Moments D724: Childhood Pet Memories

Today on my drive into work I saw a man stopped with his dog on the side of the road. That's a pretty typical scenario, and I thought nothing of it, until I slowly rolled closer to the scene.

As I slowly crept in traffic, I had a chance to watch this beautiful golden retriever play with very large tree branch. The tree branch looked like a small tree in and of itself and this dog was whipping its head back and forth with this "tree" hanging from its mouth.

That made me smile and think back to my childhood and the dogs we had when I was growing up. I remember them both doing similar things and always enjoying their pleasure with shaking branches bigger than themselves. I swear, if the dogs could smile, they would have been!

A silly moment, but one that not only made me smile, but it had me remember days when I was a young lass.

Those were good, simple days.

Moments smiling at silliness.

Moments enjoying memories from your childhood.

Moments D694: Colour Memories

As promised, today I took the time to celebrate GREEN.  I know, I know.  I'm a day late.  Better late than never though, right?  I blame the slowness of time in Jamaica.  Having been there a week, surely I'm allowed to lose a day?  No?  Well, still, better late than never.

Today, in celebration of GREEN I wore the green eyeshadow that I picked up two years ago for my big St. Patrick's day/housewarming party.  I don't wear it often as it's a bright colour and in order to wear it, one must really be prepared to be bright!

As I was applying this colour to my eyelids, I couldn't help but think back to the day that Hawk, BFF & I were prepping for the party two years ago.  We were filled with excitement and love.  Not only were we ready to have a great party, we were each filled with the promise of the year ahead as we each tackled extremely new life paths.  Friends bonded by the challenges of life.

Two years later,  I reflect back over the paths taken beyond that night with a sense of wonderment and, I can't lie, with a touch of sadness, for much has changed.  BFF is no longer right around the corner and connecting now means more planning.  There are days I wish she were closer so I could pop buy for tea as I once used to.  It's also moments like these in which I wonder how Hawk is doing.  She's chosen a new path, a path that finds the two of us in very different worlds.  Much to the exasperation of those closest to me, I still wonder how Hawk is doing and pause to reflect upon how and why our paths diverged as they did.  Whatever others may say, I still miss her.

But today's moment isn't about the sadness of now, but the warm fuzzy memory that came to me as I applied the green eyeshadow this morning.  It reminded me of two very beautiful, strong, intelligent ladies.  It reminded me of the importance of friendships and love.  And, it also reminded me of how delicate relationships can be.

All the more reason to celebrate the relationships in my life.

All the more reason to send a little extra love to those I can.

All because, I put on the GREEN eyeshadow this morning.  It's funny how things work sometimes!

Moments that sneak up on you at the strangest time.

Moments that remind of the beauty, the depth and the delicacy of life, love and relationships.

Moments D625: Fireplace

I nearly forgot how much I love fireplaces.  Once upon a time, a lifetime ago, I lived in an apartment with a real, wood burning fireplace.  What a treat that was on a cold winter night.  With friends, with my boyfriend, solo with a good book and a glass of wine.  I loved spending time in front of that fireplace.

Where I've been staying for the past two days, there is a fireplace in the corner.  It isn't a "real" fireplace, but a gas fireplace.  I know, it's more efficient.  It's safer.  It's cleaner.  I get that.  But I enjoy the smell and sound of a wood burning fireplace (or even a potbelly stove!). Even so, this fireplace has a lot of logs in it and the flames are higher than most gas fireplace flames.  It even has embers to watch.

It was only 12-15 degrees (Celsius) today, so the fireplace was a nice touch.  And so, today I decided to work from the floor in front of the fireplace (most of the day actually).  I sat right in front of it.  It was like doing Bikram yoga all day as I worked.  It was incredible.  (and boy do I feel well stretched out today!)

As I worked in front of those warm flames, I reminisced.  And then I dreamed of my future fireplace(s?) and smiled.

Simple things sometimes.  Simple things.

Moments enjoying a fire.

Moments spent stretching and dreaming with the leaping flames.

Moments D613: Takes a chillin' and keeps on swimmin'

Okay, the title of today's blog is not nearly as catchy as "...takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'...", but it gets my point across and it makes me laugh.  That counts, right?

Today my parents, EQ and I spent part of the day snorkelling in the waters around Nassau.  Only a three hour tour (no joke!) as our day in Nassau was a short one.  That didn't stop us from enjoying a cooler, partially cloudy day in the water surrounded by many, many, brightly coloured fish of all shapes and sizes.

