Canada turned 149 years young and as Canadians we are very fortunate to live in this country. As I scrolled through the Facebook posts on July 1st all of the signs of being proud Canadians brought me to tears. We are not a perfect country, but we are a country many of us our proud to call home. I am grateful to the indigenous people who welcomed the explorers; I am grateful to my grandparents for choosing to settle in Canada; I am grateful to my great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who modeled what it means to be a proud Canadian; and I am grateful to all those who continue to choose Canada as their home away from home to create an intricate mosaic of love and hope.
To celebrate Canada Day, Leila and I attended the Octatonic Decadence Breakfast with a Lake, Canada Day concert celebrated with Canadian music. The concert was held at Vale Living with Lakes Centre at 4:57 a.m. Yes, and we were early. Leila was so excited about attending she set her alarm for 3:30 a.m. We started by sitting on our blankets on the dock to wait for the sunrise, and then the rain came. Up went the umbrellas and then the rain came very hard. We were not deterred, ok we moved inside. What an absolutely remarkable way to greet the day and celebrate a birthday! The music was a call to the wilderness and to watch the birds attend the concert was awe-inspiring. My appreciation for nature, music, and this child who thought this was a fantastic idea increased exponentially. When I asked Leila if she would do this again, her response was emphatic yes. My cultural growth will continue as we create memories to sustain when we are apart. Thank you, Leila for your sense of adventure.
Tomorrow our closest neighbours will turn 240 years old. Happy Birthday, USA!
Leila is spending the next two weeks in Sault Ste. Marie with her mom and I am once again on the purge-plan. Pretty happy with the progress so far this weekend. Gr. 2 ‘stuff’ is either in recycling; up on the cupboards for display, in the memory box, in frames, or photographed for further reference. Movies purged and filed alphabetically. I decided one hour a day from this day forward on a timer will keep me on track and not overwhelmed. Between the two of us we need some serious cleansing.
For me the cleansing goes beyond the cupboards, the shelves, the boxes, and drawers – this is also a time for me to take a good look at what has been on the back burner related to self-care. The process to get back on track began slowly and today I am recognizing the encouragement of the people in my circle. As I sat down to write this morning thoughts of the many who keep reminding me if you don’t take care of you, how will you take care of Leila. Thank you for your commitment to keep reminding me I am actually processing and acting on your words of wisdom. Thank you to the Balance Program for teaching kindly necessary changes in nutrition for Leila and I. Thank you Shelley for introducing me to Arbonne, my face thanks you. Thank you Marc for continually reminding me to take time. Thank you Joann for your patience, guidance, and prodding to get me to the gym. I promise you I will reach my goal by December to pass the PIN test. Will I slip up, probably? Will I beat myself up for slipping up – sure it is my pattern? But to be honest, this is the first time in a very long time, I got this far, and so recognizing the road is bumpy sometimes goes off course, way off course is a step in the right direction. And with so many amazing people in my life, I am confident this time the road less travelled will reap benefits. Hec, my body is already thanking me. You are welcome. She misses the years of the committed athlete hopefully the cell memory will awaken all of me to continue the push forward.
Take time this week to do something for you and only you.
