Tag Archives: cochrane

happiness

Where I belong 

Sometimes things happen that help put all the little life struggles into perspective. I had a scary as crap incident happen this afternoon. It was by far the most terrified I’ve been in years, that threat to my personal safety. However I am so thankful to the Cochrane RCMP for the work they do to keep us safe. I’m also impressed and wowed by the strength and bravery of a girlfriend in my tribe. Some of us need to use so much courage with every step. She amazes me. (I’m not expanding on this because it’s not my story to tell). 

Before that happened though….. we spent the afternoon at the Cochrane Horse Trials. Us two horse loving girls who grew up in the trenches of old school Pony Club. We oohed at the ponies, swapped stories of new and old adventures, and basically enjoyed each other’s company. A happiness moment can always be found with horses and horsey friends. 


I read something this morning that explained so much of the trouble I was experiencing as I was trying to rebalance myself the last week or so. I couldn’t figure out why I was so badly out of my zone, and when I started to feel why, I didn’t want it to be the reason so I tried to make it not be –  but this is it:


It’s so difficult to have found myself in a place where I fit, but where I didn’t belong. This is actually something I’ve felt a few times before and couldn’t figure out how to explain it. This sits with me perfectly. And I know exactly where I belong, it makes me wonder why I was trying to fit anywhere else. 

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Sometimes all you need is a little cry 

Jacob and I took Dad’s clothes in to the Mustard Seed this morning and donated them. We all knew that it was the right decision and that Dad would have wholeheartedly approved (although he would have wished we had got on it faster), but that didn’t make the task any more enjoyable. 

Jacob was my GPS guide which meant we argued half the time when we were  lost in a less than enjoyable part of town. At one point we found ourselves in the parking lot of the Alberta Cheese Factory and seriously considered abandoning our mission because…. cheese. But we kept going. 

A really kind lady helped us unload the clothes and take them inside. I was completely ok until it was time to leave, and leave Dad’s things behind. Then I started ugly crying all over the place. The poor woman asked me if I was ok and I had to say no, that those were all my dad’s clothes and I didn’t want to leave them. Then she started crying and said she’d just lost her dad a few months ago and was starting to go through the same things. I responded with my dad has been gone for a year and we are just now able to do this. I wish I could tell you it gets easier but obviously it doesn’t. And then we stood and cried together for a while until I could leave the building. 

After I bawled for a while in the car and was able to finally drive away (poor Jacob) I realized something I didn’t really like. I could and should have walked over and given that poor woman a hug. It probably would have been good for both of us. I have felt lately that I need to be less sensitive to the actions and comments of others, but I obviously need to also be more sensitive to the needs of others. So, less sensitive to how others affect me and more sensitive to how I affect others. Easy peasy. 


Jacob cracked jokes the whole way home and I laughed so hard I had to pull the car over twice. Happiness moment number one. 

I went to an empowering women gathering in Cochrane tonight which was happiness moment number two. The topic of the evening was balance – which is exactly what I’ve been working at bringing back into my space again. I went with two good girlfriends who make up an important part of my tribe. It’s so essential to my wellbeing to have these women to share my struggles and triumphs with – and to share in theirs. These people who have dumped their emotional garbage bags upside down and aren’t afraid or ashamed of the mess it makes and the work it takes to clean it up, they’re my kind of people. 

I didn’t realize how much I needed being in a circle of women like that until I was there. And I learned a quick and fun rebalancing exercise as a bonus. 

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What happiness tastes like 

We had a slow Saturday at our house which was so badly needed after a long and stressful week. It was farmer’s market day which is always a treat. We loaded up on cherries, peaches, apricots, nectarines, blackberries, and strawberries. It’s summer heaven at our place right now. 

We had other plans but ended up going home and all having much needed naps. Thank goodness for the luxury of an afternoon nap. It made us able to reset and meet the rest of the day with more energy.

At supper time we found ourselves in Cochrane and decided to try out the new Italian restaurant called The Boot. It was divine. Jacob took a bite of his lasagne and said this is what happiness tastes like. And he was right. Food should make you not only healthy but happy too. 

Today’s happiness moment, sharing a meal with these two. They put so much light into my life. 

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My hometown 

Since moving home I’ve put a lot of effort into making Cochrane our hometown. I was fortunate because by coming back home I had a ready made group of friends and of course my family – my tribe. But the kids needed to get to know the extended family and establish their own friendships. That is finally starting to happen for them. 

Jenna was invited to join VBS today and as soon as she got there was surrounded by friends and cousins. I had a nice chat with my own cousin and also one with a new friend. I could see the comfort level that Jenna has in this place be so much greater than it was last year. 

Jacob joined a group of school friends tonight for a movie. I love that he’s developing his own tribe in town that he can hang with. Even though this was a move home, a move always seems to take a year for it to shake itself out and feel like normal. 

