One Part Inspiration...

" Sure Glad That's Over "   My husband says he is going to put this statement on my gravestone. (Secretly I think he'd do it too...if it doesn't cost too much) Over the years, he has heard me utter this statement many times.  It is a bit of a mantra. Saying "Sure Glad That's Over"  may have to do with some project I have to focus on, with  a deadline looming, at which time I will have to have my act together (parties, recitals, presentations) and I feel overwhelmed by the details. I often say it when I am in the middle of a tunnel of activity and can't see the light of day. And sometimes I utter the statement when I have something to do that  I am dreading (dental appointments, music performances)  and know that I just have to muscle through and finish.  Sometimes the phrase isn't "I'm sure glad that's over", but "I'll be so glad when ____"  I caught myself saying this often in the process of renovati...

One of the things that the sheep did was to eat everything in sight.  While this was good for us, in that we never had to mow the lawn, neither did we enjoy the bushes on the property because they were so chewed up, we didn't recognize them.                                                                                                                                                                  Then we added a puppy into the mix and things just deteriorated further.  He ate drywall, shoes, socks underwear and got himself so worked up about being tied up (because ...

I think everyone should be required to attend at least one graduation ceremony every year.  It is a wonderful opportunity to take stock of life - to look forward, to look backwards, and ruminate on the deeper meanings of life. [It's also a fun place to people-watch.] In this particular graduation there were about 135 grads.  I knew approximately 3.7% of them.  They all had matching gowns and hats - and no distinguishing features except for the occasional red high-heel shoes.  And yet, when each of them crossed the stage, a little party went on.  They had each reached a significant milestone of life.  And they were about to cross a bridge into adulthood which would take them each in a different direction. I sat in the upper levels, wondering where their life paths would lead them.  Some will probably live, what some would term 'uneventful' lives - maybe never moving away from their home towns, settling down with someone and having 1....

I was at a dinner a while ago, honouring one of my former bosses.  Her daughters both spoke about their mom and all the ways she had influenced them.  One of them talked about her mother's no-nonsense approach to life.  She said there were times when she was growing up that her mother would used the phrase " Now, go, put on your big-girl panties and do it" when her daughter was putting up a fuss about  not wanting to do something that was within her scope.  The phrase has stuck in my head ever since, because even though I am a "big girl", there are many times when I don't want to do something that I have to - and when it happens, " Put on your big-girl panties and do it " echoes in my head. Some examples would be these: I had a kitchen cupboard guy coming to give me an estimate.  It happened to be 'the' day that every other trades person was dropping by so I figured one more couldn't hurt.  Just as I hung up the phone from making...

And now, boys an girls, we present life lessons in a minute and a half.   There are times in life when things are not working. At those times, it might be worth turning things over, to see if there is a reason for it.  You might need to replace a non-working-busted-up part with a new one.  You will have more success with the job, and less frustration with the process.

Thursday: I am watching four errant lambs munch their way through to the front of the fence.  They are in the wrong field.  I am all alone, and feel some what helpless to know what to do, because they can run so much faster than I. The electric fence is working, but they got out a few days ago when it wasn't on, and have just reappeared.  Who knows how many neighbours they have visited in between?  I have very mixed feelings about being a sheep farmer.  My boots have well-worn marks from putting them on to go chase the silly things from all the places they have broken through.  Just because sheep are a fairly quiet animal, doesn't mean that they don't know how to break every rule and do all the things they know they shouldn't.  Following Saturday:   I am feeling a bit better now, because my husband and son worked on the fence.  The electric fence now has a short in it,  and has been trampled, but the back corner is more secure....

I have written before about how much fun I have had with Craigslist.  We have bought and sold, and found for nothing, all with good success for several years.  Last week, something happened to change my mind. We had advertised an item for sale, and received an email asking if we would take a cheque.  After talking it over with my husband, I agreed to the offer, and sent my address so the cheque could be sent.  Several times after that, the man checked back with me to see if it had arrived, which it did, about a week after he sent it. However, when I opened it up, the amount on the cheque was 58 times the amount I'd asked.  Inserted in the envelope was a typewritten message, with no date or signature, indicating that I must now cash the cheque, and wire the remainder. via Western Union, to a shipper overseas, who would take care of delivery of the "item ".  I was terribly confused by this; having never dealt with this type of transaction before, and deci...