Me - I was chilled on the boat ride out to the reef.  Absurd.  I know!  That said, it wasn't as warm as it had been in days past, the sun wasn't hot on our faces because of the coming and going clouds and I was a touch tired and drained feeling this morning.  All a good combination to create a slight chilled feeling.

That chill was not going to stop me from snorkelling today.  No way, no how.  I was ready for the promised 60 minutes in the water and come hell or high water I was going to enjoy every single second in the water.

I was not disappointed!  It was incredible.  I honestly wish I could share a snippet of my video with you, but I haven't had a chance to process the videos I took just yet.  But boy, oh boy did I have fun!  I chased schools of fish.  I dove and was up close and personal with different corals in the reef.  For awhile, I simply floated in the waves and watched the marine life do their thing below me.

And I had goosebumps the entire time.  Yes.  That's right, as soon as I hit the water my body exploded into goosebumps.  I ignored them.  And I was good for about 45 minutes at which point I admitted to EQ that I was cold.  He nearly convinced me to get out at that point.  Instead, we swam off and enjoyed the reef for another 10 minutes or so.  

And then I was really, truly cold through to my bones.  My teeth chattered as I swam.  I found EQ, and told him it was time, that I needed to get out of the water.  We weren't the last to board the boat (darn it all!), but we certainly weren't the first either.  

My chattering teeth were with me the entire boat ride home.  I was curled up in EQ's arms, in the partial sun/cloud, covered up in two dry (now damp) towels and shivering.  I couldn't help but laugh.

I used to do that as a kid all the time.  Swim until my teeth started to chatter.  I haven't been like that in years.  It felt good.  I felt alive.  And I've made myself a promise.  In the next two years, I'm going to learn how to scuba.  It's been on my list of things to learn for some time and after the past two snorkelling trips, I'm inspired.  It's time to shuffle that up closer to the top of my "to do" list!

Moments ignoring body discomfort and focusing on the joy of nature.

Moments that take you back in time to relive younger days.

Moments D609: Memories of a little girl

After a day of many adventures, the four of us headed to the Jazz bar to enjoy a set of  The Bart Walker Band before calling it a night.  First, before I share my moment of the day, I have to say that Bart and his crew were intense and sounded amazing.  Please do go and check out his smooth and gravelly bluesy sound!

Today's moment arrived while the four of us were sitting, feeling the music and enjoying a glass of wine.  A young father and his daughter came into the bar.  They sat in the third row from the stage, just in front of EQ, my parents & I.  If I had to guess, the daughter was likely 7 or 8 years old.  She was a petite thing and was quick to sit and curl her legs under her and lean into her father as they sat down.

Dad wrapped an arm around her curled up body and held her close.  The two of them swayed to the music Bart and his crew shared with us.  It was a special moment for me because it brought a flood of memories back to me.

Daddy's little girl.  Even at nearly 40, I'm still Daddy's little girl and I remember moments that he and I shared just like this when I was actually a little girl.

I was a lucky child that way.  My parents took me places that some parents wouldn't dare to bring children. (as this father did).  I suppose part of the reason they were confident enough to do that is because my brother and I were (mostly!) well behaved children.

And so, as I watched that father and daughter sit and watch the band, I couldn't help but to think back to 32 years ago and remember when my own father and I enjoying music together.  Sitting beside him on the piano bench as he played piano, singing along to tunes in the car, and even starting up chants and jingles while in a restaurant!  We were a silly fun young family.

And you know what?  We're still a silly fun family.  Just older now.

Moments enjoying music with family.

Moments remember enjoying music and family 32 years ago!

Moments D601: Walk down memory lane

Today EQ received the last of his cards in the mail from me.  Cards.  Yes, that's right.  I wrote him a card a day while we were apart this last time.  I believe that was 19 cards in total.  Crazy?  Definitely.  Fun?  Absolutely, especially when they didn't arrive in order!

Today, he received the last four cards.  One of them was lost from early on in my writings.  What fun it was to have it arrive today.  The other three were the last, and he read them in order, as they were meant to be received.

And frankly it was a good day for him to have received them, after having a couple of very challenging days under his belt.

