F IS FOR FORTUNATE

Just a couple of life long friends catching up while unconditionally supporting each other. 
TAKEN: AUGUST 11th, 2016

I have been fortunate to be surrounded by amazing friendships my entire life. 

The truth is, I can count the number of those wonderful peeps on two hands (with the help of a few of my toes). I suppose I relate to each and every one of those people by referencing the simple saying that, 'good friends are hard to find... and impossible to forget.'

The friendship I am sharing today started in the early throws of high school. I was a year older, and he was one of the most genuine and comedic people I had ever met. From that initial introduction, I simply wanted to get to know him better and spend more time with him. Just like yours truly, my parents loved absolutely everything about him.

He left our small town for university and never came back. I stayed, and I am still here. Yet, thanks to the evolution of the internet, I see him and hear his voice almost every single day.

The photo I am sharing was him stopping into my place of work to bring me lunch and catch up. He was on a solo cross Canada/US motorcycle tour that spanned more than fifteen thousand kilometers. It was the last time we've seen each other face to face outside of social media.

He was back to see his parents this past Christmas, and though my path of reconnection was paved with good intentions, I sat at my desk and worked on an eight million dollar construction estimate. Before I knew it, he was back on a jet plane and home again.

I expressed to my husband how disappointed I was that our window of time to visit had closed and he'd already left. My husband had a great suggestion. 

He thinks we should simply hop a plane and show up unannounced at his post retirement storefront on Vancouver Island. Lord knows we'd know when he'd be there. 

....Fortunately, we have his regular Facebook posts to thank for that!

J IS FOR JOURNAL

When I look back at how dark I was when I started this journal, all I can say is “you’ve come a long way baby!”

That said, even when I am not participating in the April A-Z Challenge, I try to set a little time aside to write something every single day. 

Sometimes I vent about things I can’t share with anyone. Sometimes I type until I cry, then generally feel relieved.

The accomplishment comes in the times I actually a finish my initial thought process, and post the crap to this silly electronic journal.

More than ten years later, I still find it empowering at how my looking inward (smashing these little black keys) can still produce something creative and free. 

No matter what, I believe it all comes back to mindset. I swear a solid and clear mindset is the ultimate ignition switch to accomplishing whatever you put your mind to.

That, and a true desire to share mumble, jumbled, gobble-de-gook, with the masses! #yagottalaughaboutit

Puddin' and I zipping around the Orillia Lake in the bowrider.
Coming up to a year without her, and I still ache because I miss her so much.
TAKEN: JULY 6th,  2015

F IS FOR FRIENDSHIPS

There are a lot of people that have opinions about social media. Some embrace it too freely, while others wear a tin foil hat to ward of the evil of it. I guess you could say that I fall somewhere in between.

Anyway, back in July 2007 I connected via Facebook with one of my oldest brothers' best friends. 

Though growing up I was nothing other than the annoying little sister, as adults, I was happy to find someone that effectively wrote for a purpose and shared their thoughts with the masses just as I do.

It didn't stop there, I loved experiencing the travelling he and his wife did together, and each year I looked forward to his annual Christmas countdown of song offerings on his saxophone. 

Once his countdown started, I found myself logging on from my desk at work to see if he'd posted yet. Such great fun.

Then, via Facebook, I saw he and his bride were heading to his old stomping ground (where I still live) for the weekend for our Fire and Ice Festival this past January. Trouble was my hubby and I were headed into the city for the concert in Toronto that Saturday night. 

After a quick exchange, I was excited to discover that they would be in town the night before and wanted to get together for drinks. I hadn't seen him face to face since my fathers funeral in 2005 (and only knew what his wife looked like via Facebook).

Anyway, that Friday, he kept me posted on their timing. They'd eat dinner with friends in the centre of town and we'd plan to meet at a local pub later in the evening. Goob lives just down the street, so I invited him to come meet his uncle J's childhood friend.  

My husband (in red) really didn't know what to think of this group of extroverts!
TAKEN: JANUARY 27th, 2023

Well, suffice it to say, we closed the place. Walked them to their hotel, then walked ourselves home.

