suburban mother’s role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car forever after.” ~Peter De Vries ~ The thing about being a soccer mom/ gymnastics mom/art club mom/theatre mom is that a mom has little bitty blocks of time to use. These have to happen quickly because there's not enough time to get too involved in errands, when in less than forty five minutes, she has to make a return trip to the field/gym/gallery/theatre. A mom who ferries her kids around, rarely has a whole evening to while away the hours. But she recognizes that little bits of time are better than no time, so it's best to plan a bit of 'mom time' for herself, while she is waiting. If there's no use in going home for two minutes before she has to turn around and go get the child(ren), then she might as well use the opportunity to do a couple things she wants to do, so her own soul gets fed while they get their exercise/paintings up to snuff/lines memorized. Here's a li...

I just noticed that I have 424 posts. [Didn't know I was keeping track, did ya?] If I think of something to say, I will have made it to 425. I told myself that when I got to 400, I would do something with it all. But that didn't happen. I wonder what my next target should be? Maybe 500. The 500th post should have something really significant in it. Maybe an announcement of some kind. Winning the lottery? [didn't get a ticket] Having a baby? [not this month]. Tried a new recipe? [not likely to happen anytime soon] Moving? [now we are getting closer]. New job [Check]. I'll have to think on it. For now, I will say that I have had a wonderful weekend. I reclaimed the role of soccer mom [have to remember to hoot and holler straight ahead, instead of into my husband's ear...I think it was the h/h that helped the team win though]. I got a bit of housework done [long overdue]. I had tea with a friend [spontaneous and special]. I uncovered some of my daughter...

The other day I was reading the "REAL SIMPLE" magazine. They have a section in it where readers are invited to write in with their answers about a chosen topic. This month's topic was 'What does home mean to you ?" The answers mainly had to do with the senses -the smells, the sights, the tastes, the touches, the sounds of home. Some were really touching - " Home means sanctuary . "; some were funny - " Home is where I can take off my bra ."; some were thought-provoking - " I work at a nonprofit organization serving the homeless, and they have taught me that home is where you are treated with dignity and respect and where you feel safe and deserving, even on the worst of days .". It was an interesting read. Of course I began to think about what home means to me, and mentally wrote it up. It's a bit longer than I could fit into the required space for "REAL SIMPLE", so I am going to put my two cents into this post. Home m...

“No person who can read is ever successful at cleaning out an attic.” ~Ann Landers~ These days before moving, I am faced with many decisions about what to keep, and what to throw away. I am tempted to leave it all in piles and thumb through them another time. The other day, we went through the dining room . For three hours we went about packing away all the good china, the bowls and the platters - some of them wedding presents - along with any knick knacks that would fit into the boxes. I found myself wondering how long it would be before I would see them again. I rescued a few for the boxes to be immediately unpacked, once we arrive. They will take part in making our next house more homey. The rest I bid a -Fond farewell -- auf Wie·der·seh·en - Until we meet again - So long, it's been good to know ya. Later on in the week, I made the big decision to take a load to the local charity. These were mainly garage sale remnants, -the ones we unsuccessfully tried to sell on that fateful...

Friday comes with A big sigh. A quick look around confirms There's lots to do. I have little energy to complete the tasks. Instead, Here I sit. Leaving it for another day.

Ever played the game "Gossip"?. It's a party game with the intent to prove how inaccurate our listening skills are when receiving information. When the game starts, the first person in the circle whispers something into the second person's ear like "The sky is falling". The second person whispers it into the next person's ear and so on, until the last person gets the message and says it out loud. "This guy's bawling". Sometimes mothers feel like they are playing that game with their own children. Only the game is is called "Life Lesson Gossip". It is entirely possible that the interpretation of the original message may be skewed by the following generation. One example would be the young wife who was cutting the pot roast in half before putting it in the roaster. Her husband asked her why she did that. She said her mom had always cut the pot roast in half. Sometime later, she asked her mom why she did that. Her mom said HER mom h...

On the lake at my Dad's cottage, there are warm spots. Swimming in them is a lovely break from trying to adjust to the chilly temperature of the rest of the lake. However, the warm spots are small in comparison to the rest of the lake. And if you want to swim over to explore the little island across the way, you cannot stay in them forever. You must be brave and get through the shock of going back into the bracing temperature of the other parts of the lake. There are warm spots moments in life too - when things go so well, and it seems nothing can ever go wrong again. When I find myself in a warm spot I try to fool myself into believing that I will never have to leave. I try to forget there are times coming, when I will be chilled to the bone by the events of life. I'd rather stay in THAT spot for a little longer because it feels sooo good. The reality of course, is that the adventures of life demand that I move on and explore what life has next - whether that b...

It's the beginning of another school year. Another year for Wonder Mom to save the world. Wonder Mom knows this requires spending a lot of money. She must replace last year's lost/damaged items. She must stock up on supplies of every shape and size. As Wonder Mom pays for [yet another pair of] shoes for her son, the message is received. The lunch cupboard needs reinforcement. Summer has come to an end, and the cupboard only houses a canister of peanut butter and the last of a loaf of moldy bread. Wonder Mom needs"grabbables". No time to lose! School starts soon. Action must be taken. Wonder Mom's success in saving the world is contingent on g rabbables. Without them, her heroic arsenal is in danger of causing untold household chaos. Wonder Mom must not take that chance. Instead, she flies through the grocery aisles, bypassing old-fashioned ingredients like flour and oatmeal and cocoa, and stocks her cart with grabbables . These essentia...

Sometimes, trying to sleep in this house, is an exercise in futility. We live on the corner of a thoroughfare of traffic either trying to get to the freeway, or trying to get away from the freeway. No matter which way you slice the traffic pie, there's little discretion on the drivers' part as they fly down the hill towards our place, or away from our place. It matters little to them how fast they approach the intersection, or scream away from it. To top it off, two sides of the corner have a big dip in the road, so we get to be privy to crunching underbellies, as they race towards or away from the stop sign. The stop sign might as well be a suggestion. No one stops for it. They just slow down, check to see who else with whom they can play "Thread the needle", and sail on through. Then there are the emergency vehicles, which enjoy exercising their sirens on their way to and from various emergencies. Fire trucks, ambulance, police. Sometimes all in a matte...

“Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.” ~Author Unknown~

Last night, I was talking to my husband. [ Ok, I was complaining. Even though I'm not a complainer. Ha ha. And I never have to get after my children to clean up their rooms either.] So anyways, I was complaining that I felt like I had so many things on my to-do list, that I couldn't even think straight about what it was that I should do first. He sorta mentioned that I go through this every year. Then this morning, when I was blog-stalking- which is my way of avoiding the jobs that I need to get done before I get ready for work, I looked over my 'drafts' posts. This is what I found. It was written August 29 2008. Unfortunately, The world doesn't stop Because I am not ready for the fall. Unfortunately, Other people don't wait For me to get My act in gear And that's where the post stopped . Apparently, I have been through this before. My husband may be onto something.