just another walk in the park…

Have you ever wondered sometimes

if the things you do

can actually make an impact in someone’s life?

Sit back and let me tell you my story

and if all goes well,

you will have a sense

that sometimes the things we do

can be worth the wait.

Every day I try to walk the boardwalk

near my home.

Without fail,

I have passed the same woman

over the course of the last few months

and who I like to call crabby Abby

(only because of the grumpy looking scowl on her face)

and who seems completely lost in her thoughts

with her eyes looking no further

than the path directly in front of her feet.

Anyone who knows me

is well aware that I rarely ever pass someone

without at least a smile or a nod

and almost every time

saying “good morning”

(even with my mp3 blaring in my ears)

There aren’t many who just pass by

 without somewhat of a response,

however this particular woman

never even gives me a glance or a reaction.

I can’t say that it doesn’t bother me,

and I’d be lying if sometimes I’d love

to jump directly in front of her

and make her at least look me in the eye

(which would more than likely just get me arrested)

but if there is anything I have learned

is that everyone has their own battles they are dealing with,

or life events that have them completely detached from the rest of the world.

If that isn’t the case,

another important thing is some people

just like to be left alone.

I get that.

The crazy part is that even though I know

it’s the exact same outcome

day in and day out,

and my attempts to shine light is probably for nothing,

I still make the effort.

Well folks,

today my perseverance paid off!

As we approached each other,

I did my thing and as I looked her way,

she raised her head,

made a very small attempt at lifting the corners of her mouth upward

(which I think was a smile)

and in a soft and shaky voice said,

“Morning” and carried on without skipping a beat.

I will admit that my first reaction

was to stop dead in my tracks

and say,

“It’s about friggin time lady!”

but I realized that this was something

completely out of her comfort zone

and if she was someone who was just very shy,

how courageous it was for her

to even make that little attempt.

 For whatever reasons,

I gained her trust in some little way

and managed to get to her

even if she never intended it to be.

So I just kept my pace,

and in no way making a big deal of it

continued past her like it was business as usual.

(of course  my inner voice was screaming “YES” with a fist pump attached)

With a smile on my face,

I couldn’t help  thinking,

“that was just too freaking cool!”

Before I knew it,

our morning encounter was here and gone.

Now I can’t say that tomorrow

or the days to come will even compare

to what happened today.

 There is a very good chance that

we may go back to our same little routine,

but I’ll tell you this.

I know in my heart

that every time she passes me from here on in,

whether she responds or not,

justifies every single good morning

I have ever said

and reminds me that nothing I do

is ever a waste of my time.

So if you find yourself wondering about the things you do,

that may look impossible or seem so out of reach,

or just the fact that it isn’t even worth the time or effort,

keep this one locked in the back or your mind.

If you play your cards right,

that day will come.

Until than…

 

Make it a great day everybody!

~God Bless~

Happy Halloween!

Not to steal any thunder from this adorable cutie pie,

but Halloween is upon us once again.

Now I don’t know about a lot of you,

but it sure doesn’t have the same magic it used to

(at least from my point of view)

Of course,

tack on the fact that I am way beyond the stage of dressing up

(my golf attire excluded of course)

but as I walk through store after store,

with racks and racks of costumes

from every super hero to whatever the T.V sensation is to date

(yes, that means all you Duck Dynasty lovers)

I can’t help but remember that our big costume designs

when we were kids

were about rummaging through Dad’s old work clothes,

and finding any kind of material or accessory

to pull off our look.

Honestly can’t remember going shopping for anything,

or the hassle of Mom bringing us to try things on.

For some oddball reason,

I always chose to be a dirty old hobo.

Not to say my Dad was a slob,

but he did own a garage and let’s just say,

his closet of work clothes gave me lots to choose from.