The last card I wrote was on the morning I was flying to California.  In it, I summarized our relationship milestones and moments that I thought would help us both to remember deeper into those milestones.  Key words if you will.

Today's moment was the two of us enjoying a glass of sparkling red wine as we walked through the last 6 months of milestones together.  For each noted milestone moment from the card, I asked EQ to share with me some of his fondest memories of those moments.  The minutes turned to hours as we both, luxuriously, enjoyed the walk down memory lane.

Moments pausing to reflect on the past.

Moments knowing that the future is bright.

Moments D547: I'll Sleep when I'm dead

Tonight I stopped at a Shoppers Drug Mart on my way home from (a new) volleyball outing.  It's a Shoppers  that I've never been to before, so I wasn't familiar with their staff. 

In the cosmetics area, there was a very cool esthetician.  She had this amazing updo that was bright blue on top/front and the back of it was short and as black as night.  It reminded me of my own hair 10 years ago.  Black, with blue & purple streaks.  For me it was a fun, silly way to incorporate that silly "something blue" nonsense into my then wedding day.  Today, I had a moment where I appreciated her commitment to being different and out there.  It made me pause and remember a time when I was as outwardly committed to marching to my own beat.  

I loved that she owned her look and she made me smile without even saying hello.  

As I paid for my toiletries, I complimented her on her hairdo.  She was polite and reserved and said thank you.  I thought it an odd response for a woman walking around with such a big personality outwardly showing.

It was late at night.  As we waited for my credit card to be processed for payment, she brightened up a bit more and made some small talk with me.  She asked me if I had to get up early tomorrow.  I simply laughed and nodded and admitted that I would and then I quickly quipped that "...that's okay I don't need a lot of sleep.  I'll sleep when I'm dead!"   Followed by a big laugh.

HA!  Then, I had her! 

Her laugh was deep and genuine at that point.  With a belly laugh that she couldn't hold back, she told me I was adorable.  As I walked out of the store, she called after me to have a great night.  I could still hear the smile in her voice.

I'm glad I could make her smile.  I love those moments.

Moments being silly.

Moment appreciating a stranger and finding a way to make them smile.

Moments D520: Random Connections

Tonight my Tough Mudder team (Flux) met up to go over our game plan and prepare for this gruelling adventure.  We chose a bar that was mid-town as it was the best central location for each team member.  That being said, it's not in my 'hood.  It's not in my work 'hood.  I am rarely in this part of the city.

Now.

But 14-15 years ago, I was here often.  In fact, one of my first boyfriends in the big smoke was a bartender at The Duke of Kent and I spent many, MANY long nights in the pub waiting for him.  I even spent a couple of New Year's Eves and Halloween parties in this pub.  We were together for 4 years.  Most of them he worked in this pub.

Random in its own right that we chose this pub.  It's been years since I've stepped foot into it.

I arrived before any of my other team members.  Being the first to arrive, I waited just inside the pub doors. There, across from where I stood was a table of 8 gents.  They were happily drinking pints and watching the soccer game.  One of them was facing me and looked strangely familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place him.  I cross paths with lots of people in my life's travels, so I couldn't immediately place him.  As I texted my team members and tried to figure out their ETA and how many we were to get us a table, I was chewing on the feeling that I knew this gent, I just didn't know how or why.

Some time passed and I made eye contact with this gent and smiled.  He smiled back and his friend, with his back to me, turned to me and said are you "so-and-so"?  I broke into a huge smile as all the pieces fell into place and I said YES and that's your friend Owen, isn't it?  We all laughed in that moment. (I have no idea how or where the name popped into my head at that moment, but it was, in fact, Owen!)

Owen immediately jumped up and came out from behind the table.  A big squeeze later and we're talking about his kids, his wife and where he's working now and I'm doing the same with him.  Here's the rest of the random connection story:  Owen and his wife lived in an apartment just above me in a house in the West end of the city....over 10 - 14 ago.  We were dear friends.  We had many a house party (yup, where we used both apartments to have our friends over!)  I knew them when they were boyfriend and girlfriend, as they got engaged and then married and shortly thereafter, when they had their first born.  I haven't seen him, or his wife, in 14 years after I moved.  Incredible.  And RANDOM!

To further add to the random, this bar is not in my normal neighbourhood of bars.  (i.e. I'm rarely ever there now!) and Owen lives in a city 45 minutes away, but works "not too far" from the pub.

Random.

