Month: May 2022

As I sit down to write at my desk in my home office, I see my son has written on my picture frame. I keep a picture frame on my desk to write positive quotes on. I have found this is something that helps motivate me to write. Something to remind me how grateful I am. 

My son loves to write on my picture frame and on the mirrors around the house as I do. I encourage him to have fun with this experience. He often draws beautiful pictures and writes encouraging words. I love this. He has written “be yourself” and drawn a big heart this time. He placed it right beside my keyboard so I can’t miss it. Upon my mirror in my room, he has written:” be great look great”. On the bathroom mirror, he has written how much he loves me. On my vision wall, he has drawn me and a flipbook of post-it notes that is to encourage me to write my book it says, “mom you can do it”. He often sneaks in and changes the sayings on my mirrors and adds sayings or drawings to my vision wall. I find them just when I need some encouraging words. I get lost staring at my vision wall. I get lost in my thoughts of all I have accomplished and my big bucket list of want-to-do items. He often adds just the right inspiration. He is my biggest cheerleader.  I often think how can I be so lucky to have this boy as my son?  Thanks, kiddo.

Be yourself is something I always tell my son. There is only one of you in the world. Stay true to what you want to do. Be in yourself everyone else is already taken. Don’t let anyone tell you what to do. Don’t let anyone dull your sparkle or get in your way. Dream big and do it.

I lived a better portion of my life for others. In living for other people I lost myself. Tasting death made me realize there is only one me and that life can be gone in the blink of an eye. After a long journey (many years) to find me today and every day I live for myself. I am pushing myself outside my comfort zone. I am doing things I never thought possible. Today I love my life. As I sit down to write like I do day after day week after week I am making my dreams come true. I am following my gut and heart and creating my best life. I want my son to grow up and do the same. I am setting an example that your dreams can be your reality and the journey along the way will be filled with laughter and love.

I do my best to make all his little kid dreams come true. He’s always down for a new adventure and I have lots planned for the gorgeous Canadian summer months ahead. Here’s to being you! There is only one you live your best life.

What’s your biggest dream?

 

 

 

 

This picture was painted by a girl I used to share a significant portion of my life with. We were best friends and our dogs were best friends. We shared a lot of great years filled with laughter and tears. We helped each other through some pretty tough times of life. We are no longer friends and it reminds me life is short. This picture currently hangs in the corgi corner of my house.

Some people play a massive role in our lives and stay for long portions and some people play essential roles and only stay for a little while. No matter how long and no matter how many chapters my life is I am thankful for everyone who has come and gone and who has made me the woman I am today. I am grateful for those around me, for those who have come, gone, and stayed, and for all the lessons learned along the way.

Life is short and it hit me hard these last few months. Turning forty almost did me in. I have cried every big number birthday thinking I failed at life but this one hit me upside the head so hard I almost didn’t get up! Not because I think I have failed. I found myself in my thirties. I learned to love in my thirties. I got the world’s best promotion to mom in my thirties. I am living my best life. I spent my fortieth birthday eating the best burger I have ever had a maple brie burger at a place my Opa loved. My first birthday without you was hard. I had lunch with Granny which lead me to tears. I kept crying and overthinking life, missing so many things. Oh goodness, I would have loved to have heard our server like this table is crying ordering more food, and crying. Forty I can say thanks to that burger and grannies wise words is one I will never soon forget. Gran reminds me regularly to live by the wise words Opa said all the time.

Do your best and if your best isn’t good enough fuck it, so I did a thing. I quit my job! Brace yourself this isn’t a nervous breakdown yet a journey to further self-discovery. For almost twelve years I have worked shift work at pretty much every front desk the hospital has. I have been there and done it all. I poured my heart into being great at my job, making people’s days just a little bit better however I could help. This is my time. I took the leap June 30th will be my last day. I am going to do a work-from-home gig. I know I can find a job I love working from the place I love. This has been my dream for a long time and so I did it. I am making my dreams my reality. I am living my best life. A life I love. Here’s to living out my dreams and crossing things off my bucket list. I vow to make my forties my favorite years.

What’s something you have always wanted to do?

When you google spirit animal this is what pops up: In certain spiritual traditions or cultures, spirit animal refers to a spirit which helps guide or protect a person on a journey and whose characteristics that person shares or embodies. It is also a metaphor, often humorous, for someone or something a person relates to or admires.

I can honestly say I met my spirit animal just the other morning while sitting out on my deck drinking my morning coffee, catching a ray of sunshine, and gazing out upon the lake. I was just about to crack open my latest book and read a couple of chapters before I got the day started. Nothing beats a little morning relaxation before a busy day ahead. For most of the summer months, you can find me on the deck reading, or out kayaking around the lake. I love where I live.