In this instance, though social media reunited electronic friends and turned them into new friends. Our evening confirmed that face to face friendships are the best ones to appreciate. 

#MyTwoCents

H IS FOR HEARTFELT

 From the April A-Z Blogging archives.

This was originally posted April 9, 2019

My 2019 April A-Z Blogging Challenge posts will primarily consist of corresponding quotes.
(With the flash of opinionated electronic journal entry inserted to keep you on your toes.) 

E IS FOR EXCITED

 From the April A-Z Challenge archives. 

This was originally posted April 6th, 2017.

Headed to New Orleans with my Timmies!
TAKEN: APRIL 6th, 2017

Well, today is finally the day. My day.

I landed at the airport just after 5am and after a quick stop in Houston, I will be in New Orleans just after lunch. I'm really excited. This wanderlust thing I have embedded into my brain never gets old.

I don't know why I make such a big deal about my birthday trip. That's I lie, I most certainly do. 

As a child, birthdays were never something my parents embraced, as a result they were not only a luxury but a rarity. I am proud to write that I broke that cycle for my children but it makes me sad that my husband never followed suit. So once the kids were grown and gone, I decided to take care of the task myself.

I wanted to go to New Orleans to see my friend Darin last year but I hummed and hawed about the exchange rate and went to Sayulita, Mexico to try and learn to surf instead. 

This year, because I went to Cuba in February, I knew I was limited to another weekend trip. I was originally looking at going to see the Toronto Raptors play at Madison Square Garden and decided to hit up last years destination instead; I also decided not to check the exchange rates until everything was booked!

As I sit and hammer out my words on my laptop in the airport. I can't help but smile. I am so very blessed with a great family, wonderful friends and a job I love. All of which support and allow me to head to embrace the Big Easy for a once in a lifetime experience.

Life is very good!

C IS FOR CAMERA

From the April A-Z Blogging archives.

This was originally posted April 3rd, 2013

From a very young age I have always enjoyed photography. 

In high school I use to take pictures with a 35mm Canon my older brother had bought my parents for Christmas;  but if recollection serves me correctly, it was after my mother passed in 1987 that the bug really took hold of me.

April 3rd, 2013 - CAMERA
Taken: March 29th, 2013

The photo I am posting was taken this past Easter weekend while I was out for a toot around the Muskoka Lakes.

When I pulled into the landing (as an avid swimmer) I was thinking my C post was going to be C-C-C-COLD.

As I approached the water (and the colours were so vibrant) my thought process shifted to  CHAIRS.

As I crouched to take this photo, all the bells and whistles went off in my head. 

Ding Ding Ding CAMERA had won the coin toss!

Funny how things happen. I had a friend take a picture of his family in these very chairs and share it with me. 

It was an amazing photo. In fact, I thought of him in the moment as my shutter closed.

I couldn't help but reflect on what a difference the lapse of seasons makes to a setting. When he snapped his photo, the buzz would have been energizing. 

When I snapped mine, I was totally alone in my thoughts. His was picture of sheer camaraderie, mine is one of chosen solitude.

His defined the summer excitement in Muskoka. 

Mine? 

That my intimate spring picture at the landing was worth a very different thousand words. 

HARD DRIVE DOLLAR DAZE

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, 

but in having new eyes."  ~Marcel Proust

Over the holiday break, I decided to clean the crawlspace underneath our beautiful front entrance stairs. This 'out of sight out of mind' task can only be described as the long brewing perfect storm of general guilt, individual curiosity, and ultimate discovery. 

Neatly tucked away, when you opened the door you were greeted by a gloomy space filled with decorations, old video game paraphernalia and the remains of what I decided to store when I disassembled my marketing firm after the banks fell back in 2008. 

Around the corner and under the actual stairs, where the single light bulb couldn't reach, was a massive technical graveyard. A segregated area full of old laptops the kids killed, and any desktop towers I had been blessed to receive the blue screen of death on. 