But the kicker?  The boyfriend that I lived with in this apartment beneath Owen and his wife was the guy that worked at the Duke of Kent 13 years ago.  Yes.  Seriously.  Weird right?

What a complete and utter surprise and, by far, the best moment of my day!

And more random:  I can't wait to drop in one day, as Owen and his family live around the corner from where my brother does.

How strange and wonderful life can be sometimes!

Moments trying to connect the dots and figure out the connection.

Moments when all the pieces fall into place in an instant!

Moments D497: Lemonade anyone?

As we were driving to the Milwaukee Skydive Centre this morning we happened across a cute lemonade stand at the end of a driveway.   We blew right past it, after all it we were on a country highway.   And then, in a blink of an eye, EQ hit the breaks and threw the car into reverse.  I was a whole lot surprised at the action and very, VERY happy that he did so.  And yes, fortunately there weren't any other cars on the road this time of the day!

And so, we met Andy and his lemonade stand:

As we parked, I put the window down and asked him if he would deliver.  Poor Andy looked a bit perplexed and said no!  When I explained that I was only looking for him to make his way from his table to the car he brightened and said, with an enthusiastic nod, "...yes, yes.  Just one?"    When I asked for two he brightened a little more.

He walked over his two lemonades and proudly handed them over to me.  We gave him a $5 bill and told him to keep the change for the delivery.  With a wink, we sped off again.

It was just one of those fun, silly feel good moments to bring a smile to a entrepreneurial boy.  It was a lovely reminder of my childhood when my brother and I would do silly things together.  I remember our Kool-Aid stands!  What fun we had!  Sharing a smile and walking down memory lane was a great way to start our day.  

Moments stopping to appreciate the little things.

Moments bringing a smile to a child.

Moments D436: Reliving Moments

Today was slow start for me.  I had the entire day booked off as a vacation day, but I decided to only take the morning to myself before going into the office this afternoon to, at the very lease, clean up my emails.  I did, however, luxuriate in my lazy morning where I had plenty of time to relive and share a couple of moments.  Contrary to one another, one from my incredible weekend just passed and the other was from my recent past.  I found myself reflecting over all that has happened in the past year, where I've been, where I am, and of course, where I'm going.  This past weekend was life altering; this morning I relived the moments that changed my path.  

After waking lazily (no alarm!) I decided to upload some of my sky diving photos online to share with the world; it was a joy to relive this moment of excitement and joy and honest to goodness euphoria.  Euphoria was quickly dulled as I found myself wrestling with something that has been haunting me for far too long.  Reliving the haunting of my recent past was not a pleasant moment; it became thief to my  excited energy brought to me by my newest adventure.  This haunting was no longer something that could be avoided given my new perspective, given my need for a clear path into my future.  And as I relived the moment with my nearest and dearest I felt a sense of relief wash over me as the solution (not a new solution, but one now unavoidable) presented itself once again.  

With a feeling of wonder for the shifts in energies this morning, I followed the path of relief.  After, as I readied myself for my afternoon of work, I found myself reflecting upon this shift of emotion and the eerie familiarity of it all.  (the high, the low, the high, the low.....)  It was definitely time to clear my path.  

Given this swing of emotion, I found myself feeling dulled.  And then I arrived at work and shared my life-changing weekend adventure with the team.  Before I knew it, my energy had shifted once again back to the this vivacious place I like to live.  Excited stories of my weekend came hurriedly.  The photo sharing,  the laughter; before I knew it, my energy was high and bright again.

And then it hit me.  Sharing milestones with people can be inspiring to others.  The energy in the office was high an the excitement from my posting of photos online was something I've never experienced before.  My bucket list check-mark had become an inspiration to others.  I was awed how sharing can create such energy and inspiration amoung my family and friends.  

Today's moment reliving past moments found me a reflective student.  I'm ready for my future, more than I've ever been.  With a new perspective on how to deal with obstacles and opportunities, I am ready.

Moments reliving other moments.

Moments realizing there has been a shift.

Moments D367: Memories

Today I headed to Haliburton after work to spend the weekend with one two of my besties. It is moving weekend!

Today’s moment is about celebrating road trips and that solo time spent pondering life. For me today’s 4+ hour trip seemed centered on memories and where I’ve been and dealt with since the last drive North.

