Lakeside Gratitude from the Laundry Room

I've been away, 10 days unplugged and off-line. This morning I am incredibly grateful for my own bed; you never really appreciate your own bed quite as much as that very first night back in it...aaahhhhh!

We had some fabulous adventure and while I may have been off-line, I was still writing. This week, while I'm washing all of our worldly possessions, I'm going to share those posts; written lakeside from my lawn chair. Enjoy!

Day 1

On an ordinary day I wake up in paradise. The alarm clock rings and I find myself once again immersed in making coffee, lunches and beds, keeping my children happy and my husband content. I juggle schedules and meet commitments usually with a smile on my face and a song in my heart (sometimes the song is “Take this job and Shove it!” but there is a song.)

Yesterday I woke up, made coffee and lunch, made the bed and kept my children relatively happy, while I prodded them at the break of dawn, into our cram packed van in time to depart only 1 hour behind schedule (a personal best!)  I tried to do it all and still keep my husband content enough to handle the 5 hours of open road ahead of us.

In 5 hours with 3 kids in a highly confined space, there will be 2 stops to pee, 1 stop for gas, 4 radio station changes, 12 arguments, a bag of chips, 3 coffees, a rolling picnic, and a stop at the bank. My family tries to squeeze it all in before we reach the on ramp to the highway, 18 minutes from our front door. I can hardly impress upon you how glad I am that our youngest has out grown his car sickness.

If I had to choose my favourite part of any road trip it has to be those first 18 minutes. They remind me that despite our ever increasing time away from one another, we are, and still remain, a family. Those 18 minutes are the ones that tune everyone back into their roles. For the remaining 4 hours and 42 minutes the kids can attempt to over throw one another while Michael and I fake oblivion.

As the minutes and the Kilometers fall behind us we shed the burdens of everyday as well. Travel time, a mental decompression chamber.

It all gets us here…

Heaven (or the very closest a person can get without actually departing their container).

For 10 days we will soak in the scenery, swim in the water, terrorize the wildlife, fish and the balance of nature. We will toast marshmallows, squabble, play games, ‘partake’ and complain. These 10 days when Paradise meets heaven are my favourite of all the year, submersed in gratitude.

Spend some moment everyday in reflection of gratitude and happiness. Even if the time found is standing in line for coffee...use is wisely.

Michelle


Did this post brighten your day? make you smile? If so I'd be ever so grateful if you shared it on Facebook or Twitter. Someone else might be in need of a smile - Thanks!

It's Wild Around Here!

We live in a subdivision. A standard middle class, newly completed subdivision.There are roofs as far as the eye can see. We can see pretty far actually because there are no trees to block the view. Infact the closest thing we have to actual trees are cedar shrubs and hosta plants. Baby trees are planted and growing but do you know how long it takes a tree to grow large enough to shade a house or hang a swing or support a birds nest? I'll tell you...a lot longer than the wildlife are willing to wait!

For a treeless pavement jungle, we have an abundance of wildlife. I understand the displaced creature phenomenon, a part of me is horrendously guilt ridden at having been a part to animal expropriation. I try to make up for this by leaving peanuts out and not spraying my lawn.

Our yard is like a animal freeway. Two weeks ago Michael stepped out onto the porch in the still darkish hours of dawn only to almost trip over a skunk. If I sit at my kitchen table to write I don't get much accomplished because I am completely mesmerized by the band of squirrels who race along the fence tops like they are driving the rodent autobahn. Fluffy tailed squirrels are not the only thing that utilizes the pressure treated skyway. The regiment of neighbourhood cats love it as do the occasional raccoon or possum.

We are situated directly below a Canada Goose flight path, "Cover!" is a very popular cry on our block. There are smaller birds too; robins, chickadees, nut-hatches, finches, swallows, crows, doves and pigeons. That's along of pressure washing!

My favourite creature with a tail is a chipmunk. I 've even given him a name "Chippy" (I know highly original) Chippy has a circuit...across the yard - behind the stoop - through to the neighbours yard - back in a race along the lower fence rail - through the fence and race along the back neighbour's flower box...Repeat! again and again and again and again until the person watching is completely dizzy. Seriously he's so fast I can't even get a picture!

Then there are my rabbits, mother bunnies, father bunnies, baby bunnies all plotting against my new tiny suburban garden! The bunnies are cute and I can keep them at bay with black bird netting so we're good. I am afraid though that if the animals ever organize the humans in their territory might be given a run for their money!

Gratitude today that rabbits don't realize that their thicket is actually a peonie bush. The squirrels don't know their fence posts from their tree tops. Bird crap is highly washable and skunks are mostly nocturnal!

Spend some moment everyday in reflection of gratitude and happiness. Even if the time found is standing in line for coffee...use is wisely.


Michelle


Did this post brighten your day? make you smile? If so I'd be ever so grateful if you shared it on Facebook or Twitter. Someone else might be in need of a smile - Thanks!