One Part Inspiration...

A walk with the dogs and my husband Watching the soccer game with my mother-in-law in the comfort of a vehicle with heated seats Getting a message from my sister that she is home after her trip Getting a message from my other sister that she was thinking about me Getting a message from a long-ago friend that she would like to re-connect My son doing the vacuuming on his own initiative Having a birthday dinner with family friends and hanging out for the evening Reading a funny email from several years ago and enjoying it all over again Catching up on laundry so we have something to wear Pancake breakfasts with the family Snow day - at least a half a snow day - and safety in travel on unpredictable roads Hot chocolate with marshmallows Sometimes the little things aren't so little.

Thanksgiving is a great time to stop and take stock.  I hope you have been doing this.  In the spirit of thankfulness, here are ten things from my thankful basket as a part of my Thanksgiving celebration: I love planning programs for Thanksgiving.  No matter how many times I take out the material, I always find some nuggets of truth to hang onto.  This year, I asked everyone in my groups to name something from their 'thankful' bucket.  The best answer? " I'm thankful for my family - mostly ".  Today marks the one-year anniversary of moving to "The Pokeaway".  What a year it has been!  There have been so many changes in the house.  This morning, I was thinking about what it looked like when we moved here.  There were boxes everywhere.  We had building materials in the living room.  Our shower wasn't even installed and I had nowhere to wash clothes.  Today, my husband was installing some more window trims,...

LEARNING TO BLOW OUT THE CANDLE ON HER 1st BIRTHDAY I have been thinking long and hard about this post. A few weeks ago, my daughter turned twenty. As a tribute, I am going to share twenty things about her: The first thing I think of when I think of my daughter is her beautiful brown eyes. She is blessed with eyes which show compassion, determination, laughter, understanding, and the odd time of confusion. My daughter has a steely determination. When she has decided on something, she will work on it, until she gets it. One of the stories that illustrates this, is when she wanted to take her bird for show and tell in Grade Three. We were against the idea. We told her that the bird would die from the shock of being moved and poked at by the other children. But it was the " ONLY THING " she could think of to take to show and tell. In spite of our other suggestions, she was determined that the bird would be the " ONLY THING " which would guarantee her success that day....

Twenty-two years ago tonight, I could hardly sleep for the excitement of waking up the next morning to be a bride. I had everything laid out, ready for the big day. I read and re-read my vows, hoping not to mess up when I said them. Part of my pledge said: " I look forward to sharing my life with you, and whatever the future holds, I will stand with you and beside you, until death separates us ." After living out these vows for 8,035.335 days, I have a very different perspective on what those words meant. As a new bride, I looked forward to sharing life with my husband as an adventure - almost as if I was going to be on a long vacation with him. Now I look forward to sharing my life with him in more genuine ways. I look forward to a cup of tea at the end of the working day. I try to anticipate which tool he will need me to hand him when we are working together. I count on him listening to me vent about the challenges of my day, and making the ONE observation which cra...

My daughter is babysitting me. Her brothers and her dad have flown the coop and they made arrangements for her to come and look after me. I am trying to be on my best behavior so they will get a good report when they return. So far, we have watched three movies, checked the mail, paid some bills, fed the sheep,took back the pop bottles (so we could buy more movies) and made our own pizza. And we stopped for an ice cream cone on the way back from the "Women's Show", where we used our coupons to get in at a discount. I remember when I was about five, there was a weekend when everyone else in my family had some sort of trip they were going on and it was just up to me to take care of my mom. I made arrangements to sleep in her bed so she wouldn't get lonely. And in the morning, she and I had eggs on toast - sunny side up. There's something about being together as mom and daughter that is special. You don't look up from the movie to pass the kleenex to the o...

Day Six: Earlier in the week, someone asked me if I was doing a big meal for Thanksgiving. I shook my head. This year, the timing is all wrong. We are in between renovating, moving, and trying to get farm status, along with all the regular things that are going on - like school and soccer practice and getting used to a new job. I learned a long time ago, that sometimes you have to let something go to maintain your sanity. I decided this is not the year to make a big turkey dinner. Then, each of my family asked me what we were doing for Thanksgiving. I suddenly realized how much my family looks forward to the tradition of the ...

Day Three : All about a little of this and not so much of anything. I am thankful for my washer and dryer. Front Loading is the way to go folks! They are both quiet and efficient. And they hold large loads, which is a good thing at this point, since the laundry can get piled up quite high in between. The washing machine has a timer, so I can put a load in and have it start just before I come home, and then I can throw it into the dryer when I arrive home. This morning, in the time it took me to drive my #1 son to early morning class, the dryer had fresh warm towels waiting for me to use for my shower. I felt like I was in a luxurious hotel. I am thankful for my bed. Crawling into it each night, or the occasional afternoon, is one of the great joys of my life. The word "Ahhhhh" comes to mind. I am thankful for the dishwasher. Especially, since I won't have it for much longer. It makes my clean up so much faster and easier. I am thankful for the fact that I can k...

Day Two: All about work. ... I am thankful for the job that I have held for seventeen years. I am continually challenged by the clients and my co-workers in every way - from the 'Healthy Living Challenge' given to us by the Rehabilitation Department, to the challenge of being organized, yet flexible in order to have effective programs. I am grateful for the long-term relationships I have formed with my work companions. I truly could hardly stand the thought of having to give it all up for something else. In my new job, I am thankful for a co-worker who encouraged me today with these words : " They are not going to fail to graduate because you don't know what you are doing for a month ". I started in September and am working hard at finding my way, but each day shows me more of what I don't know. My co-worker has come along side of me many times in the last month, with words like "Ask away", and "Sure, I can help you figure that out"...

Nineteen years ago today, I was the mom of a two-month old baby girl. My parents were out visiting us. They were helping me adjust to motherhood, and to being the wife of a full time student. We were living in our first house. My friend Janna and I had planned a birthday party for Mrs. Isaacs, who would turn seventy on October 1, 1990. We decided to make it a surprise breakfast party - to accommodate the baby's schedule. I hosted, but Janna brought many of the goodies we enjoyed that morning. As I remember it, we served croissants along with a fruit and cheese platter. There were flowers and a pretty tablecloth and napkins. I dont' remember how many people came, but I remember it was a houseful. And I remember how happy I was when everything turned out so well. The baby slept through much of the party, and when she woke up, she was happy and everyone cooed over her. The food was delicious. Best of all, we got to honor a very special lady, who had taken us both und...