We would make a mad dash home after school,

and Mom would get us all done up,

right down to smearing chocolate on my face,

(which by the way, itched so bad)

but the illusion was more important than the discomfort.

just a note:

the rubber boots were mine

and I can’t really tell what look my sisters were going for,

but there we stood for the famous Halloween picture.

(which haunts us all to this day)

So that was one part of the magic

I am talking about.

The other had to be

choosing our candy collector.

Not one of those silly plastic pumpkins

with a hole only big enough for one bag of chips

to go through,

and God forbid somebody handing out cans of pop

(which always crushed those poor chips)

Hell NO!

Lookout linen closet!

This job definitely required

the biggest pillow-case we could find.

After all,

daylight only lasted for so long,

and we had one shot to run the roads

like crazy little beggars.

Did I mention going to school the next day

was called “bragging day?”

So once we got the go ahead to leave

there was no fooling around.

Mom always made us leave at the same time,

so when the arm was lifted…

You guessed it!

Game On!

Another thought comes to mind.

 I do remember houses being decorated

but not like today.

The windows of our house were smeared

with hand-made ghosts and goblin decorations

that we made at school.

Sure Mom would have some fake cob webs

and a few other decorations

but if I remember correctly,

coming home from school the next day

meant one thing.

Good bye Halloween,

Hello Christmas!

(Right Mom?)

In no way

do I want to take anything away from those

who truly enjoy this time of year,

or all the excitement that still goes on

preparing for the big event

 and especially for those

trying to keep the spirit of Halloween alive

for the little ones who eagerly anticipate the fun and all its magic.

I just wanted to share my memories

of a time that has never left me

and I am pretty sure there are some of you

that may recall your very own.

 After all,

traditions are so very important to pass along

year after year.

This one still stands the test of time.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Have fun!

Good bye old friend…See you next year!

So today it is a rainy,

cool autumn morning.

(technically it’s September which totally sucks)

Like a few of you out there,

saying goodbye to summer

is always like saying goodbye to an old friend.

You love the moments shared

but the day comes when it’s time to part ways,

and although you know you will see them again,

your heart still sinks.

There is  somewhat of a minor depression and gloominess

when you peer out the window on a day like today,

which I would like to illustrate as follows

so you get a sense of what I am feeling.

Deep thought goes into feeling the freedom

of simply walking out the door

with nothing more than your keys,

  shorts and tank top.

For others it’s about swimwear and flip-flops.

Of course some are still attracted to another familiar look

but hey!

To each his own as they say.

Okay so now we embark on the fun task at hand.

Packing away the summer clothes,

changing drawers and closets

to accommodate our warmer fashion.

Trying to remember where the hell we stowed our things from last year.

Once again I will illustrate one of the faces I have

while performing this little task.

(which by the way, I would love this hat for my winter collection)

Anyway,

I really didn’t have a story to tell.

Suppose I just felt it necessary to point out

that summer is on its way out,

and although I do love the fall

and all the pretty colours,

I believe it is time for me

 to get my whining and complaining out-of-the-way

(somehow you all know this won’t be the end of my bitching)

and dig out my moose hat and favourite scarf.

May as well get myself prepared

for what is around the corner.

As a good friend once told me…

It’s better to be looking at it,

than looking for it!

So if you will excuse me,

no sense wasting a rainy day!

I have a cup of hot chocolate to make

(with marshmallows of course)

and matching moose mittens to dig out!

Make it a great day everybody!

~God bless~

ALWAYS in our Hearts…Forever 9/11

Every year

we find ourselves waking up

to a flashback of that tragic morning.

Where we were,

who we were with,

completely numb to the horror

 we just witnessed.

I remember getting ready for work,

 doing my usual running around

with the television blaring in the background,

and really not paying attention

to what was being said.

I do remember passing and seeing what looked to me

like a “Die Hard” or “Rambo” movie playing

and thinking to myself,

“why on earth would a movie like this be playing so early in the morning?”

Seemed a little crazy for such violence that time of the day

and as I went to change the channel,

the words on the screen caught my attention.