This card is from my daughter.  I found it tonight when I was looking through a few things.  I treasure it.  As I look back on the years of mothering, there are many precious moments that I treasure.  Some were touching; others were laugh-out-loud moments. My Daughter:    There was the moment when I was dissolving in a puddle of tears over the death of my mother-in-law.  My three year old took my face in her hands and said " Now, look at me.  Tell me.  What's the problem?"   I don't think she had any idea what a comfort she was to me in that moment.  Exercising with me, and the lady on the video said " Tighten your buttocks and pull your pelvic bones in ", and she commented in a bored voice " Lady, we already know that ." Asks her brother if he thinks he looks cool with his hair brushed like that?  " Well guess what - even though you don't look cool, God loves you." When she heard "He's Got The Whole World In H...

I freely admit that as soon as someone mentions Mother's Day, my heart sinks a little.  This is the one day when all that I have stuffed in my 'Being a Mother' drawer  comes flying out and gets dumped on the floor.  The whole day (and days leading up to it) becomes a series of self-examination and self-recrimination.  "Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda" piles are everywhere.  The pastor trots out Proverbs 31 and holds up the mirror of that impossible standard to me, and I stare at my reflection, knowing that I fall so terribly short of all that is good and beautiful in a mother. The worst verse is 28. " Her children arise and call her blessed ".  What mother doesn't want that?  But also, what mother doesn't know that in the meantime, her children call her a lot more things than blessed.  And not always in a good way. When I dreamt about being a mother, I saw myself as a calm, cool guide who would steer her children through life, all the while flo...

Some lessons are hard-won. Each year at this time, I think of one I learned. It was: " Just because someone asks you to do something, doesn't mean you shoud say yes. " An acquaintance of mine was on some committee for the women's groups at her church. She and I knew each other through the school our kids attended. One day she said rather airily, " Oh Marni, you are artistic. Do you think you could come and teach a craft class for our Christmas celebration day?" Without another thought about what this would mean, I said "Sure." Mostly, I was surprised that someone thought I could do something artistic! It was not a label I had ever attached to myself. My husband is artistic. My kids are artistic. I have siblings who are artistic. I have friends who are artistic. But me? Nope. When it comes to art, I have a few hangups. Mostly they have to do with output. For instance, I usually have to explain to people what it is that I am drawing. Even though I kn...

I said I would teach the Large Group lessons for Kindergarten and Grade Ones this year. Our church has several services. So when I teach, I do the same lesson twice - once for the early service once for the later service. This week, I was to teach about Elijah. I'm not sure who learned more -the kids or me. I have always been a bit intimidated by Elijah. He is such a powerful figure in the Bible. He doesn't let anything get in his way. Bad behaviour? He calls it like it is. A widow needs daily provisions? Elijah's her man. Just make him some bread, and the oil and flour will outlast the famine. Trusting God to send the fire in front of hundreds of people, who are watching to see if God will show up? No problem. Elijah has the faith of the Energizer Bunny. He is in great shape. He runs everywhere. Miles and miles without fatigue. His faith is so legendary, he even shows up in the New Testament. Truly, Elijah is the go-to guy for God. Like I said. Intimidating. ...

Some of you might have noticed on my side bar that one of my pet peeves is people who drive slow in the fast lane. This is only one. How about people who drive faster in the fast lane, than the fast lane will handle? And then zoom up to you and sit on your tail, and then cut into the slow lane, and then zoom back into the fast lane, and then sit on someone else's tail, until they can do it all over again? Or people who pull through the turning lane quickly, even though you are about to come through the intersection, and then slow down, and make you drive behind them for the rest of the ride. This makes you look like your accelerator is attached to an elastic - "Slow down, oh, he's speeding up a little, oh, no he's not... wait ...yep, I can accelera te... no. I guess not." Another one which I can't stand is people who come to a stop light, intending to turn when it goes green, but some how never get around to letting anyone know. This happened one time when we ...

I will miss seeing views like this on my homeward-bound route each afternoon. My job at this end of town has come to close. As I reflect on the past year, and what it has meant to work there, I count it a blessing to have been able to work with such great people, and to have been given the scope I had to explore a fresh occupational pathway. I know I did things differently than other people. But I had a very patient co-worker, who coached me through many twists and turns. I treasured the gift of enjoying such variety in my work. It was a 'very good year' (to quote Frank Sinatra). Some of the highlights for me were: Listening in as the Gr. 2 teacher read to the class, before I went off for some one-to-one instruction with an E.S.L. student. [Some authors write children's books for adults who are reading them.] Having creative license to put up a bulletin board or two. Practicing my techno-skills. For instance, I found out how to fashion a template for the Track Meet...

