07 Thursday Mar 2019
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, conversations, lift up, memories, reverberate, things, widow
recently been part of a number of conversations about seeing the little things… lifting up everyone you come in contact with… and seeing the good in each and every person and thing…
interesting how the conversations reverberate again and again…
28 Friday Sep 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
beloved, big girl pants, conversations, finances, groceries, holding hands, moments, preparation, thanksgiving, widow
while I was waiting at various places today I heard a few different conversations…
a discussion took place on preparing for Thanksgiving… they were discussing the expense incurred to produce the meal for family and friends… one comment was about having to wait until the next payday to purchase some final items for the dinner… everyone was happy to be having the company and looking forward to the time together but commiserating about what a huge chunk of cash is required…
at another location heard about someone not having the funds to provide the meal they were hoping for…
I remember those days, living payday to payday and what a struggle it was…
reminded me of how blessed I am… my beloved left me in pretty good financial shape… I can’t go crazy but I don’t have to worry too much about the cost of my groceries…
later I watched a few older couples walking around the mall holding hands… still one of the things I miss most…
27 Thursday Mar 2014
Posted in life, Uncategorized
last night I spent some time in the hot tub…
was thinking about the conversations that George and I used to have there late in the evening, in the dark…
we’d talk about work, the house, the kids, everything…
went through the day missing him… we had a few jobs at the office that he would have helped sort out…
had problems with some technology during the day and this evening as well…
feel a bit like spring will never come… reminded me of a card I received from a former colleague, a number of years ago… came across it when I was working on the shelves in the hall… it mentioned that spring always comes…
trying to hold onto that… need to get some more flowers I think… they often help…
these crocuses have all died off now…
28 Tuesday Jan 2014
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, conversations, find time each day, in the garden, ReImagining, snow, snow covered, the moment
this morning as I was leaving the house I looked up and there was a sliver of moon and Venus shining brightly… it was just gorgeous… didn’t have an opportunity to get a picture…
we talked about how beautiful it was and enjoyed the moment… my colleague had enjoyed catching glimpses of them as she was on her way to pick me up…
moon a few night’s ago…
reminded me of last night and the conversation we had at BS… how important it is to enjoy the moment, because there is no certainty about the next moment in anyone’s life…
this same conversation took place at the last gathering of my Reimagining friends… and how I am trying to find time each day to be in the moment and realize how special that moment is…
made me think of all the snow and very cold weather we have been having and a comment that a friend put up on Facebook about not wanting to hear anyone complain about the heat in the summer, lol… we are very good at complaining about whatever weather we are experiencing…
on the weekend I took a few pictures of the garden, with the waterfall rock nearly covered with snow… someone reminded me that in 1997 we experienced more snow than this, and another person talked about the winter of 1955-1956 when the there was twice as much snow as we have now… yikes…
snowy back yard…
when I am sitting out there in the spring and summer enjoying lovely weather I will be able to remember how beautiful and pristine it looked before and after the bunny and squirrels had made paths across it…
18 Thursday Apr 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
birthday, conversations, pity party, remembering, satellites, singing, stars, The Keg
felt a little sorry for myself when I woke up at 5 this morning… after a short pity party I went back to sleep and at 6:15 felt more excited about the day…
had calls and singing from my kids and grandkids and lots of happy birthdays at the office… for our Souper Club a colleague made my favourite Thai soup and also picked up summer rolls… great group of people to enjoy a birthday lunch with…
a friend dropped by with a gorgeous cupcake, which I ate without taking one single picture, lol…
after work my daughter picked me up and we stopped at the mall and picked up a cute top for me with an orchid on it… then we headed to The Keg for dinner – steak and crab, very yummy… the place was nearly empty when we got there and the hostess couldn’t find a single booth for us to sit in as they were all reserved… when our wait person arrived and asked how we were I mentioned that I was disappointed that we weren’t in a booth… he checked and was able to find one (of the 20 or so that were empty) for us… the service and dinner were excellent and the wait person brought a piece of of Billy Miner pie to celebrate my birthday, which was much better than staff singing to you…
came home, had a nap, watched tv and talked with family across the country, shopped by phone with Cyndi and then spent some quality time in the hot tub…
I was looking at the stars and remembering how George could always spot the satellites going over… he had eagle eyes… I don’t think I’ve seen a single one in the last year…
all day the tune today its my birthday has been running around in my head… I believe the new name for that is an ear worm… but I’m not sure I like that name, lol…
a beautiful potted plant that George bought me a few years ago…
well, time for bed… and a new day in the new journey…
05 Tuesday Feb 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
blessing, conversations, enjoy every minute, family stories, hot tub, Kingfisher Spa, normalcy, quadruple bypass, special, surgery
had three interesting conversations today…
the first one was with someone about a friend needing a quadruple bypass… it reminded me of George’s triple bypass in December of 2008…
it was a crazy time, following a couple of test results which led up to the bypass… the waiting was the worst, wondering if his already damaged heart would start to beat again once they were done with the surgery…
walking the halls of St. Boniface…
he came through with flying colours… in fact the doctor said his recovery was textbook perfect… within a few days he was home taking longer and longer walks and feeling so much better now that the blood was flowing freely through his heart… the worst part for him was the scar on his leg where they took the veins to use on his heart… for the longest time it caused him discomfort… he had a great time with his boy friends who would meet for walks and Tim’s coffee, well, tea for him…
those days reminded us to enjoy every minute that we had because time was a gift…
a wonderful day at the Kingfisher just outside of Courtenay, BC…
the second conversation was with a woman whose husband died last April… we were comparing feelings and the struggles we’ve been going through… both of us missing our husbands and wondering when things will settle down to some type of normalcy… some women have told me they are just surfacing at the five year point…
the third conversation was with a young friend while we enjoyed a hot tub… we were sharing family stories and it made me realize, once again, how much we are all alike even though we often think we are special, lol…
a lovely day, to have three such excellent opportunities to remember what a blessing time with loved ones is…
30 Wednesday Jan 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
beloved, career, coffee/tea mugs, conversations, grow, I am strong, life changing events, lifelong friendships, outcomes, pretty amazing, see beauty all around me, step out
had a few conversations today about a couple of life changing events that I have experienced… besides the loss of parents and other loved ones there have been three – one in my thirties, one in my fifties and this most recent one, in my sixties…
the conversations reminded me of one in particular… the first conversation this morning was about coffee/tea mugs and how much better certain ones make the beverage taste… brought back memories of leaving mugs behind when leaving a position… the second conversation was about stepping out of a not-so-good situation and being open to possibilities… interesting that both conversations took place today…
recently I have been thinking a bit about the change in my career which took place shortly after the birth of my youngest grandson… his 4th birthday is on Saturday…
I think the point for me has been, that, although the events were very difficult to deal with at the time, and really did change the direction that I and my family took, they all helped me grow and move into a better place…
sometimes it is easier to stay in a bad situation rather than step out of it and see what else is available…
I have learned that I am strong and can handle adversity… I am not framed by what was, but by who I am at this moment in time… I know that my beloved would be very proud of how I have weathered this most recent event…
difficult as each of these events has been, I would not change the outcomes… I have made lifelong friends, I have discovered what excellent skills I possess in the workplace, and I have learned and am still learning to manage on my own… I continue to see beauty all around me…
beauty is everywhere – you just have to open your eyes…
pretty amazing really…
herbiggirlpants 