Sweet Sixteen

Sweet sixteen... it really doesn't seem like it was all that long ago.

I remember it well.  A night out with family... dinner on a ship on Lake Ontario... a dozen long stemmed roses...  a blue star sapphire ring (which I still have!! I even have one of the roses still!!  and that's saying a lot for this Non pack rat!).

 I remember feeling all grown up.  I was old enough to drive (I got my learner's permit the very next day!!). ... I had a job, my very own income!! I had a new boyfriend...  I had great friends... and a loving family.  All of it put together made my 16th year memorable.

I felt like an adult... not like a teenager.  My sweet sixteen was just that...  sweet!

And now fast forward  a few years...  I'm (ahem) 44 now.  And life is still sweet... no... it's even sweeter!  I'm married to my best friend.  We have two incredible sons.  I love and am loved by my Saviour, Jesus.  Life has been an adventure... a sometimes crazy, never boring journey.

A journey that has led to this day.  The day we celebrate our first born son's Sweet Sixteen.

How is it possible that my son is 16... when I remember so vividly what 16 was like for me??  It really doesn't seem that long ago.

And so I find myself  wondering what he is thinking and feeling on his 16th birthday.  What will he remember about today?  About this year?

He's so different than I was.  He's a thinker.  He's wise beyond his years.  A young man, in love with God.  Someone who stands firm for what he knows is right and good.  Someone I am very proud of.
I could have learned a lot from his example, from his life, if we had been 16 together... in fact, even now, I learn things from him.

Today has been my second sweet sixteen... I am so thankful and very very blessed.

She's blowin' a gale out there!

She's blowin' a gale out there!
Those are the best words to describe looking out your window at a hurricane.

I'm from Ontario.  We don't get hurricanes.  To me, those kinds of storms were for tv shows like Gilligan's Island.  Now I live in Newfoundland.  Now I understand what a hurricane is.

Today, as many people are remembering the events of 9/11 people in NL are bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Leslie.  Forecasters say she'll pack quite a wallop.  Heavy heavy rains for the western part of the province, crazy winds for the east.

It's being covered all over the news.  Why the big deal?  Hurricanes come this way often.  The answer to that is IGOR.

Two years ago Hurricane Igor hit Newfoundland with a punch.  So much flooding.  So many power outages.  Where I lived at the time we were right in the middle of it.  Being the storm lover that I am, I was looking forward to it.  Then it came.

The winds were so powerful that the dishes were rattling in the cupboards... the windows were bowing... I was sure our living room window would come crashing in. It didn't.  Water was running through our basement like a river.  Hubby was staying ahead of the flooding with a shop vac... till the power went out.  Our basement flooded.  Our church basement flooded.

Our main road was washed away... along with the water main.  It was surreal standing on the road after the storm, looking at the huge gaping hole that used to be the road.  Part of our community was cut off.  People's yards were underwater.  So much water.

I remember seeing the military driving down the highway.  Help was on the way.  But it had an eerie war like feeling to me.  So many military vehicles... even military helicopters taking off and landing from the grocery store parking lot... my grocery store... where I shopped.  Like out of a movie.

Roads and main highways were washed out all over eastern Newfoundland.  People
 were stranded. But the people of this province are amazing.  They rallied together.  Helped one another.  Generators were hooked up.  Food was delivered.  Water and power were restored.  Repairs were made.   Many lost their homes.  Some, their lives dramatically impacted...  but Newfoundlanders are a hardy people.  They move on.

And now Leslie is on our doorstep.  People are prepared... hoping for the best but prepared for the worst.  I heard a Newfoundlander say on the news this morning...  we're tough... we'll bring the garbage in and we'll be fine.

As I write this, it's a very dark, very wet morning.  The kids are home (all NL schools are closed this morning).  We're keeping a close eye on the weather.  There is a sense of...  what?  excitement?  expectation? in the air.  What will Leslie bring?

I'm enjoying this adventure called life that we're on.  Hurricanes and all.

Think I'll pour myself another coffee now and look at the weather from inside our nice, warm and dry home.

We are blessed.

But I thought we had one more day!!!

I'm not sure how it happened.  A blonde moment?  A brain hiccup?  Wishful thinking??

I was 100% sure that school was starting on Wednesday for my kids.   Tomorrow was supposed to be our last day of summer to just hang around with each other.  But no.... Facebook brought it all crashing down into one big heap of disappointment and panic.

A couple friends who have children starting kindergarten posted about how they're all ready for school TOMORROW!  I was sure they were wrong... or at the very least, kindergarten must be starting early.  But surely not the older kids.  So... I checked the website.  And alas, 'tis true... the dreaded yellow bus comes to take them away tomorrow.  Tomorrow!  But I thought we had one more day!!!

