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herbiggirlpants

Tag Archives: moving forward

2500…

19 Thursday Sep 2019

Posted by sulis303 in family, life, loss, Photography, Uncategorized

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2500, beloved, big girl pants, blessed, blogs, Life, memories, missing, moments, moving forward, one step at a time, time, widow

today marks my 2,500th blog post…

seems like an amazing accomplishment for me…

hard to believe that on December 1st, 2012, I started writing this blog so that I could share about the changes to my life and the things I’ve had to do following the death of my beloved…

there was such a learning curve about all the issues I have had to deal with as a widow…

it has morphed into more of a daily journal of my life and what I see around me…

it is also hard to realize that my beloved has been gone for 7 1/2 years – that’s 90 months – 2,751 days… an instant… forever…

although I am truly blessed, I sure do miss him…

Father’s Day…

16 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by sulis303 in Uncategorized

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big girl pants, blessed, dinner on the deck, Father's Day, marathoners, missing George, moving forward, planting flowers

spent the day planting flowers… listening to the drums at the Park as marathoners went past, heard birds singing, lawn mowers going and geese flying overhead…

 

planters around the deck...

planters around the deck…

took breaks, but worked until the kids came for dinner just after 3… got 6 of the 9 planters around the deck done and numerous pots…

planters around the deck filled with lobelia and allysum...

planters around the deck filled with lobelia and alyssum…

still have a few more things to plant, but they will have to wait for another day…

dinner on the deck...

dinner on the deck…

had a lovely dinner on the deck – ribs (thanks to Crystal for barbecuing them) and Caesar salad were the request so that’s what we had… then Jeff went out and mowed the front yard…

mowing the grass on Father's Day...

mowing the grass on Father’s Day…

this morning I was missing George a fair bit, but as I worked away in the garden, I spent my time remembering what great fun we had in the garden and with our kids… I thought back to last year on this day and today was much better… that day was the worst day since he died… glad to be moving forward…

truly, I am blessed…

 

oopsie…

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by sulis303 in Uncategorized

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anniversary of his death, difficult last few days, enjoy what each day brings, moving forward, no comparison, oopsie, roast chicken and all the fixings, Sunday dinner

usually my kids come for dinner on Sunday… a few times when we’ve had payday Chinese dinner on a Friday they haven’t…

early Sunday morning I dug out a chicken from the freezer and peeled potatoes, assuming they were coming, but wasn’t in touch with them…

just after noon I discovered that they wouldn’t be here but I carried on with making the roasted chicken and stuffing and mashed potatoes and gravy…

it was kind of lonely without them and very odd to eat this type of meal all on my own…

so, in the end we had leftover roast chicken and all the fixings for our dinner on Tuesday which worked out well as George and I both loved roast chicken…

been thinking about how hard the last few days have been, but really, they were no comparison to what we went through last year…

now that we have made it past the anniversary of George’s death, I am feeling a bit more relaxed and looking to enjoy what each day brings…

tonight I am enjoying the gift of blooms… usually this cactus only has one or two flowers…

tons of blooms in these days of moving forward...

tons of blooms in these days of moving forward…

Relaxing…

30 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by sulis303 in Uncategorized

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brunch, catch up, Christmas tree, enjoyed each moment, friends, hugged someone, moving forward, tough times

another lovely relaxing day…

got up, had some tea and watched a bit of TV… then I put on a few layers of clothing and headed over to the Park to meet some great women for brunch… enjoyed Eggs Benedict and wonderful conversation…

yummy Eggs Benedict at The Park Cafe...

yummy Eggs Benedict at The Park Cafe…

hadn’t seen these good women for quite a while, and was glad to be able to catch up on their lives… we have all gone through some tough times and compared this year’s Christmas stories…   I miss George enormously, but I shared how I can decide to do something, and I don’t have to get anyone else’s input – this can be a benefit sometimes…

bridge through the trees...

bridge through the trees…

on my way home I stopped and took a few pictures, and although it was overcast they came out fairly well… a few of them were of a favourite tree in the Park that we love to enjoy during the various seasons…

winter view of tree with snow on it...

winter view of tree with snow on it…

Crystal and the boys came over for supper and we had a good time, particularly when we got to eat some more of the demolished chocolate Christmas tree… I also got to hug someone I hadn’t seen for a while…

life is amazingly good, and today I enjoyed each moment…

Emptiness…

22 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by sulis303 in Uncategorized

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Christmas Eve, empty, mate, moving forward, shopping, Skype, thinking of others, wonderful

been a busy day… well, the morning was… I did a few chores around the house, and then Crystal and the little boys picked me up and we went grocery shopping for Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner…

when we got to the grocery store both boys wanted to hold my hand… this is a bit endearing for me, because when Grandpa was alive, they would have been holding his hand and I would have been walking along behind…

the boys loved to help Grandpa...

