Sometimes happiness comes in small forms. Today’s happiness moment was downloading Mario Run on my phone. It reminds me of my teen years and reminds Jacob of his younger years. We sat on the couch and played side by side. Mario is awesome.
Tag Archives: parenting
Imperial March
We have a new security gate at the entrance of our property. It has taken some getting used to as we can’t fly at top speed in and out anymore (this isn’t necessarily a bad thing).
My cousin asked the other day how we were adjusting and I said it wasn’t bad. Yesterday I realized it’s not bad because I get to the gate and imagine I’m the queen entering or exiting the palace. I hum the royal march as I go through.
But today I was telling Jacob about that and said sometimes it turns into the imperial march And we looked at each other and started giggling. I downloaded the song on Spotify and we blared it as we drove through the gates
It was the best thing ever. We laughed so hard – spontaneous happiness moment. Awesome.
Eddie the Eagle
Tonight the girl and I finally got around to watching Eddie the Eagle. I have wanted to see it since it came out in the theatres and I’ve been bugging the kids to watch it with me since it came on tv.
Jenna loved it! She sat down with a pout, but within the first five minutes she was totally captivated. The idea of following your dream, no matter what people say to you, really held her interest. She related to him all the way through the movie.
Aside from loving his story, it brought back lots of good memories for me. I was in grade 12 when the Olympics were here and we were lucky enough to go to many of the events – including the ski jumping. So we watched Eddie the Eagle jump.
My sister and I still laugh about how we drove our dad nuts. The stories were always funny, but now that dad is gone they are even more precious. The olumpics in Calgary are a really good time in my memory bank.
My movie with my girl. Happiness.
On the court
Nothing warms my heart like knowing something good is happening to one of the brightest stars in my sky.
The boy got to play in the game tonight. He’s waited years for this moment. It’s perked him up and boosted his self esteem in ways that nothing else could.
I love it. Happiness, blissful happiness moment.
Little kindness
I’m sitting in the gym of a high school watching boys play basketball. As an aside, can I just say that the smell is so bad it makes me want to cut my nose off. Although my school is losing (badly), I have to say that they’re all playing really well – both teams. They are much less boys out there and much more young men – so big and strong.
My boy had been under the impression he was playing today and was pretty excited about it. However, when we got here he was told that in fact he was not playing.
I never did team sports, the only sports parther I ever had was 4 legged and used to sneeze all over me. I miss my horses… So I can’t totally relate to this desire to want to be part of the team. I have spent most of my life trying to not be part of the team. Like our cat Ella close but no touching. But I kind of get it. I always had a tribe of girls I rode with and although it wasn’t a team dynamic we had a closeness that still holds all these years later.
At the beginning of the game the boys gathered together in a huddle. Mine was standing a little behind them, not in uniform and feeling a little out of place. Two boys stepped back and opened the circle to include him. One of them did the little rub and pat back rub on him.
I almost cried. Those little acts of kindness mean so much. They are so easy to do, so easy to forget to do, and SO powerful. It changed his whole demeanour. It was a moment when my heart leapt in happiness.
The best sandwich ever
It is seeming to become an almost weekly event, the boy and I going to the Italian Centre on Friday evening for a grocery shop and a snack. The food is so good, and it’s fun to spend some quiet quality time with my boy.
He’s fallen in love with some sandwiches they make there, and whenever we go he tries to load up the cart with as many as he possibly can. Tonight when we were there however, they said (at 4:10) that they stopped making them at 4:00 and they wouldn’t make him one. Weird, because they have made him sandwiches much later in the evening – but whatever.
He stood there sad and stunned for a few minutes and then I said why didn’t he take a photo of the listed ingredients and we could just buy them and he could make his own sandwiches at home. What happened next was quite interesting.
He sent me off to get baguettes and he went to the deli and did all the ordering himself. I checked in once and he brushed me off – I’ve got this mom– so I went and found the vegetable spread that he needed.
When we got home, he spread out his purchases and got to work. He carefully cut the different cheeses he’d purchased, he layered the meats, sprinkled the oil and oregano, and then stuck it in the oven to heat up a little bit. When it was done he cut it into small pieces and let Jenna and I each try a little bit.
It was SO good. He said that while the sandwiches he’d been buying used to be his favourite, they had nothing on this one that he’d just made. He declared it the best sandwich ever.
It was a moment of great happiness watching him create a food masterpiece. Especially since the idea was born out of the disappointment of not getting what he initially wanted – as so many great things are.
It was a great freaking sandwich…
Walk through it
The best way out is always through (Robert Frost).