It was also where old printers, monitors, scanners, and ink cartridges from my digital press were also laid to rest. And it wasn’t until I began to haul everything into the downstairs living room that I came face with thousands of hard earned and impulse spent technologies dollars looking back at me.

My two office assistants completely ignoring my technology exorcism.
TAKEN: DECEMBER 27th, 2020

You would think my biggest shock would be loading everything up for disposal but after harvesting more than a dozen hard drives from their original graves, I began salvaging data.

Using a sata adapter I had purchased years ago to try and revive one of the lost backup drives, I began a methodical process to look at them all individually. With each one I connected to, a new snippet into a past life appeared. It was like revisiting a personal digital roadmap of the last twenty years.

I managed to restore all of the stored family photographs (from 2002 onward) that  I thought were gone forever. All of my digital business files as well as client portfolio items that had been rewarding creatively to develop; not to mention profitable to release.  

Graphic design files, full page ads from the Toronto Star, large radio campaign mp3 audio files, as well as copies of the television commercials I produced. My week spent digging for hard to find password locked data was both amazing and very cathartic.

Once again reinforcing one of my true core philosophies... 

That self discovery, or in this particular case re-discovery, is always the best investment you can ever make in yourself !

TINY BUBBLES

My electronic journal found some bizarre inspiration this morning. 

It was when the vinyl record player that is my mind kept hearing the classic 1966 Don Ho lounge lizard tune: Tiny Bubbles . (The song title is a link for those that have yet to have the pleasure.)

Now I'm sure we can all agree my chosen isn't a festive holiday tune, nor a track that plays into the whole 'reason for the season' vibe. Let's face it, as we crawl toward the end of a year so annoying it continually tripped over itself (twenty-twenty), a song about tiny bubbles within a lockdown mandate shouldn't be considered unfathomable.

My tiny bubble. Featuring my amazing Fab Five!
TAKEN: DECEMBER 25th, 2020

Now, not being one to pet a cat backward just to prove I can, nor jump off the bridge downtown simply because I live in a town that has one with a cool brace over it, I would like to disclose that  months ago I decided to invested in understanding why we were being asked to live in a 'bubble' and what it actually meant. 

As a result, since being told to 'assume the position', I have not waivered from the general directive. All guidelines have been respected. All internet trolls looking to stir shit for the sake of having their voice amplified when they normally wouldn't, were heard.

At the end of the day, it's really hard to believe that it has been over nine months since everything became so hateful and unnecessarily divided. Even amongst my bubble featured here, we have agreed to disagree - leaving certain subjects abandoned and all opinions respected on every occasion.

One subject never abandoned? My obsession with taking their picture.

As a mother, I've I known for many years they hate posing and having me take their photo. I know they don't really want me to, yet cordially comply because they understand (in the end) it may be extremely important... To someone else. 

Thus making my photo taking philosophy the perfect mantra for what will make 2021 tolerable for all. 

In a nutshell? Take the high road and always play nice. 

Just like those in my tiny bubble do every time an impromptu photo op awkwardly presents itself!

HELLO NEW-VEMBER

Loving life packing only a cellphone, a credit card & a smile!
TAKEN: OCTOBER 10th, 2013

For a number of reasons, this is one of my very favorite selfies I have ever managed to capture.  I snapped it in an absolute coffee induced euphoric state, the morning after landing in Old Montreal with a girlfriend.

As the story goes, I had seen The Eagles at the ACC in Toronto the Thursday night before, then hopped a plane to Montreal to see Bon Jovi at the Bell Centre that Saturday night. 

I remember embracing the brisk November morning with an extra skip in my step feeling like a brand new person. Not because I was going to venture into historic Vieux-Montréal and its amazing architecture, but because I had made the life changing decision to quit my dream job; a milestone that happened seven years ago this week. 

My point? 

I think some of you may be surprised to read that for the first time in years, I once again have a skip in my step and I am sporting an ear to ear smile for making yet another life altering choice. I am pleased to report that I have left my sales and marketing position within the construction industry here in Muskoka... and I couldn’t be happier.