the boys loved to help Grandpa…

these moments are precious and made the shopping very special… they are also very busy and three adults with the two of them would have been a slightly better ratio… we shopped at Safeway for the dinner, and stopped at M&M for the treats for Christmas Eve… when we got back, everyone came in for a few minutes to scarf down their lunch and bring in the groceries, before blasting off to the next errand on their list…

I had some lunch and then a nap… I had plans to wrap gifts but ended up laying on the bed for the remainder of the day… the house is feeling empty just now… I am missing the comings and goings of my mate… I haven’t noticed this feeling in recent weeks but as Christmas gets closer, I guess it makes sense…

sadly, I am thinking of many others I know who are facing this Christmas with one less person in their lives… I am sending thoughts and prayers their way and hoping they will be able to find some joy during these special days…

before, all of the kids would come to our house on Christmas Eve and everyone would sleep over, there would be people everywhere… we would get up early and open our presents all together… this year, I am going to the kids’ on Christmas Eve  to sleep over and we will open our presents there… Cyndi and Ron will be together in BC and we may Skype with them as presents are opened, although it will be very early for them…

we will come back here in time to put the turkey in the oven and will likely hot tub and play games on the TV ending up with dinner…

it all feels different and strange to me, but I am sure it will be wonderFULL… I’ll keep you posted, lol…

Hospitality…

20 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by sulis303 in Uncategorized

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chocolates, cycle, generosity, hospitality, legacy, moving forward, sounding board, traditions

sitting in the living room in the dark, except for the glowing Christmas trees on the fish tank, I remember my love… he would have either been excited that Christmas was coming, or grumpy because things weren’t all done…

the stained glass, trees, fish and snail...

the stained glass, trees, fish and snail…

going to Morden’s would be on his list, because it wouldn’t be Christmas without Morden’s chocolates as one of my, and the girls, gifts… he would also pick chocolate and nuts up for my work and his work… tomorrow I am going to Morden’s because we need that chocolate, and so I have to put on the big girl pants… I am going with a lovely young woman who makes me smile…

we had a number of celebrations at the office today…  it was one person’s birthday, and another colleague’s last day, as she is leaving to pursue her dreams, so we had a small gathering to say farewell… and at the end of the day, we toasted the wonderful year we have had…  the people I work with come from many backgrounds and are quite amazing… every day I am happy to get up and go into the workplace… how wonderful is that…

yesterday I talked about how I missed having George to bounce things off of… today has been the first full cycle of him not being around for that type of conversation… the day he died I learned something and was waiting to talk with him about it, and today, it came to pass…  hard to believe he has been gone so long… there would have been a number of conversations in the hot tub as I worked through my feelings…

watching people sharing reminds me so much of George, who was generous with me and everyone he came into contact with…  I have watched the girls grow up and follow in his footsteps with their generosity… whether it is with things, time, spirit or hospitality they share with others…

what a legacy…

Errands…

12 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by sulis303 in Uncategorized

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grand kids, leisurely dinner, Life, memories, moving forward, New Year's Eve

had a busy day at work yesterday…

then Crystal picked me up and we stopped for a bite to eat before fetching her truck from the auto hospital and picking up a few final Christmas gifts…  it was good to have someone to shop with…

I was reminded of all the times that George would have done similar things and run here and there, to fetch just the right gift for one of the girls or boys…

I still dislike doing things on my own, although I am getting much better at it, but some things just need someone else to make them more fun… such as shopping…

I am proud of myself every time I do one of those – for me – difficult things… on Saturday, I took the car in to the dealership for an oil change…  I also had a lesson on how to put air in the tires – a George job – and put the back seats down so that larger items can slide into the trunk…  the service folk were very helpful and happy to show me things that up until now I didn’t need to know…

tonight I went shopping with my friend after work… we went to Costco and had lots of fun…  it is always fun to wander around and see what’s new and interesting…  of course we both bought stuff…