When I was small, I imagined what my life would be. Like Cinderella I wanted to marry a prince. But I was far too realistic to imagine that I would live 'happily ever after'. I did read lots of books though, and from them gleaned many ideas about how I would live life in that long awaited time when I would be a grown up. For instance, I read "Little Women". The mother in that book was the type of person I wanted to be. She served her community. She loved God. She loved her girls. She was strict, but not unfair. She seemed to have the wisdom to help her girls at just the right time. When her girls got into scrapes, she knew what to say and how to say it, so they would find the solutions for their problems. The girls would go to her for this wisdom, or she would come to them. She spent many a time sitting at the side of their beds, her cool hand on their foreheads, admonishing them, encouraging them, caring for them, until they found their way again. As I hav...

I was casting around for ideas for this post and thought I'd looke up quotes on love. One site I investigated had quotes from A-Z. Here's what I found interesting: Love Quotes outnumbered (by a large margin) every other subject except for Proverbs. Love is a topic which everyone loves to talk about, and on which no one is an expert It is the butterfly of relationships - when you think you ' have it ' the butterfly has alighted on another flower. But because it is so crucial for us, we still seek it and analyze it, take joy in it and mourn it. But rather than reinvent the philosophical wheel of love, I will just share some of my 'love' stories. They illustrate love very well on their own. One Christmas, when I was struggling to provide the basics for my family because of severe financial strain, a friend showed up with a platter of fresh-baked buns, cold meats and cheese, and other baking. To this day, I don't know if she had any idea of what dire s...

For Christmas one year, I bought my husband a clock radio/phone. It was a sacrifice, but I have never been sorry. I have privately congratulated myself many times for a good consumer decision. The clock radio has two alarms, so that, if say on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, you have to get up at 6:30 and on Tuesday and Thursday you have to get up at 7:00, the clock doesn't have to be reset. How clever! The phone also has a few fantastic features. Back in the day, it was pretty high-tech. The best feature is that it is an 'old fashioned' phone - one that plugs into the jack. You can't move around the house with it. This means you will never have to search for it under your son's bed, where he put it just before he went to sleep - four days ago. It means, that if the power goes out, the phone stays connected and you can call Hydro to let them know you're in the dark. It means that the phone will not die on you mid-way through your conversation with your sister abou...

“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~

It was early in the morning. I had a few errands to complete before I returned home. One of them was to stop at a local grocery store, to return pop bottles. Where I live, recycling pop bottles and cans, means getting money back. Sometimes it's just enough to stop for a Slushie; other times, it fills the tank with a wee bit of gas. The store has a fun machine. If you put your can/bottle in the machine, it sucks it in like a vacuum and automatically calculates how many you've put in. Afterward, the big green button, when pressed, produces a receipt to take up to customer service to get the money in your hot little hand. I had a garbage bag full of returnables. The only problem was, that there was a big sign saying "24 can limit". I decided to take my chances and ask if I could bring them all in. Perhaps because it was early in the morning, the manager felt kindly toward me, and told me I could do the bag's worth, rather than coming back later. So I opened...

I was cleaning out papers the other day and had the gut-wrenching decision about what to do with last year's day planner calendar. For some reason, I am loathe to throw out 12 months worth of appointments, dates, random phone numbers, and lists of things. I sat there for at least 25 minutes before deciding what to do. Let it go. Some things are harder to let go than others. I don't mind throwing out other people's stuff because that stuff means very little to me. But If I have to get rid of 'my' stuff, I have a few arguments about it! Most of the things I have a hard time releasing are 'little things'. Antique music sheets. Picture frames that once showcased my kids. Furniture purchased with 'hard won' dollars. Old pages from my day planner. Generally these are things which I don't look at, but the mention of them, brings on a strong reaction. First it's a memory of the enjoyment of the article. Then it's an evaluation of how current it ...

I've never been particularly good at baseball. I can generally make contact with the ball if I'm holding the bat, but I've never gotten a home run. When it comes to throwing, I'm more of a "hope- it -doesn't- come- to -me" kind of gal. The thought of catching the ball and having to make it travel to someone else on the baseball field is so daunting, I'd rather pretend that I wasn't on the field at all. Not that I don't practice, but the technique evades me. Over the years, I've taken aim with objects in my hand, and the trajectory I imagine rarely materializes. It usually travels in a direction that is completely opposite to my intended target. I've thrown items that have hit the roof directly above me, when I have really meant them to go straight ahead about 300 feet. I have thrown items which turned out to be boomerangs in disguise. It has gotten so that when I go outside to throw little bits of food off the deck for the dog to fetch,...