Just like seven years ago, my decision wasn't made lightly. It was a transition I had entertained for almost six months. If I am being honest, the reason for the lag was because I had struggled to wrap my mind around the logistics of such a life altering shift. 

Like most things in life, timing is everything. I guess you could say, just like the day I snapped this selfie, I had to invest in myself and trust the timing in my life. Even with that trust, I worried my glass  may feel half empty. Hence those months it took me to finally decide. 

As everyone knows, this isn't rocket science. A job is a job, that in the end you get paid for simply doing a job - and people leave jobs all the time.

In this instance, my personal struggle came with the more than a hundred people I was blessed to get to know and work alongside of with a great sense of pride. It didn't matter which, I was connected to each and every one of them... How could I go?

In the end, transitioning has had zero effect with those I was closest with. Social media has helped close the landline conversation gap and not a day goes by that my phone isn’t a buzz with a meme, a text, or a call from one of many. I guess you could say our friendships are a different kind of payday for simply treating people the way we wanted to be treated. 

As I wrap up my post and head over to Spotify, I can't help but reflect on those amazing few days and two great back to back concerts seven years ago. Today has me embracing, blasting, and singing, a number of those really great tunes performed live. 

But for whatever reason... Already Gone by the Eagles and It's My Life by Bon Jovi seem to be bringing down the house!

Sorry. Couldn't resist the obvious comical musical punchline.

#yagottalaughaboutit

MY STEADY SEPTEMBER

My Annie on the left and my Puddin' going full tilt on the right!
TAKEN: September 20th, 2020

Vacation the first week of August may have been a total bust but the weather the last week of summer more than made up for it. I don’t know about you - but there has always been something with the end of September atmosphere that genuinely put an extra skip in my step. 

For obvious reasons, as fall approaches each year I always make the effort to give my pups as many unique experiences as possible. I suppose it’s because I know, for the most part, nature is preparing us to hunker down in darkness as we wait for the pre-winter snow to arrive.

As you can see from our last adventure photos, Annie is as active as toddler on steroids but the signs of Puddin’ officially becoming a senior are starting to visibly show. Therefore, I have decided that this fall has to be about a balance. Not just energy level balance. Overall life balance; not only for the pups but for me as well.

Such a big and important thought process (and learning curve) for me right now. 

In my effort to strive and achieve it, I will no longer be working 50 hours a week and on call from sun up until sun down. I have disabled all alerts on my phone and I honestly try my best to power that sucker down before I serve dinner and leave it off until I wake the following morn.

That change combined with an inner twang for more personal balance, resulted in me reconnecting with my very best gal pal. It’s not like she and I were estranged per se, just both got busy with life in general and became accustom to the Bluetooth on the road home doing all the legwork for us. 

I am pleased to report that this very steady September has us getting back to basics where the first question we ask the other is “...How are you doing?” I had truly missed that. 

You see, for the last several years I had been so focused on others and their demands, that the little things that mattered somehow got lost in the shuffle. I guess you could say that prior to making this small, almost minor change in behaviour, I was always in search of the answer as to how to create change.

Then, on the evening of September 10th, I realized that I no longer wanted to wait for the opportunity of change. I understood whole heartedly I had to pull up my big girl panties and encompass and embrace the change I was searching for.…So I did. 

The rest is up to me.

ONE GIANT STEP

 Have you ever had one of those days where no matter what you try and accomplish, you take one step forward and two steps back? 

Well, the fat lady is tuning up to start singing to signal the end of my vacation, and gosh darn dammit if the last seven days haven’t played out exactly like that!

Since we connected water in early May, I have loved living in my little Covid Casita. But if I'm being honest here, the five days of rain last week drove me a tad bit stir crazy. 

Usually when I am antsy and frustrated, we hop in the car and go vrooom zoom for a change of scenery. Imagine wet dog everything and misplaced car keys. 

I know, right? Two. Steps. Back!

Y'all know I love my pups and that they love me. This is proven daily by the fact that they both have to be within two feet of me at any given moment. 

So, this past week, to avoid major rainfall/lake water stinkage, I towel dried them as much as possible, leaving me with a clean towel crisis that offered impressive expletives that I usually save for that crazy orange man south of here. 