Comfort in our hometown, that feeling of belonging and having a safe place to land. My happiness moment. 

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Skate with friends 

Even with this move home, it’s taken us a while to feel totally settled and grounded in our space. Things change a lot in 10 years – and for the kids that was almost all of their lives. 

Finally though they’re gathering a good group of friends, forming their tribe. These are the friendships they’ll be able to hold onto through the rest of their lives because they were made here,  in their home base. No more transient life for us. 

Jenna had a skating party to celebrate the end of her learning to skate class this afternoon. They were allowed to bring a friend, so she brought one of her school buddies. Their friendship has been deepening over the past few months and it brings me such joy to see them laughing and having fun together. 

  
My happiness moment today, watching them giggle their way around the ice. Seeing my kids express true joy brings me deep happiness. 

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We are regulars now

Jacob and I have been enjoying a morning coffee break at Tim Horton’s almost every morning since last fall when school started up. Over these past months we have begun to recognize, and be recognized by, the other regulars who show up every morning.

After so many years of feeling almost invisible or only being known as those Canadians in our travels, I can’t even begin to describe how refreshing it is to now have this deep understanding that we are home.

Moving back here and making Cochrane our hometown again has been an interesting experience. I know Old Cochrane, I was raised as part of that community, my family has called the town home for generations. It’s always been a place I can come to and see neighbours, old friends, family, and other members of the community.

In the 10 years that we were gone, Cochrane boomed in size. The town has grown, there are so many new people, and an abundance of stores have opened their doors here. It has been an interesting experience this past year – showing the kids the Old Cochrane that I know and love so much, and exploring together the New Cochrane that exists now, one that I also hold a lot of fondness for.

Even now when we come into town we always see at least one person we know. The town has maintained a lot of it’s old, small town feel, and we have such a large web of community here. There is always that comfort of being home and in a familiar place. Yet, there is so many new things to explore – new restaurants to try, stores to visit, and people to meet.

The people here are still refreshingly friendly, there are smiles and casual greetings often exchanged on the street. People hold the doors open for each other.

It is home.

We have become regulars. The people at Tim’s know Jacob’s coffee order every morning. The other regulars all know where “our table” is, and we all comment if someone has switched up the seating arrangement. I love watching the groups of people who meet there every morning. There are groups of friends – most of them older – sitting, sharing coffee, laughing, and enjoying a beautiful start to the day. We are now a part of that community.

My happiness moment was sitting at Tim Horton’s realizing that we had this deep sense of belonging in this place we call home. Then I eavesdropped on this table of older men (perhaps late 70s or early 80s) and found they were laughing and sharing stories of running around their yards.  I have no idea what the context was – but watching them doubled over at the table in laughter while they told their tales made my whole day.

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Urgent care 

I’m so grateful that we live where we do when one of us is in need of medical attention. It is such a refreshing change to go into the doctor, urgent care, or the hospital and have them ask what it is that brings you in today, or what is wrong, instead of what is your insurance.

Jacob hit the wall yesterday. Literally, hit the wall. He was running while playing indoor soccer in gym class and a kid pushed him as he was going by. Jacob flew into the wall bashing his left side and left leg against the concrete. When I picked him up he was sore, and it seemed to get worse as the night went on. When he woke up he was in considerable pain and I decided that he should be checked out (I was mostly concerned about internal damage or a cracked rib).

Off we went to Urgent Care in Cochrane. That place has been a godsend, we have been there a few times over the past year and every single time the staff has been incredibly kind and helpful. Because we were there early we were quickly brought in and given a room and had a nurse checking him out right away.

I was glad I took him in as they also were concerned about where his pain was. There was a resident doctor who came in and spent a lot of time moving him this way and that, asking him (him not me) questions, and generally checking him out. I was impressed that as she was poking him on his sides to see where it hurt, she was focusing on his face to watch for his pain reaction.

They did everything – urine test, drew blood, X-rays, and lots of manual examinations.

After a while the senior doctor came in and introduced herself (although she didn’t remember me I had met her on a previous visit and had been so impressed with her bedside manner. I was glad she was one of the people who were looking after us). She told us that it was the resident’s first day running the area and that she was mostly there to just keep an eye on things. Then she did a full examination of Jacob as well.

I was really impressed, because after her examination she brought the resident back in. She showed her a couple of tests she had done on Jacob – they were worried about his spleen and she had moved him a couple of different ways to see his reaction. Then she went over what the resident had done and told her what a great and thorough job she was doing. Good teachers are such a blessing and this lady is absolutely one of them. She seemed like the kind of person you could easily learn from, and leave an experience feeling smarter and better about yourself.