It was almost

as if I gasped for air

along with the rest of the world.

Total disbelief.

Complete shock,

but more importantly,

how the hell could this be happening?

Was this for real?

It wasn’t even a minute into my standing there

and my phone rang.

My girlfriends voice shaking

and shrieking,

“Are you watching the news? Oh my God! This can’t be happening.”

Something I can’t help but remember,

is although it seemed like all hell had broken loose,

even as I was keeping all my attention to what was going on,

(which meant running to my car when I left for work and hurrying to turn the radio on)

I still had to continue with my day

like the rest of the world.

Of course it was all any of us could talk about

and although we scurried around getting things done,

we were all glued to every word of what the reports were throwing at us.

I think the part that got to me the most

is although I was so far removed from what just happened,

and really not affected personally by that horrific disaster

which was unfolding in front of my eyes,

it was the sheer hatred in my heart

for those responsible.

Excuse the language,

but the word

“EVIL BASTARDS”

repeated itself over and over

from my lips that day

and trust me,

I was not the only one!

Now I suppose I could continue on explaining

how much more angered we all were,

or how devastated and sickened we felt,

but as stated in the beginning,

this is about remembering.

It seems that with every passing year,

and every passing day

we just move along,

not giving it a thought

but on this particular day

there is a sense of reflection.

A moment of time that someone says,

“I’ll never forget that day.”

So I will leave you with a little poem I wrote,

that in a nutshell,

 honours those angels taken from us,

 prays for the families and friends shedding their tears today

and give thanks to those who sacrificed their lives without hesitation.

For the rest of us,

a small reminder that what was lost

WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN!

It feels like only yesterday

as we watched in disbelief.

Our world forever changed

no words describe our grief.

Today will be a somber one

a flashback of the pain.

A senseless loss of human life

should never be in vain.

Tears still shed

 hearts still ache

for those who are in Heaven

their memory still lives in us

FOREVER 911!

   *GOD BLESS EVERYBODY*

I am woman, hear me roar…and that’s on a good day!

Can you feel the heat coming off those letters?

I would ask for a show of hands,

but those who can completely relate

to the monster within this horrible menace

are probably fanning themselves with one hand

and wiping beads of sweat around their necks with a tissue

using the other while reading this

or,

completely wacko,

dreaming  of doing a polar dip in the frigid waters of the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans.

Too much, right?

 No worries though,

I have about five minutes

before my next inferno rears its ugly head,

so let me give this a go!

What on earth was God thinking

by giving women “hormones” to begin with?

Sort of explains why we never heard of a Mrs. God.

Poor guy would have never survived the first PMS episode

or worse…

told the wife to get over it,

while in the middle of a hot flash

only to discover a new word for the dictionary,

“premeditated”

I am dab smack in the middle of all this fun

 and  surrounded with other amazing women

who I share the same horror stories with.

A quick run through…

Nights sweats, insomnia, weight gain.

I always love when doctors ask about your symptoms and because we don’t think of it,

they add irritability.

Geez, Ya think??

Feeling like a fat cow, waking up every hour on the hour

and changing bedding and clothing couldn’t possibly be something

to irritate anyone,

could it?

Let’s add doing absolutely nothing

and somewhere out of the complete blue,

of course in a sudden rush,

feeling like aliens just cloaked us in their easy bake ovens,

wanting to test how quickly we can char broil.

I do remember when I first started this new path of womanhood,

and thinking,

“Yay, no more periods!”

Almost wanted to have a party for that one.

Hang on!

Not so fast here…

For a minute I thought God was sympathetic to our pain

and decided he would remove those nasty feminine products

because all us poor women have suffered long enough.

Nope…

Good bye menstrual cycles,

Hello bladder control issues.

So we aren’t buying tampons or Always anymore,

but now we are standing in the same damn aisle

discovering something called “Poise”

Not sure about any of you

but I really don’t feel  too poised

after I peed a little because I laughed too hard

and suddenly I am making a mad dash to the nearest bathroom facility.

