Tag Archives: happiness

happiness

Friends who balance 

I was having a pretty crappy morning – it felt like everything that could go wrong was. 

I got a text from one of my best friends as I was having a personal pity party. This woman is amazing and brave and has lead the way on a path we never thought we’d be on when we met years ago (and were both playing be role of Stepford Wife. Whatever we are now we are much more authentic versions of ourselves). 

She could feel my angst and stopped her world for a few minutes to help calm mine. It’s amazing what a huge difference a little act of kindness can make. Soon I was feeling balanced and peaceful again. It changed the mood of the entire day. I’m so grateful for her, for all of my tribe. We aren’t made to walk through this world alone.  

It’s happiness 

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Fall changes 

It’s still 35C and I’m going to enjoy all that summer has left to offer.  There’s so much smoke that it’s hard to forget how badly we need moisture. 

I got my fall ‘do done today. I have the best stylist and she’s a good friend as well as being amazing at her craft. It’s always fun to catch up with her. And it’s even better to have someone help me feel better on the outside when I’ve been feeling kind of crummy on the inside. It brought me a much needed energy lift, and as an added bonus I had time to do some soul healing reading while I was getting the colour done. 

Both the appointment and the reading reminded me there is only love or fear and I need to choose which path I’ll walk. Timely given that my own personal source of evil has decided to go on the attack again. It’s important I handle it in a healthy way for me and for my kids. 

Here’s the fall look

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First day 2017

We were back at it this morning. For the first time in 6 years the kids are going to the same school again and I am thrilled. The girl was pretty nervous – worried about being the new kid yet again. Her brother was so good about letting her know he’d stick with her until she knew were she was going. 

It ended up she had 2 friends from her old school also transfer and made one new one – so as she said she already has a group to hang out with. 

After school they were both full of smiles and excitement for the year ahead. It al just makes saying goodbye to summer ok – almost. 

I’m so proud of these two turkeys. They are happiness. 

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Labour day 2017

Going to the Cochrane parade is one of my favorite events of the year. It’s kind of bittersweet because it means the end of summer, but I’ve got a lifetime of awesome memories attached to that parade. 

My friend in low places was riding in the parade this year. We used to ride in it every year with our Pony Club back in the day. She was a little more professional now 


But even though the parade has grown and we have grown up it’s still the same good fun. 

We sat with my cousin and her family and caught up and shared some laughs. We have been laughing and making bad decisions together our entire lives. 

Happiness. End of summer happiness. 

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A little horse girl

My 6 year old niece joined me this afternoon to give Drishti his supplements. Of course, once we got organized to go the wind picked up and it seemed a little storm-like and all of the horses were a little spooky. I think Drishti just likes to hear himself snort sometimes.

This little girl has not spent much time around horses at all, but is fascinated by them. We went through how to properly feed him from her hand and she earnestly practiced on her way out to the field. I was so impressed not only at how well she listened and quietly approached my horse to give him a treat, but how well she listened as I gave her directions to move as the other horsed came tearing into the other field to see what we were up to. She stayed so calm and focused and carried a confidence that made me think here’s a little horse girl in the making.

It’s fun to share something you love with someone you love. That’s happiness.

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Light at the end of the tunnel

I took my boy out for a special one-on-one end of summer thank you for helping out lunch in Cochrane this afternoon. If you haven’t been to the Fence and Post – go – seriously – the food is amazing. When he took a bite of his dessert (the tart) he made faces I’ve never seen before. When I asked if he was enjoying it he said I feel like I should share this with you, but it’s so good I don’t want to. I have never tasted anything quite this good before and my body is confused by all the happy feelings it has. Much as I enjoyed my cake, obviously next time I’ll have to try the tart.

And a grilled cheese to die for – brie and apple with other yummy things inside. The boy had pastrami. And OMG the corn chowder. My stomach is still thanking me.

 

And while this could have very well been the happiness moment of the day (and it really, truly is a happiness moment), I had an unexpected one come later on. I was having a serious conversation with the boy about how I was feeling like I had let them down this summer by being hurt, how I had to ask them to do so much more, and how I was feeling overwhelmed by all the things that needed to get done. His response (and this was in the middle of him being mad at me, so it came as a huge heart happy surprise) was this: mom you think you’re a burden to us? You’re our light at the end of the tunnel. You’re what holds us up, you’re the only person we have we can count on. You brought us out of the darkness and have shown us a life full of light. 

Overwhelmed by his words. I always feel like I haven’t done enough, I wish I could remember to see things from his eyes more often. I would be a lot kinder to myself.

