Thoughtful Gems - Day 8

When the key word of the day is 'busy', any little extra can feel like a super big extra instead.  It becomes just a little too easy to live with emotions on the edge of spilling over at the smallest provocation.  In an effort to to minimize the time it takes to do a task, things can be overlooked or left not quite finished.

Although one of my goals for this year has been to make some necessary changes towards better time management, I'm still a work in progress.  The last few weeks have been more juggling of my time than normal.  I had hoped to be a little further towards my goal when my mom had her surgery a month ago but I am not there yet.  My sister stayed with my mom, caring for her the first two difficult weeks she was home from the hospital.  Now that my sister has returned to her home in another province, the bulk of the responsibility to help falls to me.  I do it gladly, but, sadly, I don't do it effortlessly or efficiently.  It is a complete juggling act!  

Today was physio day for my mom.  Dylan and I picked her up and took her to the appointment.  When we returned back to my mom's we walked in to find homemade biscuits on the table with a note from my mom's friend saying there were also TWO homemade soups in the fridge!  What a gift!  Between both my mom and dad, they have only been managing easy foods like eggs, toast and opening cans.

This thoughtful lady shared more than the gift of a meal.  She offered my mom some of the nourishment she needs to continue to heal.  She gave my mom a much needed reminder that she is being thought of and prayed for.  She provided my parent's some independence to do for themselves without feeling like a burden.  (They certainly are not!  But I know mom feels she is since there is so little she can do still.) 

And she offered me time.  Time to spend just visiting with my mom for a little longer than I would have if I had had to prepare a meal as I was planning.  It also afforded me enough time to see to some other necessary chores that I hadn't gotten to yet this week.  And even when I returned home I didn't feel quite as behind as I do some days and my patience with my boys was a little more gracious.

Yes, the thoughtfulness of one person can impact many.  Never hesitate to do something kind for others.  You never really know what it will mean for them.

Click here to see the rest of my Write 31 Days series:  Simple Gems

Skating Gems - Day 7

What could be more fun than skating on an early dismissal day!

It was a bit of a rush to get there since we had to find skates that fit before we could leave.  Last year we never managed to make it for a free skate because, well, life isn't always simple.  Probably a lot more organization would help.  Sometimes it's more about lack of co-operation.  But last year I suspect a grumpy bear would have been napping at the time of an early dismissal free skate.

Even though we didn't get there for the whole time, the boys had a great time.  We're not a hockey family.  We haven't yet started skating lessons.  My boys are wobbly out there on the ice but it really doesn't matter to them.  They just go and do it in all their awkward, uncertain, hesitating motion and they enjoy every bit of it.  I'm proud of them for trying hard and not being discouraged if they fall.  Because if they do, they just get back up and keep going.

Oh to be like my boys and give everything I do my all!  Oh to be like my boys and persevere through the wobbles and tumbles to get back up and go on.  Oh to be like my boys and enjoy life with zest no matter who is looking to see all my fumbles and imperfections.



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Running Boys - Simple Gems - Day 6

Early this morning before the sky began to lighten, I sat in my comfy chair sipping my coffee, reading and enjoying the quiet of the still-sleeping house.  Over summer vacation this became my reason to crawl from my cozy bed consistently earlier than I ever have before in my life!  It has become my favourite time of day, those precious moments I steal alone before any of the boys are stirring their sleepy bodies awake.  No one is requesting or needing anything of me yet.  There are no tasks yet begun that require my attention.  My to-do list for the day is completed the night before so my mind doesnt even linger on the I-need-to-remember's.  It is time completely mine.

Although I was out of bed, I was not quite fully awake yet.  To meet the challenge of Write 31 Days I carve out time to write after everyone is asleep.  This makes my mornings a lot slower once again as I stay up late.  I heard some stirrings from James and Morgan's room and wondered why they were awake so much ahead of their alarm.  I listened to their talk back and forth as they discussed the day ahead.  It slowly dawned on me that today was the day of their Cross Country Running Meet.  Even from another room I could feel their excitement.

It was hard to get them to concentrate on their morning routine so we could get out the door on time.  As the big yellow bus slowed to a stop at our laneways' end, my boys clustered around me waiting for their good-bye hug and kiss before being whisked away to another school day.  In usual form, I kissed their cheeks and squeezed them close.  But as James and Morgan turned from me to climb the steps of the bus, I wished them luck and a word of encouragement.  I was concerned I wouldn't be able to find them at the meet before they ran so I could whisper a word in their ear.  

But I had nothing to fear.  My boys found me even as I approached the moving mass of boys and girls wondering where they were among the sea of oversized blue jersey's representing their school team.  They ran to me, away from their friends, and flung themselves at me for a reassuring hug.  Our last hug was barely three hours old but they needed another to help calm the jitters before the race.  Even there in the midst of all their school friends, I was their focus.  And they filled the moment with joy for me - my eight year old boys are still happy to shower love on me, even in public.

And they did fantastic in their race!  James placed 21st and Morgan placed 26th in a 1500 meter race.  I am so proud of them!

