characters

Some stand tall and proud.

Some like to hide behind things. 

Would rather not be seen.

Some like to blend in with their surroundings and don't mind so much if they go unnoticed.

Some like to stand out. 

Baring their true colors whether the colors are liked or not.

And some like to fence themselves in.

Some are pleasant.

Some we find hard to like.

Some we love- others.....not so much.

Some just simply annoy.

And there are some we think we just couldn't do without.

Characters.

{The world is full of them.}

This Moment

You may not like the Moment you're in.....

....but don't worry.

This Moment will pass to the next.

~~~~

The door slammed shut and all 4 of my kids were gone.

They all had wanted to go to town for one reason or other....

a friend's,

skating at the town lake,

a movie,

the library,

hot chocolate at Tim Hortons.

So my oldest took them all in, and now-

the house was silent.

I actually heard the clock ticking in the hallway.

The house was so empty.

I stood there holding my breath- almost expecting one of them to storm back in for something they had forgotten.

But no- the loaded vehicle went past the house with all of them waving emphatically through the windows.

It was me.

Alone in a big, empty, quiet house- and for a second or more I almost wished I could call them back and ask them to take me with them.

I missed them already.

Then I remembered yesterday.

The day where I wished all of them to be outside playing so I could have even a moment of peace.

Here they were gone, and I wanted them back.

Yesterday they were here and I wished them all out.

What was wrong with me?

{Live in the moment you're in...and enjoy it there.

The next moment is coming up....you can enjoy that moment too.}

I quickly realized I was alone and relished the thought.

I grabbed my outdoor gear, donned my ski boots, and slid away through the trees for a 10km ski around the fields.

I was alone and I was going to relish the thought and enjoy every second.

They were going to be home in a few hours-and I would have to make their supper, wash their clothes, and listen to the banter.

 Another moment would be here again soon enough.

(all the pictures above were of the same sunset within 

MOMENTS of each other.)

Building Tips

When feeling a bit confined.....

....or a bit pent up....

....it's okay to let off steam.

Just do it productively.

And all this I am slowly learning..... as I seem to be a very 

long work in progress.

Fences

"The same fence that shuts others out shuts you in."

~Bill Copeland

"Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow."

~Norman Vincent Peale

Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up.

                                    ~Robert Frost

"A good neighbor is a fellow who
smiles at you over the back fence,
but doesn't climb over it."

~Bugs Baer

march to the time~

2 weeks ago I boarded this ship:

In 2 more weeks we will be half way through yet another month.

~~~~~~

Earlier today I ate Birthday cake

to celebrate the 9 years I've been blessed with this guy:

{Happy Birthday Ben}

In about 9 more years, he may be leaving home and living out his own moments.

~~~~

In approximately 7 hours I will go to sleep.

If I'm blessed with one more day, I will wake up 7 hours later to begin yet another one and fill it with moments.

~~~~~~

It's something how time marches on.

And we have to march along with it regardless if we like the idea or not.

(just like I had to leave that ship ---even though i would have been quite 

content to cruise around on it one more week:)

~~~~~~~~

Love these lyrics......

This time around is the only time you get
Like an hour glass that can't never be turned again
Once it's done, all you are is who you've been
So sink or swim
I'm diving in
This time around
This time around
Gonna love with all my heart
Do my best not to finish where I start
No regrets
Set my coarse among the stars
No looking back
No pointing back
This time around
Each waking moment's what you make it
Don't let a minute pass you by
This is the only chance
So take it
All you have to do is spread your wings and fly
This time around

                                                                  ~Paul Brandt "This Time Around" 

~~~~

Who are YOU??

Someone asked me once how you know who you are.

I find that a frustrating question because there seems to be no definite answer.

I can be a label...a mother, daughter, friend, teacher...but does that make me ME???

I think it's all those little pieces put together- that make you who you are.

Or, at least it begins to outline the person you are.

Because after all these years of living, I'm still trying to figure out just who I am.

{Outline of Me}

1) I love water sports - this includes laying on the beach.
2) I love chocolate. Of course.
3) I plant my garden in my bare feet.
4) I wish I could be a photographer and spend all my days looking for outside things to capture on film.
5) I wish I could live outside. 
6) I don't like feeling surrounded by lots of people....claustraphobic.
7) I would rather eat salty than sweet.
8) I have always wanted to go to Italy. 
9) One day I want to bike across Canada. And I will.
10) Coming back from a trip...I cannot go to bed until my suitcase is unpacked- even if it is 3 in the morning.
11) I HATE a messy house...especially when it is mine!
12) I would rather clean a bathroom than cook or bake:)
13) I am very indecisive...and I hate that about me.
14) I wish I was 2 inches taller.
15) My favorite candy are Bottle Caps.
16) If I could live anywhere it would be on a mountain overlooking the ocean.
17) I am absolutely terrified of flying. TERRIFIED.
18) I've had 4 c-sections...NOT by choice.
19) I can feel very, very alone- even surrounded by people.
20) My favorite color is blue. Every single shade of blue.
21) I wish I could stay 27 forever;)
22) One day I'll run a marathon and do a Half-Ironman. Okay, maybe an actual Ironman would be fun too:)
23) I go to bed late and wake up early. I don't sleep much At All.
24) My favorite food is Mexican. And Thai. And Chinese. Oh...and I love my pizza.
25) I wrote a book 10 years ago and sent it away to get published. It's still sitting in my closet unpublished.