I bought lobster for New Year’s Eve dinner… since before the girls were born we would have barbecued steak and lobster…  it started with our good friends and a kettle barbecue and a huge ring of melted snow all around it…  since then it just became a tradition…  New Year’s was for the grown ups and the kids would get put to bed and a leisurely dinner would take over the evening, often with friends…  then the kids grew up and started to come for dinner on their way out to their parties and for the last few years the kids and grand kids have been here for the tradition…

of course, this year will be different… likely Jeff and Crystal will do the barbecuing… we will toast a new year without George to make us laugh… I think we will enjoy some good stories and remember Cajun (code for burned) steaks of the past…  we will have to figure out how to get the lobster out of the tail and sitting pretty…

an eternal reminder of over 40 years of companionship

an eternal reminder of over 40 years of companionship

but I know that George will be with us in spirit and in the faces of my loved ones around the table…

letting frustrations go…

11 Tuesday Dec 2012

Posted by sulis303 in Uncategorized

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home, memories, moving forward, Technology

got home last night to discover a statement from MTS (Manitoba Telephone System)… it was for my internet service – and advised that I had not paid the November bill…

if you had been here you would probably have seen the steam escaping from my ears… I have now have phone calls with MTS for about 4 months trying to get this sorted out…

previously I shared the story of how they had to do a credit check on me less than 24 hours after George died…  a few months later I asked to have the main email address for the service changed from his email address to mine… seemed simple… 3 phone calls about that, being told each time that it was taken care of… then a bill arrived for the internet service… more calls, once again I was told it is fixed… then yesterday’s bill…

I felt a bit sorry for the woman that answered my call… it wasn’t her fault, but really people… after 20 minutes on the phone she assured me that it is fixed now… we shall see…  after a while it really is rather funny…

before George died, he looked after all the bills, often paying them in person, or by mail…

now, with the big girl pants, I have learned to use internet banking, bill paying, and credit card tracking… lots of it has been fun, because I do love technology (most days)… and the process has made bill payment much easier and quicker…

but sometimes I wish I didn’t have to wear the big girl pants, and could go back to being looked after…  George looked after me for all of those 41 plus years… he liked to grocery shop, pick up things we needed, fetch items for a variety of events I was participating in, shovel the snow when he was able, gather up and take out the garbage, ensure I had cash in my wallet, provide chocolate for my desk drawer, drive me to and from places… you know, just about anything you might want or need looked after…

it wasn’t that I couldn’t do those things, it was that he enjoyed doing them for me… George took good care of me and made sure that I would have sufficient income to live comfortably…  I have enough to pay the bills, maintain the house and buy the odd treat for myself and my kids…

as I walk through these days towards Christmas, I am working at letting the little frustrations go… because it really doesn’t matter about minor problems like incorrect bills…

I put up the forest a few days ago – I have a small tree collection – and was giggling to myself because George didn’t always love all the decorations that would go up around the house, and those memories are fun too…

trees and lights up the stairs...

trees and lights up the stairs…

I continue to focus on the wonderful Christmases we have enjoyed and the ones that are still to come… I miss him every day and expect I will do so until I take my last breath – I hope that is a long time coming… truly I am blessed…

Remembering…

09 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by sulis303 in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

death, moving forward, remembering

this morning I went out for a hot tub… it was -30C with the wind chill, but toasty warm in the tub…  I had a little trouble getting in because one of the straps on the cover had frozen to the side (against the house where it is very difficult to reach)…

before I had to put my big girl pants on, I would have stepped back into the house and called George, who would have come and figured out how to fix the problem…  now, without him, I have to sort things out myself…  very clever this morning, I got some hot water and ran it over the strap and voila, I could open the tub…Image

the trees are gorgeous this morning as we’ve had snow fall over the last few days…  the sky is a beautiful blue and the sun is bright… surprisingly there were no visitors to the feeder…

as I was sitting enjoying the beauty in the garden – from the tub I can see the snow covered pond with the stone and wire heron, the six cedars that stand as sentinels along the back lane and the bird feeder by the garage – memories flooded in…

I remember many times when George and I would sit in the tub, enjoying our lovely garden and talking about all kinds of things – big and little…  I miss that a lot, but I am also glad that he isn’t busy watching every little thing that went into his mouth and feeling deprived that he could no longer smoke or drink…

lucky for me, the good times rise to the top of the list when I remember… digging the spot out for the big pond, and trying to get it level… oh my, getting things level was often something that could cause a little hissy fit…changing the flower beds – how he worked around the clock, when our dear friend and neighbour Ellen died, to get the bed beside the garage raised and planted, with a bench along the top for sitting so that the garden would be at its best for a small celebration of her life…

I still get the odd flashback… stepping into the hospital room to discover he was dead without anyone preparing me beforehand, that is a rough one…  but then I think about the outpouring of love and care that quickly surrounded me as my family, friends and colleagues came to provide support…

I don’t dwell on the sad remembrances… life is too short and the life I have is quite amazingly wonderful… a close family, a home, work that I love, and my health…

that’s  what I choose to remember…

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beloved big girl pants birds blessed chocolate Christmas cold dinner family fish flowers food friends fun garden George grandson grandsons happy health hibiscus hot tub light lunch memories moments morning glories nature orchid photos pictures plants pond purple rain remembering shopping sky snow sun sunshine supper Technology time treat trees walk water weather widow

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