 

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Friends in low places 

26 years later my oldest bestest friend and I did a return to watch Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood in concert at the Saddledome. When we went in 1991 it was their first time touring, barely any of his songs were known, and until tonight it remained the best concert I had ever been to.

Man those two put on a show y’all.

Aside from how amazingly awesome the concert was, it was so fun to go with my dear old friend and her family. We laughed that years ago we had been each other’s maid’s of honuor and now we were each other’s plus ones. This friendship will last well into the nursing home. We went for dinner and swapped new horse stories and laughed about some old ones. We rolled eyes when Garth played much too young to feel this damn old and remembered how we used to say that in our youth. We were such innocent fools.

It was SO MUCH FUN! So much happiness.

As a bonus happiness moment, I went and saw my stylist today to see if I’d be able to get my head into the sink next week to deal with the chaotic mop my hair has turned into. She washed and styled my hair for free so I’d look good for the concert. What an act of kindness. She is such a good soul.

 

 

 

 

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The smoky mountains

We took an impulse drive to Banff this afternoon – how lucky are we that this wonderland is so close to our home. The drive was a little more tiring than I had thought it would be – shoulder is not happy with me – but the trade off was giggles and smiles from my monsters all afternoon. I feel like we’ve missed out on a lot of that this last month and we need to dedicate this last weekend of summer to fun.

The drive was insanely smoky, but interestingly enough Banff has less smoke than we have here so we were able to walk around and enjoy the mountains and the town. Best of all, after the fire last winter the candy shoppe has reopened so the kids got to get a treat. Happy happy happiness.

I definitely feed off the energy of the mountains and every so often I need to stand surrounded by them – in a mountain hug – and recharge myself.

I had coffee with a friend this afternoon and we both agreed we need to be doing some rebalancing. Funny how it’s so much harder to get back to centre than it is to lose it. But we work together and hold each other up and step by step we get there.

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What I know 

I know nothing about how to ride western. I know how to grab onto the horn, I know it’s totally different from English, I know I’m not very good at it. 

I don’t really know why I spent most of the summer riding my green horse in my Western saddle instead of my English one. I kept thinking that I would learn I guess. And I kind of was, but it’s still not where I’m comfortable. Actually, before I smashed to the ground, I had switched back to English for a few rides and we both were happier. 

I’ll still learn how to ride Western – or at least how to hang on better in my saddle – but I remembered tonight how much I love jumping. It’s what I know. I love that adrenaline rush and the trust that comes with a really good jump. 

I was playing with Drishti and decided to do what I know. So I put together a really rough style jump and asked him what he knew. 

At first he was a little snorty, but still game to play. 

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By the end he was quite enjoying himself. This was about 2’6

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This is totally in my comfort zone. This is what I did forever. I know how to play with him with poles and fences. I know how to build up our trust and confidence doing stuff like this. 

And it’s fun. I love it. It’s happiness. 

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The memory keeper 

My dad was the family photographer, in effect he was our memory keeper. Everything that we did that was recorded was thanks to his passion for photography. I appreciate it even more now that he’s gone and we no longer have someone snapping shots of the good moments in our lives.

Jenna needs a new computer for school this year and my mom said that she could use dad’s old laptop. For the first time in 2+ years it got turned on and we took a look at what dad left behind (as an aside – when I die I need someone I trust to go through my things and delete, delete, delete).

Here are some photos from their trip to Virginia in 2013 to visit us. Our lives took a HUGE turn sideways within a day of my parents going back home, and it was good to look back and see some really happy memories from a time I’ve tried to wipe out.

So, here’s a little trip down our memory lane. I’ve found it hard to look at Dad’s photos – they bring back such bittersweet memories. But today we looked at them and it was Jenna’s turn to laugh until she cried. There were a lot of good times. A lot of happiness.

This was Easter 2013

 

Neither Jenna nor I have any idea what this is. She says I look so proud of it, but it looks like poop. So there you have it.

Swimming was always a huge part of any grandparent visit. My kids inherited dad’s love of the water.

Day trip to Monticello – one of our favourite spots – I loved Charlottesville.

Jenna rode this scooter everywhere. Interesting that I made her wear a helmet here, but there’s no helmet on the toboggans at home.

Those of you who know me understand how emotionally scarring this was for me. Freaking mascots.


These girls love doing this still.

 

And these from 2010

 

These kids and these cats – good buddies. We lost Tawny last year in an accident 😦

I grew up being super close with my cousins – I love that this tribe of cousins has kept their close bonds even when we had thousands of miles between us.

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