Of course there are the nightly and predictable

zombie walks to pee through the night.

(3 a.m. seems to be my witching hour)

I’ll share one of my thoughts

because at this point,

pride has already flown out the window.

One night I almost thought I’d just camp out on the toilet

saving myself the agony of actually getting out of bed.

Ya Ya!

Seemed like a brilliant idea at the time.

I suppose I should also get into the mental aspect,

which of course is enough to make some women go absolutely

bat-shit crazy and understandably so.

It can completely alter some women’s

capacity to rationalize or lose those gentle qualities we as women have been born with

given our loving nature.

but luckily I have not been

damned with that one.

Unless of course by using my inside voice to wish someone would vaporize right in front of me

because they looked at me the  wrong way

while my head was about to pop off my shoulders

while standing in a check-out line counts.

Busted I guess!

Freeze!!

You really didn’t think I would leave out our most favourite,

(or the one that can get me all twisted in a bunch)

did you?

Not sure about any of you

but I just LOVE coming out of the shower

and having that one black chin hair

poking its ugly face in the mirror at me,

prompting me to pull out my weapon of choice

and finding the end of that sucker,

(which by the way isn’t a one second job)

with sweat running down my nose

and yanking that sucker from the root.

It is such a touchy subject and my intention

was to hopefully make some of you laugh a little

or at least get some good use out of that damn

poise pad.

It certainly is a crazy time and although we can’t change

what has been in place since the beginning of time,

I suppose the best thing to do

is continue sharing our stories,

laugh through the chaos,

realize that not one  woman stands alone

while going through this,

and who knows…

Maybe someone will make a commercial

celebrating a Happy Menopause too!

Pretty sure they won’t be casting Cruella Deville for that one!

One last one to make you all smile

because honestly…

Here comes another hot flash!

Make it a great day everybody!

farewell summer…I’m gonna miss you!

ATTENTION:

THIS IS NOT INTENDED FOR WINTER ENTHUSIAST’S 

JUST SAYIN’

Another summer closing its door.

I can’t be the only one who feels a sense of sadness

with the very idea that it’s time to replace shorts and tank tops

with socks and long pants.

That mornings will now require a jacket and a northerly wind

as we head out the door to start our day.

How school buses file out onto the roads with the start of a new school year

and those smiling little faces staring aimlessly through the bus windows.

(guess I went a little too far on that one, didn’t I ?)

I suppose I can’t really complain too much

seeing as autumn is actually my most favorite season.

Something about those bold and beautiful colours of the leaves

on a stretch of a highway

or alongside a lake or pond

that can leave you somewhat breathless.

Exhibit “A”

Killarney, Ontario, Canada.

(which is practically my backyard)

Sadly,

it just doesn’t last all that long

and before we know it,

Old man winter and Mother Nature start their

torrid affair.

Okay so that was a little dramatic and over the top

but hey!

I am the one telling the story so deal with it!

The fact does remain,

that nothing changes from year to year

and if I wanted it to,

I guess I could pack up and open up a Tiki hut on some tropical island

(which truly is a dream of mine)

but until than I guess I have to admit

that I am not going anywhere anytime soon

and most likely would miss

the changing of the seasons.

Just a quick note though…

There’s a really good chance I will be cursing at the snow plow guy this year again,

so basically nothing will be changing,

 except you have all been warned well in advance.

In the meantime,

summer is taking its time to leave,

so if you will excuse me,

I think I’ll jump in my car and take a drive,

roll my windows down,

(only because I can right now without freezing my face off)

and make a point to clear my mind and lower my blood pressure

of any thoughts of that white sh*t coming so soon.

Otherwise…

there’s a good chance

I’ll be the one getting a damn speeding ticket 😉

Time to cruise!

Make it a great day everybody!!

~God bless~