I kid you not, when an electronic friend checked in via text with, “hope your week off is okay and quiet.” I instantly responded with, ‘I did laundry in the rain this morning... Livin’ the dream!” 

Truth of the matter is, when I saw the long-range forecast, I wanted to cancel and take a different week. My husband did not. I get it. He has the privilege of a maid and cook; so I can totally empathize with why we wouldn’t entertain a reschedule.

That said, I read an online article this week about the pursuit of personal happiness. It was from a husband’s perspective. It explained how it isn’t his job to make his wife happy. It is her responsibility to ensure she is happy with her choices and herself, which I agree with 100%.

So, when cleaning out the closets this past week, I came across a two-person pup tent I'd purchased for the kids many years ago. I set it up on the lower deck and looked forward to falling asleep over the water and waking up to the morning fog. 

I think I could market this space on Air BnB!
TAKEN: August 6th, 2020

People on my Facebook immediately joked that my husband had finally sent me to the doghouse but the truth of the matter is I hit the jackpot and got the hell out of the extra large doghouse for a good night sleep. 

Then, when heading up to make morning coffee, I broke the zipper on the door, took it down and hauled it into the trash.

Killing the tent after one might have been my two steps back. BUT baby, my night outside alone in the fresh air?

One giant step forward!

DEAL WITH IT!

When I was a kid, my summer days were spent by the lake and my evenings spent playing cards or board games by propane powered lights with my mom and extended family. All these years later, those memories are still very fond ones.

Naturally, when we purchased our own cottage back in 2000, a wooden game box for puzzles and everything else needed to keep preteens busy was one of the first things created. They would swim through the day and if it rained, the game box was immediately cracked open before the television was ever turned on.

As I type, I can hear that classic pop-o-matic sound of a game of Trouble clicking away, or squeals of an exciting game of snakes and ladder in need of a referee well underway.

Their favourite card game was crazy 8's and I feel like they played thousands of those with my Dad before he passed in 2005.

As I reflect in my 20th summer at our cottage, I can't help but notice how much things have changed.

The kids don't come by very often anymore and the majority of my time is spent alone, yet I still love playing cards and board games. The difference is now it's against downloaded robots or an online audience.

 

Playing Phase 10 while listening to the Blue Jays play.
TAKEN: JULY 2018

Every once and a while I can convince my husband to play but it's not really his thing. In the summers since the kids left home, it has always been a negotiation to gain his interest in participating.

For instance, in summers past, though I absolutely hate baseball (which is another post) I would concede that we could listen to the game on the radio if he'd agree to play a board game or a couple of games of cards in return. With this summer season cancelled, I think I am going to have to become super creative.

With cottage life officially underway and no sports to use as bait, I'm thinking I may need to bust out a topless option with benefits for Canasta to get him interested in participating.

Either way, I'll deal with it. 

Get it?

Cards?

Deal?

That said, feel free to insert eye roll or head shake now.

A solid groan would also be totally appropriate!

F IS FOR FITNESS

Driving by Snap Fitness yesterday, I laughed aloud when I read their marquee: “If your dog is fat… You're not getting enough exercise!” 

Personally, I thought the message was brilliant.

I walk far more than the recommended 10,000 steps a day, and I am very outgoing in every other facet of my life. I watch what I eat, and I certainly don't feel nor act my age.

Keeping with that last thought, my personal fitness guru was telling me that eating chocolate releases the same endorphins as having an orgasm.  Intrigued by the statement, I decided to do some basic math. 

The average chocolate bar contains 884 calories.  Having sex, can burn up to 300 calories per half hour.

Dottie enjoying our Book Club offering!
TAKEN: JULY 2012

Hmmm, I say the perfect solution is to enjoy an amazing two hour romp, and avoid any type of chocolate offering all together. 

That gives me a big bonus 1200 calories burned, and a perma smile that will stay with me way longer than any silly Kit Kat bar can possibly offer!

Now that right there is some serious calorie counting I can throw my back into! Guess I need to whip my husband into shape.

