Journaling February 2017

~ Journaling February

Lots of ‘firsts’ happened this month for us and family.  Hopefully I haven’t missed anything.

Greg & I are surviving our first kidney transplant.  I keep thinking back to the days when doctors talked about a kidney transplant for Greg.  Now it’s been almost 2 months since surgery, January 4^th.  I am doing really good and in fact I painted this last week and probably did a little too much.  It’s hard to think that I need to take it easy yet when I feel good.  The incision is a reminder though and so is the tingling and tenderness when I’ve done too much.  I’m heading back to work early March.  I will miss being at home.  My mom was a home body and I think I inherited the feeling from her.  Greg is doing so much better.  There’s a lot of meds that he has to take but the transplant team watches over his blood work twice a week and call if anything needs to be changed with the meds or his diet.  They can tell if he’s drinking enough water so I don’t need to nag about that anymore. We’re looking forward to walking a lot more when the weather turns to spring. 

 Craig had a new birthday.  Can’t believe how fast they are growing!  We are so proud of Craig and he couldn’t have chosen a better husband.  It’s a joy to see him working at the yoga studio and to join Dragon Boating again this year.  Craig and Luke often come for tea, they love to babysit their new nephew and they are always there when we need something.  Hoping all the best to Craig and Luke this year!

Dad spent his first Valentine’s Day alone.  I can’t imagine what any of this is like for him.  Well, that’s not true.  I know how I feel when Greg goes away on a trip or when he was in the hospital.  That was a lonely feeling.  So, to realize that this person is not around at all anymore to have coffee with or eat with, must be a very lonely feeling.  One that many elderly people feel.  So, I’m hoping he stays busy with his music and that he soon takes part in more and more activities.

Greg’s mom is living in Airdrie.  We visited her last night in her rented suite in Airdrie.  She is waiting for her condo to be completed, hopefully end of March.  Things really change sometimes.  It was hard for her to move away from the condo her and Lewis lived in, in Calgary.  But she is a strong lady and travels and drives with confidence.  It will be a good year having her close to us.  She says she can walk to our place and I believe she sure will!

Milo’s first tooth appeared.  We had brunch together last weekend and Milo was sporting a new front tooth.  It’s like one day it just popped out.  I think we still need to remind ourselves that this is real and that he is here to stay with us.  He is such a happy little guy and when he smiles, we all smile and act a little younger.  We’re looking forward to summer and I still need to buy a little wagon for him and train Gunner to pull it.

Milo’s first trip to Disney with Mom & Dad was a success!  Apparently he was just a little gem the whole time.  That’s not hard to believe.  Mom & Dad took lots of photos and they had a great time celebrating vacation time with Milo. 

Meeka’s been gone 1 year this month. He was such a good dog and we miss him.  We are often reminded of the things he did when we look and watch Gunner today.  Meeka was a great friend for Greg and such a companion for him at home.  It was heartbreaking for Greg to see him get sick so fast and leave us.  

Well, I hope this journal doesn’t sound too hasty but alas, It sort of was. 

The end of the month sneaks up so fast and then I scramble for news.

Have a good day and till next month . . . but in between, hopefully I'll have some home renovations to show you or something crafty.

~ Bonny

Journaling February

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. 

 

 

 

That’s Greg in front and our friends in the back. If only the temperatures were a few degrees warmer, this would have been a good spot to stop and take in the view, maybe see a moose.

 

 

 

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 24^th marks the 2^nd 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 81^stbirthday. 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!