Now, normally I am not a fan of squirrels since moving to this house they have destroyed pretty much everything I have outside. I spent hundreds of dollars this past Christmas season on all new lights for outside the house and we lit them up the first night we were so happy but it was so late we forgot to take a picture little did we know it was the only night we would ever get to see the lights. Those little buggers chewed every blub off the string. It was like a scene out of a horror movie the next night I plug the lights in nothing. I went out on a freezing cold night to look and found tons of chew marks. Now I know I didn’t chew them, and neither did my son or our two suspicious-looking pets.  I’m was a little frustrated but I fixed the lights up with my finest duct tape. I was proud that my home fix-it job had part of the string of lights working. For a moment I was feeling victorious but then I kept going and notice all across the house there are wires everywhere lights all over dropped and broken in the snow. They dropped pretty much every light right across the house down to the ground. I guess they looked like delicious candy-flavored acorns. I have had it with the squirrels they eat everything out of my garden, mess with my garbage and recycle. Nothing is safe outside. I have to admit I am not a fan. The squirrel struggle is real!

However, on this day my mind was changed I found a certain squirrel who I think just might be my spirit animal. I have never laughed so hard in my life. So there I was sitting outside having a zen-like moment with the sun warming me and a great cup of coffee fueling my soul when I crack open my book I tell myself a couple of chapters and then I need to go inside and be productive. I hear this weird noise and I think I wonder what that is. Kinda shrug it off thinking it’s probably just my neighbors out doing something. It becomes quiet for a second and then I hear this horrible noise again. I try my best to ignore it I just want to finish my book and my coffee. This noise is making me uncomfortable like nails on a chalkboard it’s loud and squeaky. Alright, I had to know what it was,  I get up and look over my deck to see this squirrel has stolen a plastic container from my recycle bin, dragged it to the other side of my lawn and is chewing his way through which it does in impressive time and proceeds to lick the leftover minos supreme cake I devoured the night before. If you don’t know what a minos supreme is I will attach a picture its this delightful dessert with mering-like layers with whip cream and chocolate. It’s my weakness in life and the reason I’ll never be a swimsuit model. This squirrel understood and was right in that container licking the side as I do. I didn’t leave em much and he/she left the container on my lawn so clean if it wasn’t chewed you could have put your leftovers right on in it.

Here all along I thought my spirit animal was a majestic unicorn, sweet loving dog, or a badass bird but no I have confirmed I would be a squirrel licking containers and living my best life in a ray of sunshine with a soft lake breeze blowing not a care in the world. I found my spirit animal.

Live your best life enjoy the sunshine and eat the cake!

 

The sun is shining on this lovely spring day and my corgi dog Kelso thinks it’s a perfect time for a swim. She is part fish and cannot be kept out of the lake. We live close to lake Ontario and she loves this location. She can not be trusted if the door is open for a second too long you can watch her fluffy butt as it runs down the road past a couple of other houses and right into the lake, happy as can be with a huge corgi smile. She demands to be walked and to play fetch in the lake. Yes, she actually demands she will come right over and bark in your face, she continues to be the most annoying dog until she gets what she wants. As soon as the ice recedes she jumps right in. She will be wet and smelly from now till mid-winter.

Kelso is 10 years in human years and 70 in dog years, you wouldn’t know it though she acts like a wild puppy when it’s time for a walk or to play fetch. She takes both events very seriously. Walks and swims are her life. She came to us two years ago and it’s been the most challenging two years trying to merge our lives together. I try to make some part of her day happy. If you say the word walk you must take her she bites to get her point across. She has the biggest boldest old lady personality for a dog only eight inches off the ground. She knows what she likes and dislikes and you cannot change her mind. She is a senior set in her ways who won’t be changing anytime soon.

She makes human friends easily she wants to meet everyone. Loves kids she always licks them right on the face. She is obsessed with my dad since staying with him while I traveled she now finds ways out of her yard and does her best to remember the roads he drove her to. She has run away several times. I found out papa gives her a treat for everything she does. I swear she came back five pounds heavier. She is sad after being at Papa’s she just wants to go back. If papa visits and doesn’t take her she becomes the world’s most dramatic and sad huffing and puffing dog. I don’t know how he resists her cute look.

Kelso, however, does not want to make dog friends in two years she’s bit every dog she’s met except for one mastiff cross sweet old lady dog the same age the one dog I can walk with her. Miley thanks for being Kelso’s only friend. It’s true everyone has a best friend you just gotta bit a few before you find the right one apparently.

I promised this old lady the best retirement I could give her and so now we walk for many kilometers each and every day sucking up the sunshine. I also need these walks to gather my thoughts and it helps with my mental health and getting my steps in.  Kelso keeps me laughing every day. You do however have to laugh quietly because she barks at loud noises. She demands silence. Truth be told this bossy corgi runs my life and makes me miss my Charleston corgi dog so much more when I look at her and it’s the girl version looking back I have to laugh. He’s gotta be laughing watching the chaos of the last couple of years. I’m not sure I know how to navigate life without a bossy Corgi it’s been 10 years of them running my life. I am thankful for the eight paws that have left a huge print on my heart.