Whip? Maybe, not.

Blindfold? Definitely, MAYBE!

LOCKING 'ME' UP!

It’s that time of year again, when I endlessly search for enough time to get done what's expected of me.

For example, when my daughter asked me to forward her pics from our recent trip to New Orleans, it took me onward of a month to find the time to get around to doing it. 

Anyway, as I perused the hundreds of photos I'd taken, I ultimately became fixated on a series of one in particular, which I'd snapped at a city wharf along the Mississippi River. 

Though I am pleased to report that I managed to send my daughter a few dozen really great photos, the LOVE WINS one I am sharing today lingered in the forefront of my thoughts for the few days that followed. 

Not having any understanding of the symbolism it portrayed, my architect friend Darin sent me a Google link explaining that sweethearts' typically inscribed names & dates on a padlock, and its key's thrown away (often into the nearby river) to symbolize their unbreakable love.

Like most people I know, I have felt & nurtured a number of great loves in my life. Some are now associated more with loss, but for the most part I feel the majority of my life I’ve had an open heart & given generously.

Over my coffee at the cottage Sunday morning, I messaged another electronic friend explaining how my photo had further inspired me. Which ultimately had me search the cupboards for a lock with a key & a permanent marker.

When I shared my second photo with him, I explained that I had effortlessly penned my thoughts on my lock, then threw the key as hard as I could off the end of the dock; realizing only after the fact that I had missed the critically important step of linking it to a chain-link fence!

The impact I felt at the Toulouse Street Wharf (NOLA), truly followed me home to Canada.

TAKEN: MAY 30th, 2019 

& JUNE 23rd, 2019

Not to throw baby out with bath water, I decided to bring the lock home and strategically place it on the desk in my home office. Primarily, as a constant reminder that the most important relationship I will ever be in, is the one I am in with myself. 

As you can imagine, it’s taken me decades to be in a place where no matter where life takes me, or whom crosses my path, I truly believe that everything will always work out for the best. That said, I feel I should ask the obvious question....You know that there's nothing wrong with loving & putting yourself first, right? 

If you struggle with the concept, think of it this way.

You're the one person you'll spend the majority of your lifetime with. Why wouldn’t you want to ensure you're always surrounded by the very best possible company?!

Which brings me full circle to my very long winded point, which is to do yourself a favour and make yourself a priority.

Trust me. My life experience is that no one else is ever going to do it for you!!

WHEN LESS IS MORE!

(l-r:) Wonder Woman, Smartie, Bestest Bee, Darin & Me
TAKEN (l-r:): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016

I read somewhere that distance can be the perfect messenger to help one understand who is worth keeping in your life and who is worth letting go. No matter how you slice and dice it, keeping in touch with anyone is tough, no matter what the geographical distance.

Most people, myself included, make excuses. There's work, home, dogs, family, work & work, not to mention life in general: the circle of actual excuses, are in fact the vicious circle that kills most efforts.

As a result, when I began carpooling in 2015, I started using that time to connect with people I truly missed and never got to see. Four years later, I can honestly embrace that I've worked harder to reach out to the people that mean the most to me. 

How? Sometimes I might might voice text, singing to the other, or simply calling because I'd just heard a song on the radio we both love. Sometimes, I'd get so carried away with swearing about my situation at hand, that they burst into true belly laughter.

My favourite are the times when one calls me. Simply because they feel we just need to hear the others voice.

Best part are the chats that end with an ‘I love you’, my second are those that end in laughter at a joke only the two of us get. Most importantly, I always ensure I tell them that I’m very glad they’re in my life.

I don’t know about you but I feel that truly great connections will always allow you to reach out, offer to hop a flight & grab a hotel, simply because you need to be near their energy. Those are the one’s you’re forever grateful for.

Honestly, when you understand a person that well. You can handle whatever plethora of bullshit, life is gonna serve ya!

PS: Jo, NannyF, B-Rad, Sweenymiester, SBM, Tim & Twos, Lady Di... Thanks.

