February’s Journal - What a cold winter
for us here in Manitoba! Yes this
province is known for its cold winters and HOT summers but this is ridiculous
now. I absolutely love the summers here
but not the winters. My husband is the
opposite but this year he said he was done with winter. That means it’s a really bad winter.
We
certainly did not do a lot of sledding this year. Probably twice around our local area, which
in the past years was fabulous. Basically we could sled out our back yard and
into the field. Then we could go to the
Valley but first usually to town to gas up.
Boston Pizza was frequented as a stop for food in past years but not
this year. The memories of sledding have
sure changed over the past 5 years. At
first a lot of couples sledded and we went across the border to a pub as a
destination point and took weekend trips sledding together. Since then it’s slowly dwindled out and
changed. We did take one weekend this
month to go with a great couple and had a fantastic time, although the wind was
still really cold when you weren’t sledding in the trees. The lodge was great and we packed enough food
for 12 people thinking we’d be up late and party. At 10:15 we were looking pretty bleak but I
don’t think anyone wanted to say it first. Finally someone said something and we all
chimed in and laughed at how young we wanted to feel yet our bones were saying
something else. THEN we had the joy of
hearing the train go thru town. Not just
once, not twice but I think it was 8 times.
The trails were beautiful and we’d often stop to rest and visit. If it wasn’t so cold we would have had a
snack too but had to wait for a shelter cabin.
BIG
Happy (Valentines) Birthday to our son Craig this year. This year is special I believe because he is
sharing his life and spending Valentines with the love of his life. But before that happened it was a journey that
he’d travelled for some long years. As a
parent you’d love to travel some of those roads for your kids but you
can’t. It’s a road only they can travel
and become who they are. It’s a road to
becoming a man. This road led him to
being a respected man and loved deeply by the love in his life. Managing his own HOT Yoga Studio has been “a
dream come true”. His passion for his
job is seen everyday and it’s a full time job, not like the one I have where I
can go home at 5. Last September Craig
married Luke! We are so happy for
them. They are so great together and we
are blessed to have Luke in our family and especially when he makes our son
smile so much. You’ll have to wait till
September for pictures of their 1 yr anniversary. Christmas Eve we were at the Calgary Zoo
Lights and took photos. It’s always a
blast hanging out together with lots of laughs.
Crystal
& Mick, our daughter and son-in-law, are on a journey that has come with
much joy and much sorrow. I’ve attached
their blog HERE and it gives their story in their words. This February 24th marks the 2nd
year they officially were put on the Domestic Wait List. I must say that I’ve learnt about the
adoption process and it pains me to think about how much it has cost these kids
just to get on the list, just to have their profile on file and ready to be
looked at, hoping that a birth mom chooses them. I’ve learnt too that I’m terrible at knowing
the correct terminology when it comes to adoption and I’ m probably going to
screw it up at some point if I haven’t already.
But these kids have grown and have matured beyond what I maybe could
have handled. I am so proud of them both
and have seen their strength in their weakest moments and the honesty that came
from their lips was unbelievable. I know
they will be fantastic parents when the time is right. My daughter always signs her emails with this
quote from the ‘Velveteen Rabbit’. I
think it’s very suiting. And it would
have to say it applies to our sons journey as well. Maybe there is some lessons in it for me as
well – to be real and let people see you real.
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin
Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often
happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be
carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been
loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very
shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real, you
can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.
We didn’t travel to see my parents in February so I missed my dad’s 81stbirthday. They are just loving life living in the Lodge and I told them because of that community, they receive great care and should be very thankful. I of course didn’t say that but they know they are in a wonderful place and I’m very thankful for this moment as their health says good, that they can stay right there and enjoy life!!
Greg’s
dad past away 2 years ago. So many
hospital visits, so many hardships but we travelled a lot to Calgary to see
them and I’m so glad we did. Towards the
end of our stay we had to make a decision if we were staying a few more days or
going home. The answer came before me
were out of bed. There are memories that
I’d like to share but words don’t do them justice. They are in my heart and maybe some day I
will find the right words to relate just how I felt and the events surrounding
that time.
Back
to our home in present time now. It’s
been cold as I’ve mentioned already.
After our weekend sledding this month, which so happened to be Louis
Riel weekend, or as I like to call it, ‘Family Day’, we came home and spent the
holiday Monday outside shovelling the driveway for 3 hours. As the afternoon progressed we shed more
layers. See how much snow we have? It’s getting too high to shovel over so we
were shovelling to the center of the cul-de-sac. What a lot of work!
Even
Meeka is putting on the pounds this winter.
He can stand about 5 minutes outside when he lifts his paws up and wants
inside. This morning I had to laugh but
I felt so sorry for him as he did his morning routine but had a little trouble
balancing when he had to lift paws randomly and try to get the job done.
Projects
are coming. I’ve designed a schedule to
help me feel a bit relieved and organized.
I find myself jumping from one project or idea to another and getting
nothing done. My house number project
took a nasty turn as soon as I put it outside in this fridgid weather. The frame snapped in one corner. I’m back to the drawing board on that one but
waiting till it warms up to present my original idea WHICH I should have stuck
with.
Well,
this has to be posted today. That is my
rule. Already noting events for March
and Spring. How great is that!
Have
a great weekend!
