Author Archives: Melissa

happiness

On the hill

I was driving down Cochrane Hill today, stuck behind a big truck going very slowly when I had a childhood memory pop up.

When we were kids often we had horse activities at times when dad wasn’t available and mom would have to take us ourselves. Now that I’m a mom I realize how hard it is just to get two humans out of the house, forget tack, horses, and hooking up the trailer (forget loading the horses and driving us.

The fact that mom could do all this given her physical limitations is absolutely amazing.

I remember often her having to drive the trailer up Cochrane Hill – and when we were little she was hauling with just our old Jeep. She’d have to drive through the flat part of town as fast as she could, and even so we’d get 3/4 of the way up the hill and we’d slow to a walking pace.

We always got wherever we were going – she had more patience than I did clearly – but sometimes I look at the things we did or places we went and I’m quite amazed at how brave mom was.

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happiness

Fondue and Mr. Bean

It’s still -475 (well it really was -32c) and we decided it was a good night to full our bellies with cheese and our hearts with smiles. So fondue and Mr. Bean it was.

I love them all, but I think my favorite episode is the church one. I’ve felt the same way in church many times – and every time I hear that one with the hallelujah I giggle out loud.

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Communication Day 2019

It was speech day at our 4H club today. Both kids were nervous and complaining about how they didn’t want to do it all week – but both got up and gave fantastic speeches. They are quite gifted public speakers it seems, and both have moved up to the next level to compete.

The boy, who likes it more than the girl, could actually have a career as a speaker. I was told by a leader today that he reminded them of my dad – charismatic, able to explain his point clearly, and well composed. That’s high praise – my dad was a really skilled speaker and really enjoyed drawing people in. Winning aside, that was huge praise for the boy.

4H has been a huge blessing for our family.

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Love cuddles

When we got Ella 4.5 years ago she made it quickly known that she was a close but no touching kind of cat. Not to say that she didn’t ever want cuddles, but she’d quickly get overtouched and need some personal space.

She was annoyed she had so share her world with the dog. But when we added more cats I thought she’d lose her mind.

But slowly she got used to her new siblings. She started to relax more, was more cuddly more often, and generally seemed happier.

And now things like this happen

The power of love never ceases to amaze me.

Often those who act like they need love the least actually crave it the most. True for Ella, but also true for the rest of us humans.

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Easy peasy lemon squeezy

I’ve been making an intentional effort to put more effort into my friendships. It’s a challenge, we are all busy and there are so many priorities that it’s difficult sometimes to remember how important friends are.

I spent some time this morning with a friend doing some work and some visiting. We are working at balancing and grounding ourselves and that is so much easier to do with someone else on the same type of journey.

Then this afternoon I had a laugh out loud text with a dear friend of mine who is also on the same type of peace journey.

We may have lost our minds but we have found our souls.

I’m so grateful for my tribe.

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happiness

Y2K

It’s -35C today and the schools were closed for a cold day.

The girl and I were watching a show from the 90s that referenced Y2K and she had no idea what that was.

When I described it to her, and tried to explain to her how freaked out everyone was she laughed and laughed. She couldn’t fathom computers not being able to flip over into the new millennium.

It’s amazing sometimes to think how many changes (digitally and in other ways) our world has seen in the last 20 years.

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Sushi stories

The boy and I had some alone time in the car doing errands today. He started quizzing me about my favorite sushi restaurants in all the places we lived.

Then he went through his sushi stories – memories of our favorite places and what he enjoyed most about them.

Apparently one of his favorite childhood memories comes from a day I took him out for a surprise sushi lunch.

The small moments.

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Another win

We have been Patriots fans since our time in Rhode Island which has made the super bowl fun to watch in recent years.

This one, although being kind of a weird game in general, didn’t disappoint.

The boy watched with some friends – something he doesn’t do enough- and the girl and I watched with my cousin and family.

It’s been a good weekend filled with family things. My heart is full.

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Pizza party

My aunt and uncle had us over for a make your own pizza party tonight. Actually, what usually happens is the grandkids are invited over to make pizza and us adults have to stay home and make our own suppers, but this time we were all invited and the kids made us all pizza.

These moments are so fantastic and I’m so grateful that my kids (and me, and my sister and her family) have been included in these nights.

I remember sitting at grandmas table having cinnamon toast and tea, and our kids will remember being at Nona’s and making pizza. They are memories you cherish for a lifetime.

I ate so much I may never be hungry again, but my heart is so full and happy.

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