H IS FOR HEARTFELT

My 2019 April A-Z Blogging Challenge posts will primarily consist of words and corresponding quotes.
(...With the odd opinionated electronic journal entry inserted to keep you on your toes.) 

DO YOU BELIEVE IN SIGNS?

Just like I do every long weekend, I watch the weather like a hawk to ensure I get at least one sunny day of rest. And by rest, I mean totally ignore the long list of things I need to do and willfully bask in the sunshine. Well, that day this Labour Day weekend was this past Saturday.

When the rain hit just before dawn Sunday morning my sleep was quickly interrupted. That, combined with the pups getting me up earlier than I would have liked, left me generally grumpy. Dark cloud over head, I greeted the day and the chores I wanted to tackle.

I knew I wanted to get some fall cottage cleaning done, so jacked full of caffeine, I decided to move around some furniture, which lead me to organizing the plethora of Trivial Pursuit board games I collect: which I rarely play anymore.

Anyway, I should probably preface that I got a somewhat unsettling text message around dinner time Saturday evening, which may or may not have led to my sleeplessness. In the end, for the twelve or so hours that followed, I kept asking myself… “What would Dad think I should do?”

As I continued the task of gathering my useless crap, I landed where the games have had their home since the cottage was purchased. When I opened the lid, all I could do was smile. Unexpectedly, my father was in the moment with me in spirit. You see, I had forgotten that he had made the toy box for my son’s birthday back in 1996 and left him a personal message using a wood soldering gun.

My dad always shows up when I least expect him.
(To protect my son's identity, I have covered his given name)
TAKEN: SEPTEMBER 2nd, 2018

As I pulled all the board games out of the box to reorganize, all I could think of was Jukebox in poppa’s livingroom, showing him all his all his slick Power Ranger moves and my dad pretending to be the villain Jukebox was ultimately trying to slay.

Just like that, the thought of them removed any & all grumpy stupidity, and I knew I’d ultimately made the right decision the night before. How about you? Do you believe in signs?... I most certainly do.

Grateful my father's presence reminds me that everything is going to be "better"!

HAIR TODAY. GONE TOMORROW.

Last Thursday I had a planned lunch date with someone I hadn’t seen face to face since May of 2017. Unfortunately, we discovered the night before there was a calendar conflict,  so the easiest thing to do was reschedule for this coming Friday.

My first world problem was I wanted to surprise him with how I'd grown my curly hair to the middle of my back. Not because he'd give a shit, but because there is always a bit of a tell when you haven’t seen someone for an extended period of time. And for me, I knew the length of my hair would've been a bit of  jaw dropper.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not vanity on my part, more a sense of personal pride.  From the time I was a young girl, my mother kept my hair cut short for the ease of getting me to school in the morning. Then, as I entered my teen years, I didn’t have the knowledge nor understanding on how to manage naturally curly hair, so as it grew out, the frizz always outweighed the future fashion potential of it all. That, combined with a barely there A cup, I ended high school looking like a boy that was trying too hard.

Well, thanks to the internet and a kick-ass hairstylist, I figured it out. It was expensive in the beginning but I justified the expense by telling myself I was worth it. As I aged and truly understood how one treats grey hair, I took the matters of the management of it into my own hands and the very large bills disappeared.

Hair's looking great. Shame about the face!
TAKEN: August 2nd & 7th, 2018

So here you have it. A picture of the longest my hair had been in I don’t know how many years, and me headed to work yesterday shortly after 7am, with uber curly hair!

The dead nuts honest truth is the 99.9% of the time I'm away from work or alone, my hair is either up and off my face, in need of some root touch up, or simply a dogs' freakin’ breakfast. So much so that when I landed for my cut Friday lunch I was wearing a Taylor Made ball cap & looked like a super serious paper bag hag.

Glass half full? She made me look and feel beautiful for my trek into Toronto, and I have told her that I will always pay her serious money to never allow anyone to see what I look like when I land at her shop.

How serious am I? When my buddy Barbie spied me up in Instagram at the concert she asked, ‘when are you gonna start aging like the rest of us?”

My response... “Hopefully, never!”