Some parents might be delighted by this news.  Finally... the kids are going back to school.  But not me... each and every year on the first day of school I've cried.  From Junior Kindergarten all the way up through junior high and high school.  I enjoy having the boys at home.  The house seems so empty and quiet when they're at school.   Whatever am I going to do when the day comes that they leave the nest?  (sigh)

So, I find myself wondering how things will go tomorrow.  Losing the last day of summer so unexpectedly has left me feeling befuddled... a little bit panicked... and unprepared emotionally.

Father, bless my sons.  Keep them safe throughout this new school year.  May it be a year where they shine brightly for You, a year where they have a deep assurance of Your love.  Bless them with health and joy and peace.  Guide them, lead them, watch over them each and every day.  ThankYou for the blessing that they are to me.  Amen.

Okay... now I'm ready... well, more ready,  for tomorrow.

IneedaCoffeeNow!!!!

Was that a light flashing or am I seeing things?

I love thunderstorms!!
I mean, I really really REALLY enjoy them!!
The sudden flash of light across the sky, followed by that deep rumbling thunder that can be felt down in your core!
I guess I have my Dad to blame for that.  He enjoys storms too.  I remember, as a child, growing up in Toronto, we would stand in the doorway during a storm and watch the lightning and then count... one, two, three, four.... boom, the thunder would rumble!  Supposedly, the count would indicate how far away the storm is.   I enjoyed those nights.  I can still almost feel the charge in the air and smell the storm.

Later, as a married woman, I lived in Peterborough, Ontario,  They used to get amazing lightning shows there.  I expect they still do.  My hubby used to take me up to Armour Hill to watch the storm. Spectacular!!  God's light show beats any man-made fireworks show by far!!  Loved those evenings!

Now we live in Newfoundland.  I love Newfoundland... but there are a few things from Ontario that I really miss... Pizza Pizza is one of them...  another is thunderstorms.

Thunderstorms are rare here.  And when they do come, they are fleeting.  A couple flashes of light and maybe some distant thunder.  Not very spectacular.  We do get our share of storms... wind storms, heavy rain... even hurricanes.  But thunder and lightning, not so much.

Twice in my life I have been lying in bed with the thought, "was that a light flashing? Or am I seeing things?"
One of those times was last night...  the other was about 15 years ago.

Hubby and me were asleep in the parsonage of our very first pastoral charge... a very remote, fly-in community on the coast of Hudson Bay.  Our infant son was asleep in his crib.
Something woke me up.  A flash of light?  What!?!  It took a moment or two for the grogginess of sleep to clear.  Yes.  Definitely, a flash of light.  There was someone in our house!!  Taking pictures??  No.  Hubby wake up!!  Wake up!  WAKE UP!!! (hubby is a very sound sleeper)  There is someone in our house!   What!?!

And so we go to investigate.  Turns out two young men had broken into our home.  We confronted them... they yelled a few not so nice words and left.  Funny... I wasn't afraid... just angry at the intrusion.  Perhaps I was too groggy and low on caffeine to have the sense to be afraid.  But all was well... they were gone.

The flashing light you ask?  We discovered the next day that they had stolen my hairspray (they drink it when they can't get their hands on alcohol)...  and some porkchops.  Yes, porkchops.  I had a large tray in the fridge that I had planned to give to a family who had just lost their home in a fire.  The flashing light was the fridge door opening and closing.  I guess our thieves were hungry.
A flash of light... and again last night...

Was that a light flashing?  Or am I seeing things?  Nope, not a dream.  Definitely, a flash of light.  And another... and another!!  A thunderstorm!!!

And so around 3 a.m. I crawled out of bed...  stood in the doorway and watched and listened.  Not much of a storm...  several flashes of light... one or two distant rumblings... but it was enough.

I went back to bed with a smile on my face... filled with happy thoughts of past storms spent with the special people in my life.   And with a big thank you in my heart to God, the best pyro-technician ever!

IneedaCoffeenow!

Pardon me? Did you just ask if I want liquor on my veggies?!?

Three years ago my family packed everything into a u-haul truck, said goodbye to Ontario and moved east... all the way to Newfoundland.
I love Newfoundland.  I love Newfoundlanders.  There are so many things I could write about our experiences living here... and I likely will.  But this evening as I watch the TSN Kraft Celebration tour, on their stop to Clarenville, NL,  what comes to mind is the language of Newfoundland.
There are so many "new" words and phrases that I (a mainlander, a come from away) have had to learn.  I've always had a fascination for words and languages... so having the opportunity to be immersed in Newfanese has been a delight. (the h is pronounced... de-li-Ht)!
Some examples:
a painting that is hanging crooked on the wall is squish
the steps or deck that lead to the house is a bridge
a dock is a wharf
a lake is a pond
a shed down by the water is the store
someone from the mainland is a come-from-away or you could say they're from upalong
if you go fishing you are after cod,  any other "fishing" is trouting