Click here to see the rest of my Write 31 Days series:  Simple Gems

Healing Gems - Day 5

My mom is one of the most inspiring people I know.  Growing up she taught me the value of hard work, perseverance, loyalty and truth.  She shared knowledge gleaned through life experience: from housework to painting on a construction site; from raising animals on the farm to raising children with love; from gardening and preserving to mending a sock.  If she did it, we all benefited by learning alongside her.

Always I remember her sharing stories while we worked side-by-side.  They were tales of children from a different time in a world that seemed a storybook of characters and places and events played out in my imagination.  They were shared so often my childhood memories are intertwined with her stories.  Some I remember as clearly as though they are part of my story.  It is a legacy I value tremendously. 

Being an adult child now affords me the clarity to appreciate what she has taught me by both word and example.  She still shares.  I hope she never stops sharing so that my children can enjoy the same legacy of knowledge she holds.

But this past year has been hard for her physically.  She was sick for months and when that began to clear up, her arthritic knees continued to deteriorate at a rapid rate.  In early September she had a bilateral knee replacement.  This last month of recovery from that surgery has continued to take a toll on her and she continues to need support with anything that is still beyond her ability.

She was feeling a little more like herself today for the first time in a really long time.  She wasn't dealing with pain and making concentrated efforts at moving herself carefully.  She wasn't sleepy from medication or physical exertion.  She was almost just my mom.  She sat at the kitchen table that has always been an integral part of our time together and asked if I could set her up to cut the apples for applesauce.  YES!  

It was in that moment, while I  watched her work at her place at that table as she has done countless times before, when I felt I could breathe easily once again.


Click here to see the rest of my Write 31 Days series:  Simple Gems

Morning Gems - Day 4

Pancakes!  It's a word that speaks volumes in our home.  I believe it really could be the most requested meal of all.  It almost never fails that when pancakes are being cooked, Evan comes wandering into the kitchen from somewhere in the house making a slurping sound while announcing he smells pancakes.  He has a very good sense of smell.

Cool fall days and far too many nights of interrupted sleep by a small boy adjusting to new routines lend themselves to sleeping in.  Ahhh, sleep can be a most wonderful thing.  

A late start to the day also requires brunch to be served.  Pancakes piled high, crispy bacon, yogurt and a plateful of peaches, bananas and apples.  And the best part, the pure maple syrup made by our friend.   Seriously, it doesn't get much better.  Except, for me, the meal is only the result of the better.

Week-ends offer Luke and I time together not found in any other part of our week - we cook together.  Moving about the kitchen in a harmony perfected over 11 years, we made brunch today.  The kitchen is mostly my domain in our home and it is my hands that prepare most of our meals with only maybe the help of the boys.  But anytime Luke joins me to make a special meal or bake pretzels, is time together I savour.  This morning was no exception.


Click here to see the rest of my Write 31 Days series:  Simple Gems

Hot Chocolate Gems - Day 3

Crimson leaves are changing the green shade forest of summer.  Crisp cool air greeted us while we waited for the rumbling of the big yellow bus these last few mornings.  Our living room fireplace crackles and pops with the warming embers of the seasons first fire.

Fall is here.

A cold drizzle began to fall this afternoon while the boys played outdoors.  In true boy fashion they stayed outside while their hair and jackets slowly absorbed the mist.  Fingers made red from cold swings, toys and sticks.  When drizzle turned to rain, in the door they piled to drape wet jackets near the fireplace.

Hot chocolate mugs were pulled from the back of the cupboard where they had been pushed to make room for iced tea cups.  Marshmallows bob, boys giggle and share time-worn jokes, cookies are crunched.  Tradition from past cold weather days replays once again as they all gather round the table enjoying their steaming hot chocolate.  

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Garden Gems - Day 2

My childhood memories of summer are entwined with gardening.  Smells of the fresh earth, warm dirt hugging my bare feet, fingers green from weed pulling.  Similar smells and sensations on my skin still bring me that sense of rightness in the world that beautiful childhood memories invoke.  

Always my summer began when our mom took my sister and I to the garden so we could sow seeds on the Victoria Day long week-end in May.  Watching nature grow became one of my passions.  Still today, after I plant my seeds, I check the garden soil daily waiting to see those first hair-like wisps or delicately curled leaves poking through.  It stirs in me an indescribable thrill.

Then I watch our food grow.  However, I can't say I tend it as lovingly as I should.  My laidback gardening style lends itself more to a weedy garden where only the heartiest plants thrive.  But so far it's worked.  We eat well through the summer. Our shelves and freezer are full of food grown and preserved by our own hands.  

The food I serve my family is a gift I give them.  It is the same as my mom gave me.  It is one I cherish from my childhood and one I hope my children cherish in the future. 

September lingered with summer on the breeze most days.  Yesterday the twins and I picked the last of the peppers and beans for the year.  I'm almost in disbelief of all the fresh produce that was still in the garden on October 1st!  

Ending the garden season harvesting the bounty with my boys made a moment to cherish.


Click here to see the rest of my Write 31 Days series:  Simple Gems