Last time I made this trip, I ended up with a speeding ticket. This time, I took it easy and ignored the annoying drivers. Change is good. Slowing down and enjoying the path along the way is good.

Last time I made this trip, over two months ago, I had just come back from a family trip to Florida. I was also coming off of a cold. Now, I’m as healthy as ever, back into my routine of working out and eating well.

Last time, when I arrived I broke into tears with my girlfriend when she asked me how I was dealing with some of the drama in my life. This time I was greeted with squeals of delight and an evening of laughter ensued.

While I have the memories of months ago, they do not own me. As I was driving, thinking of the past, of my present and where I’m heading in the future, I realized this. Memories do not own me, nor will they haunt me. I own them. I choose to have them pass through my mind or not. I am in control.

That realization really helped when a poignant song came over the airwaves and stirred my soul. It’s okay to have sad and upsetting memories, but they do not own me. I own them. I thanked the universe for the moment, and for the reminder that I’m in control.

Moments of memories.

Moments finding ever more strength and depth of self.

Moments D175: Keyboards and Memories

This past weekend I unpacked my keyboard. It’s the first time it’s seen the light of day in over 8 years. (Shameful really, but playing took a sideline to school, work and life….) While I tinkered a bit over the weekend, I really didn’t have time to really play. Honestly it was more about a refresher on reading music!

Today, as I was waiting for my 8am appointment at home I decided to play on my keyboard. Before I knew it I was playing more confidently and nearly 60 minutes had passed. The sheet music I have isn’t easy, but I played these songs many MANY times years ago. It was interesting to see/feel my fingers get the flow again. Memories of playing on my Dad’s old upright piano flooded me.

My playing, after an hour, was still pretty choppy and nowhere near perfect, but that was the best hour of my day. Totally focused on music. Notes, melodies and timing. It was a wonderful breath of fresh air. I think I’m going to have to find time to incorporate a little more keyboard into my life again. I guess that means I’m going to have to find some current music sheets too, for I love to sing along.

I was happy that my 8am appointment went missing (she never showed - she thought it was tomorrow!). I had an hour of playing time to myself. Sure, I was 20 minutes late for work (easily made up by not taking lunch), but it was well worth it. Smiles and songs in my head to start the day.

Moments with music.

Moments revisited.

Moments D157: Music

Today I spent the majority of my day working. Yes. A Saturday. I went into the office to try to plow through the excess. SUCCESS!

While I was working through the piles of necessary data crunching, I was enjoying my tunes. Loud. After all the office was empty! I happily enjoyed singing at the top of my lungs and while managing to get my work done.

This seemed to be the theme of the day. Later, a lazy late afternoon into the evening laying on the couch brought more songs and music videos. The first played for me was my new favourite song. “Just Give Me a Reason” is one of P!nk’s new songs that I’ve fallen in love with and it couldn’t have been a more perfect song to start ME time with. (After all I had listened to it in the car, over and over again…I think I’d like to learn how to play this one on the piano….) I love the piano. I love the sentiment of not being broken but bent and fixable. We are all bent in one way or another, but never, ever broken.

Later as I was getting ready for dinner another song came to my ears and it was this moment that I smiled and clocked. Even though my day was filled with music, songs, lyrics and moments, it was this particular song that made me smile. It brought me back in time, to a place where I was at a crossroads. That moment, from months ago was confusing but filled with hope. It reminded me to stay in the moment. To not get ahead of myself, but to be here, in the now.

It reminded me how much I love music and singing.

It reminded me how much I’ve I miss playing piano and singing along. I think P!nk’s latest song will be the inspiration I need to pull out my keyboard and learn a new song to play and sing along to. That’s kind of a cool moment!

Moments of new music.

Moments of old music.

Moments - D23; Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

You know, when I was a kid my Mom would make my brother and I tomato soup and grilled cheese for dinner from time to time.  It was always a favourite of mine.

I forget sometimes just how much joy something so simple can be.  Today, since I was home sick again, I made myself tomato soup and grilled cheese.  The ooowwweee gooey goodness of the grilled cheese (old school grilled cheese with Kraft slices and a slice of tomato in it) complimented my organic basil tomato soup.  It brought me back to a warm childhood memory AND it satiated me.  What more can a girl ask for on a beautiful spring day, stuck inside sick?  Yes - the oooooweeeeee gooey goodness of grilled cheese and tomato soup.

A moment to smile.  A moment remembering past days.