But perhaps the most memorable one for me is liquor.
I was visiting some Newfoundalnd pastors along with a crowd of others.  They were serving us a delicious traditional Newfoundland meal... Jiggs Dinner.
Basically that is a meal of salt beef, potatoes, carrots, turnip and cabbage.  As I went through the buffet line and "took up" my food, I was asked if I wanted liquor on my veggies.
Pardon?  Did you just ask if I want liquor on my veggies?!?  Really??
I didn't ask that question out loud, but I did think it.  Why would anyone want to pour liquor on their vegetables?  I politely said no Thank you.
Later, discreetly, I asked my Newfoundland born and raised husband, what this liquor was.  Vodka?  Whiskey?  Rum??
He laughed.  And laughed.  And laughed some more.  In the most loving way, of course.
He explained, between guffaws, that they were asking if Iwanted pot-liquor on my food.  The drippings... the liquid that the salt beef and veggies were cooked in.

Oh.  (insert sheepish grin here)

IneedaCoffeeNow!

I'm so sorry... but the ice cream melted...

Birthdays have always been a big deal to me.  I'm like a little kid before Christmas when a birthday is coming... my own... my hubby's... especially my kids'!

I'm not one for big, elaborate parties or expensive, extravagant gifts... but I do like to make my family know they are loved and important when their special day comes around.

One of the traditions I started in our home is to decorate the house.  I go overboard with balloons, streamers, banners and more balloons...  and all this decorating happens mysteriously during the night so the birthday person wakes up to a "surprise".  

Last night should have been decorating night for my youngest son's 14th birthday.  Instead, I went to bed early with a migraine headache.  Not one balloon, not a streamer to be seen...  almost!
I was plagued with dreams about decorating all night long and kept waking up thinking about it.    I'll get up early and decorate I'd think,  and then roll  over and go back to sleep.  This went on until 4 a.m.  when I finally gave in to my Mother's heart and got out of bed.  Somehow, half asleep and in the near dark, I got the house decorated.  Ahhh...  now I'd be able to sleep!!  But no!!   now I was wide awake and too excited and giddy about the birthday to sleep.    I did eventually doze off only to be awakened by my husband with the words..."did you get the message from the bakery?  there's a problem with the cake?". "I'm so sorry... but the ice cream melted."

Suddenly, I found myself WIDE awake again!  No cake?!?  Oh no.  Now what will I do?  There HAS to be a cake!!  But my bakery lady is amazing!  Completely out of her control... the ice cream truck delivered melted ice cream...  that meant no ice cream cake...  but my fantastic bakery lady came through... she got up early and made and decorated an amazing cake (not ice cream.... but oh so delish)!!  Crisis averted!

So now, another birthday has come and gone.  My son was so happy.  His smile made it all worth it. And me?  the headache is still there... I am sooo tired.  But I am happy!  Mission accomplished!!  My son KNOWS that he is loved and that he is so very important!!

Happy Birthday!

IneedaCoffeeNow!

Would you pleeeease cut it up for me?

I have a little dog.  My baby dog.  His name is Toby.  He's a five pound mixed breed... about 4 lbs longaired chihuahua mixed with a pound of terrier, poodle and Pomeranian.

My little dog doesn't seem to realize that he's a dog... at least not all the time.  He seems to think he's a cat.  (I know. I know.  A disgrace to all dogs everywhere... dogs need not read further)

He purrs...  he sleeps in the sun... he plays with fabric... and he's finicky...  yes, finicky.

You see, my little dog will not eat out of his dish.  He will sit in front of it and whine until someone (usually me) will come over and scoop out a small amount and place it on the floor in front of his dish.  Not only that but when he gets his favourite wet dog food... he will not eat it until someone (usually me) cuts it up for him.  (it comes in a stew like small bite format already).

And so my Toby will  come to where I am, give me those big brown puppy dog eyes that say...
Would you pleeeeease cut it up for me?  And I do.  I'm well trained.

IneedaCoffeenow!

To blog or not to blog...

To blog or not to blog...  that's the question I threw out there to my online friends.  The response was much like an ad for a certain athletic shoe company...
JUST DO IT.
I've thought about blogging before.  More than once.  More than more than once.   My hesitation has always been...
do I really want to journal publicly?
  But this is not going to be a journal.
It's going to be my musings, often mumblings and yes, even meanderings, on ...   well... just about anything... which brings me back to my original question... to blog or not to blog?
We'll see...

And that, my friends, is Blog #1... and I haven't even had my morning coffe yet!

IneedaCoffeenow!