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about when to fight and when to walk. Is the passive approach the way to peace? I used to believe the best way to actually resolve things was to choose the passive, not confrontational approach. I’m changing my stance on that. This has been one of the great lessons of 2016 for me.
A month or so ago I was reading the Bhagavad Gita and totally understood why Arjuna was struggling to understand why he had to fight. I spent some time really thinking about that and what situations warranted a battle. Were there situations that warranted a battle? For the last few days The Coward of the County has found its way onto my Spotify playlist. I hadn’t listened to that song in years. And suddenly there it was – explaining that sometimes you had to stand and fight. Life lessons from the Bhagavad Gita and Kenny Rogers.
Jacob has been struggling with some kids at school – mostly regular teen stuff – so I made him listen to the song. Now it’s on his playlist and he’s really diving into the question of when it is time to fight and when it is time to walk away.
I don’t think fighting always has to be a bloodbath. But sometimes you need to stand up for what you believe is right. You have to stand up to protect the ones that you love. You have to stand up to find your self-respect.
Or at least I need to.
Robert Frost is absolutely correct. The best way out is always through. I’m going to make sure I walk through this, that I heal through this, that I stand up for myself through this. But also that I get through this. I refuse to get stuck in it. It’s not who I am, it’s something I’m going through. It’s changing me, but not defining me.
I am going to come out of it so much stronger, kinder, braver, and with such a greater understanding of who I am and what I want.
Today was a beautiful morning. It was cold as you know what out, but Jenna got up before 7 and headed to the barn with her cousin to feed Derek. I love the compassion and responsibility this is teaching her. I had to stop twice on the way home to look at the amazing sunrise. I feel so blessed that this is where we are. I feel Gods love so strongly for us, and the love and support of our tribe is unbelievable. We are fortunate souls. The sunrise, the strength, the faith, the hope for better things coming our way – my happiness moment.
The view on the way home
Anne and fondue
Tonight jenna and I made a pot of cheese fondue and settled in to watch the new Anne of Green Gables movie.
It was beyond cool to watch Jenna fall in love with Anne. She related to her in all the ways I did when I was her age, and then in a few different ones too – they both have that red headed temperament.
Anne is one of my favourite characters and it’s my all time favourite book, so it was so special to share in Jenna’s first experience with this fiery rebel. It was one of those special, golden happiness moments.
It’s happening
About a month ago I had a divinely inspired idea come to me. I mean that in the most literal sense possible. I was wasting time on Facebook when I saw a post by a friend that made me stop everything and just breathe into the idea that was being presented to my heart.
As with most of my great ideas, I had it but had no idea of how to make it a reality. It seemed kind of big and overwhelming.
That Sunday I went to church and the sermon answered my question. He asked us what would do if there was nothing holding you back? Well, the answer is many things, but this idea was one of them. He talked about how we can get so caught up in the how of things that we often miss out on great opportunities. That is my problem! I get totally freaked out by how I’m going to do things, and I so often overthink things to the point that the idea just vanishes.
I decided with this one that I was not going to worry about the how. I was going to take the idea and run with it. It has the potential to bring a lot of joy and happiness to children in our town and I was damned if my how questioning was going to ruin that.
I talked with a lady at our church, she thought it was a fabulous idea, she passed it on to the powers that be, and today I was told that it’s approved. I can do it! My how was answered! It’s going to come to life, it’s going to celebrate and bring joy to children who really need it.
I am beyond excited, and to say it’s a happiness moment is a complete understatement.
I’ll explain it all as things get moving a bit farther along, which will be soon. The plan is for my first event to happen in January.
Faith, it’s always about faith.
The stubborn gene
If you know me or my people in real life, then you know that the stubborn gene runs deep in our genes. Sometimes it is a good thing – it has created a group of incredibly strong people – sometimes it is not so good – because…. stubborn – sometimes it is just funny.
Tonight Jenna came home and found the back door locked. She went to the window near where Jacob was sitting and started knocking on it and yelling at him to go open the door. He yelled back that she should go to the front door, which was open, and the same distance for her to walk. She refused, wanting to go in the back door. She continued banging and yelling, he continued yelling and refusing. I sat on the couch laughing my butt off at how incredibly stubborn they both were being. It went on for a good 10 minutes before there was a break.
In an interesting turn of events, Jenna gave up and came in through the front door. Usually in a battle of wills Jacob gives up first, preferring the more passive route. It was hilariously funny and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I had a spontaneous lunch today with a cousin in town. I love that we are back in a place where I run into my tribe on a regular basis. It was lovely to catch up with her and share some laughs. Our bond runs deep, and my lunch time with her was a moment of great happiness.