Which is partially thanks to the hush money I will always pay my hairdresser!

LIFE LESSON #997

I don’t know about you, but it’s been a really wonky summer for me. The weather’s been amazing, yet my disposition has generally stayed in the average range of fair to partly cloudy. I have theories as to why, but if I were being honest, I would have to admit that in the last few months I've had to do so much ‘on the spot’ emotional juggling, that I swear I’ve heard circus music whenever I've daydreamt.

Specifics as to why aside, I will weight in with the opinion that the strange part about juggling emotions, is it feels like a catch 22. Just like any over achieving circus juggler knows, it’s not as simple as making it look easy (whilst keeping all the balls in the air) it’s also about simultaneously keeping track of which of the balls are made of rubber, and which of them are made of glass.

Though we tend to lean on intuition to tell us which will bounce and which will break, I've often wondered... Do we ever really know?

For yours truly, it’s about finding a balance that works. I'll admit I fret most about the same rubber balls I've dropped time and again, that have always bounced back and wonder how long they will. With the other side of that reflective coin being, sometimes, a glass one that's cherished so dear, needs to be dropped for ones personal health & well-being... Which leads me to my next question. 

Have you ever allowed someone to hold you as their emotional hostage?

I know you know the type. If you'd intelligently step out of and looked at the toxic relationship, you’d discover that you were doing all the work and they were taking all the spoils; always expecting more while you are expected to accept the status quo. 

Embracing that philosophy, I was shocked to discover that by letting that aforementioned cherished glass ball drop, though it shattered the loudest, it offered the most relief and left the least emotional mess to clean up. 

#WordsToLiveBy
Image Courtesy of : Smile Again Ministries
(All Rights Reserved)

So there you have it. My life lesson #997 has taught me a couple of very important things...

One, that some things are meant to be.

And two, that I am a dead-nuts, no circus would ever want to hire me, piece of crap juggler!

Glass half full? Circus recruiters have told me I have what it takes to be the perfect sssnake charmer!!

...Ba-dum-bump 

A LITTLE MORE EXTENDED FAMILY

I was working away at my desk this past week, when my phone alerted me that I had a message via Facebook Messenger. When I opened it to see what was up, I was a tad surprised as to whom was sending me a note. Don't get me wrong, it was a pleasant surprise, and the photo she sent me was an even bigger one; she had found five Petro Canada glasses at the Muskoka Lakes Re-use.

Her note was similar to all the others I regularly receive. "Thought of you... maybe they aren't the right 'shape' but if you want them, I will get them to you." My heart instantly filled with gratitude.

I have known Miss JJ since we both hit high school. Though we lived in different towns within the District of Muskoka, our paths always crossed on and off the ice at the Gravenhurst arena. Once we both moved onto post secondary school, we never got in touch with the other again, until we found each other on Facebook.

Looking forward to seeing her again, she took the glasses home, washed and wrapped them, then personally delivered them to where I work. I was so glad to see her that I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a hug, then gave her the 10 cent tour of the amazing company I work for. I was ecstatic, not to mention it was like we'd seen each other yesterday.

After she left, I felt the need to share with my 3 new administrative coworkers, who she was and that I hadn't talked with her face to face since high school. That lead to why she'd stopped by and a quick explanation about my asinine glass collection. In the end, they seemed happy for me and thanked me for sharing.

Walking back to my office, I realized that I stopped blogging around the same time a coworker I was close with left our team. She was the only one that knew about or ever read my blog, probably because she and I had so much fun together outside of work that she regularly made character appearances in my posts. Unfortunately, we have lost touch. But as I have pontificated  here several times before, you can't stop change only manage it.

So, just as I have opened and welcomed these five new and unique to me gems into my extended family of kick ass Petro Canada glasses, I have to remind myself, yet again, that life is always gonna be tough, right up until the moment it isn't. Which is why I always strive to keep an open mind, as well as an open heart.

Thanks again Miss JJ... As promised, my new extended family members fit in perfectly!

ALL HAIL CAESAR.... and my newest extended family member!
TAKEN: JULY 21st, 2018