We ended up being sent in for an ultrasound just to rule out any issue with any internal organs. Fortunately it seems he’s just bruised and banged up and is in need of some extra TLC for the weekend (so he packed a bag and went to his Grandma’s house where he knew he would be spoiled rotten).

My happiness moment was realizing the blessing we have of having such a great medical team so close to where we live. It makes me feel so safe and secure knowing that there is this group of people who are really interested in making sure that we are well taken care of and brought back to our healthy state of being.

I’m so thankful for this place. I hope we don’t have to keep visiting it, but I’m glad it’s there!

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Shopping with heart-felt happiness

Jenna and I had to go out and get some last minute things. The first stop I made was at a store owned by a dear old friend of mine (not old as in age – since she’s younger than I am…. but I have known her since I was about 8). I not only got a nice visit with her, but as a bonus I got to chat with her mother whom I haven’t seen in probably 20 years.

When we were getting ready to leave I said ugh, this was the fun part of the shopping, next we have to go to Save On, then into Calgary to Bon Ton (the meat store), and Chapters. It’s going to be so crazy busy I’m not in a rush to have to do that at all. She reminded me to take deep, healing, loving breaths and go in with heart felt happiness. She assured me that it would make for a much more pleasurable shopping experience.

Going in with that advice in mind, we headed off to Save On. Even though it was busy, people seemed pretty happy. I ran into my uncle and we got to have a little pre-Christmas chat which was a nice bonus. We scored a line with only one other person in it and were back in our car way before I had figured we would be.

I dropped Jenna at her grandma’s and headed to Bon Ton which I knew would be insane. Sure enough the line was to the door, but having no other option (since they had our turkey), I took my place and waited. Within 5 minutes I was being served by a very cheerful lady who happily rang in my purchase and ran around the counter to hand me the heavy bird.

Hmmmm maybe there’s something to this heart felt shopping…

Last stop was Chapters which I was sure was going to be a gong show. The store was packed, but I managed to score a parking spot right at the front! When I went in there was a clerk standing right beside the area where I needed assistance and then he took me over to a different till and I paid without having to wait in the huge, long line at the regular till.

Amazing how when you go into something with an open and loving heart that is so often what you are met with. There I was on one of the busiest days of the year for shopping, and I consistently had fantastic experiences. My happiness moment today.

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Our hometown

When we moved back home last spring I made a very conscious decision that I wanted Cochrane to be our hometown. That’s part of the reason why I arranged for the kids to go to school there, and it’s why we do as much of our shopping and visiting in town as possible.

I have always loved Cochrane, many of my early childhood memories are of events in and around town. I was part of the Cochrane Pony Club for many years, my parents (conveniently) had their law office next door to Mackays for a while, my Grandma lived at the Big Hill Lodge after living out in the country full time became too difficult. I remember parades and rodeos, but mostly I know it’s a place where I can go and always see someone I know.  After years of living away, being where I know people is a big deal. In fact, when we came back I told the kids that every time we went into town we would see some relative. At first they didn’t believe me, but soon they saw that I was in fact telling the truth. I hope it reminds them to behave when they’re out and about without me.

Since coming back, I have joined several Cochrane community groups on Facebook. Something I have noticed over the past couple of days is the fact that many people are raving about random acts of kindness happening in our town. People are leaving Christmas goodies at the doorsteps of those who have beautiful lights on their house as a way to say thank you for sharing the beauty. People are buying each other coffee at Tim Horton’s. One lady bought a tree from Save On and found a pay it forward gift card attached to her tree. There are families who are organizing full Christmas celebrations (gifts and food) to be provided for other families who are having a difficult year.  I love that not only are these beautiful, heartfelt, loving acts being performed, but that people are taking the time to publicly give thanks and acknowledge these wonderful deeds.

How great would the world be if we were all like this all the time? This loving kindness being showered around my hometown is my happiness moment for the day.

photo snagged from tripadvisor.ca 

Cochrane Ranche Park: Men of Vision statue

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Wrestling Santa

Today was a fun-busy day chasing around doing our activities. It was the city finals for Jacob’s wrestling and even though he wanted to spend the morning sleeping in he went and did his thing. He’s gotten so much stronger than he was last year it’s amazing. He came in second in his division, nice to get a reward for all his hard work and training. 

  
This evening the Santa Parade went through Cochrane. While it was only -8 or so it still was a lot colder than the ones we have enjoyed in Virginia the last few years. Still, it was nice to be a part of the Christmas celebration in our town where we feel rooted. 

 Waiting, waiting, waiting. It felt like it took forever (really we waited 15 minutes and the parade started exactly on time).   
Yay!!! It’s started. 

 
And finally…. The man himself!!

  
Double happiness moment day today. Getting to go cheer on Jacob and see him become so much more confident in a sport he loves, and enjoying the parade with Jenna this evening. 

Now for some Home Alone with the girl before bed. Life is good! 

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