I discovered an unexpected package tied to my gate this afternoon.
When I opened it I discovered my cousin had sent me a beautiful photo book in memory of her dad (my uncle).
What a lovely way to be able to remember him. And a beautiful way to remember how important family is.
The girl had her long time friend over last night. This friend hasn’t been over in a while since they now go to different schools.
They hung out like no time had passed, their friendship stands the test of time. What surprised me was how this friend sat down with me and spent about an hour catching me up on her life.
It amazes me how much these girls want to talk to me. I consider it quite a privilege, but also it strikes me how very important it is to make time to talk and listen to these teens.
It’s gorgeous out today and the boy and I took the dogs out for a walk along the ridge.
Aside from the amazing view, it’s a special place for me as I used to walk there with dad, as did my boy.
It’s so peaceful to just be in nature, just be with the animals, just be together, just be.
Life doesn’t have enough moments where we can just be. Just be still. Just breathe. Just be grateful. Just be with God
Today we had a very emotional service as we said goodbye to my cousins’ mom. It was an amazingly beautiful service and so touching the way they honoured their mom.
Her presence was very much felt in the church as we were walked through one of the most vulnerable and honest tributes I have been witness to.
There is a lot to be said for us all being in a place where our walls come down and we are so open and raw in our sharing of emotions – and the entire church was enveloped in that today. It was a very rare and spiritual gift.
In the slideshow they had a photo of both of our moms together and I thought how fitting it was. They developed a friendship in the years mom took classes at the university that they both cherished, and they are together again now in heaven.
Watching people you love be in pain when you know exactly what that pain feels like is brutal. It’s really hard losing your mom. But they did such an amazing job of sharing their love with us.
It was beautiful. And the fact that they were able to make it so their mom actually sang (from a recording obviously) at her own funeral was absolutely priceless.
I had some much needed friend time. Relationships take a lot of work and it’s important to stop and spend time with the people you care about.
This particular friend is moving and I think it helped me remember how precious time is and how essential it is to let people know you care about them.
Life is short. Make sure you live it.
We went to a workshop today which included how to make stress balls with a balloon and rice. While it was a bit stressful to make, they actually turned out to be pretty decent stress balls.
This evening we were watching tv and the girl started tossing her ball in the air. This got the intense attention of naughty Jasmine.
We spent the next half hour driving her nuts by throwing the ball to each other while she lost her mind trying to attack the stress ball.
The boy stopped part way and said it’s supposed to be a stress ball but it’s really a Jasmine toy
To which I responded yeah, but are you stressed?
Living in the moment – it takes the stress away.
I got a text from mom’s past caregiver saying she’d seen her first bluebird of the year and it made her think of my mom.
Since we were kids, mom had a deal that the first person to see a bluebird got a chocolate bar. Back then this was a big deal as my parents were pretty stingy with the chocolate (and all other types of sugar) so we had a lot of incentive.
As we got older, the chocolate got better and the competition increased in intensity.
Last year I gave my niece a chocolate bar for the first sighting, and this year it goes to my friend.
It’s awesome that these traditions carry on.
I had tea tonight with one of mom’s caregivers. I hadn’t seen her since moms funeral and as we were chatting I realized how important these visits are. She was like family for the time she was there with us, then suddenly she was gone.
Relationships may take work, good ones for sure, but the pay off is so worth is. We need each other, all of us do, and keeping those bonds solid is important.
I haven’t been feeling great this weekend so I’ve been laying low as much as possible.
I took advantage of the time and spent the weekend reading and watching Marianne Williamson. I’ve been obsessed with her (and A Course in Miracles) for a while and the more I learn the more I want to learn.
I feel like I’ve spent so much of my life in fear and all these teachings show that the only thing that is real is love. So fear is an illusion. My soul craves this, it understands it on a deep level.