So........Who Are You?
~~~~

Unknown Trail...

An unknown trail lures me in.

I want to know what's around every turn.

But don't you wish you could know each turn before you take it?

Then you would never make a wrong decision.

~~~~~~

Lamenting this thought, but then I found this quote:

{{The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.}}

~George Eliot

~~wrong decisions can be our growing places~~

~~~~

Eyes Wide Open

Beauty can be found in the most unexpected of places.
~~~~~~~~
Just keep your eyes wide open
************
(Yoho National Park~
found just under the Ice Line)


(Just wanted you to know my posting and comments on your blogs may be a bit sporadic over the next couple of weeks. (And many of my posts will be scheduled to show up when I'm not:))
I will still come by to visit, but you may not always here from me until things "calm" down around her a tad:))  I'm hoping I will catch up on all of you soon.
~Blog-On, dear friends!)

Guarding the Sunset

This tall spruce is in my front yard.

He guards every sunset there is.

A ladder is propped against his trunk, and those who dare to, 

climb his branches.

I planted small spruce trees around him a few summers ago.

I am hoping that one day those little ones will follow in his footsteps. 

For this reason, he must stand on guard and watch his step.

Those who are coming behind, may be watching closely to see how it's done.

~~~

Fence In....or Out

{Bridges} and Fences.

I have a thing for both.

They're quite similar.

Each has two sides.

And with each~you can be on either one.

Not every side is exciting.

At times you wish you were on the other side.

(Or not.)

And at times you just wish you could linger in the middle.

But eventually.... you have to choose.

Riding the fence isn't recommended.

Choose your side.

Abandoned

There is an old house I pass by on my usual running route.

For some reason every time I go by, I wonder why it sits empty.

What reasoning is there for it to sit lonely and abandoned.

And I find myself imagining what I could do with it.

On a walk one very cold day- 

(when my excuse NOT to run and just walk was because it was too darn cold!),

I decided to venture in to the yard.

A very daring thing for me. 

One: I hate getting in to trouble. 

And even though there is no- No Trespassing sign, 

I tremble when I  picture the entire scenario of being run off by the owner.

Two: Abandoned Places hold me in awe...for their character, as well as the thrill of wondering just WHAT IF someone still lives there....real or otherwise. 

I mean...seeing a face appear at a window from an old, abandoned building would be....

quite the thrill.

I made a trail through the snow to stand in front of it.

Walking not at my usual pace, but in a thinking sort-of pace.

Taking in the windows and old screen door.

The worn off paint and crumbling foundation.

Tree branches reaching in through the gaps in the walls.

Stopping directly in front, I noticed other things.

Jagged, broken glass in the large front window.

A set of old Christmas lights dangling off the roof and swinging in a freezing breeze.

Steps which once were tread upon .... with eager and happy feet.

I stood thinking about other times this home had seen.

For it HAD been a home.

Now, just an abandoned house.

~

After a time I walked away.

Wondering if one day this old home will ever be fixed up or made right.

I also wondered if  I was to turn fast enough....if I just might see someone waving at me through the window.

But I didn't turn again to find out.

(And my thinking walk.... turned back into my usual (and bit quicker) walking pace.)

~~~

The thrill of an abandoned house.

(I need to get out more.)

Tips to self for the new year....

Stand on guard for things that may try to wear you down.

(Because for certain there will be plenty of things that try just that.)

Always, always, 

watch out for these.

(Life does manage to come up with things from out of no~where!)

Even if you aren't a kid...it's not a bad thing to act like one.

(I ate all of these.~~~~In one evening.)

And Bonus Tip:  {Self-control is a wonderful thing to own.}

~~~~~~~~

!Exclamation Mark!

!

An exclamation mark, exclamation point, or bang (!) is a punctuation mark usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or high volume, and often marks the end of a sentence.

~~~~~~~~

The other day I was told that if people were described as punctuation marks, 
I would have to be the Exclamation Point.

Yes. 

That's what I was called.

Specifically the words were...."You are exactly and completely - an Exclamation Mark. 
That's the only way I can describe you."

Well....I have to admit this sounds about right.
When I'm happy...I am ecstatic.

When I'm not...watch out.

You always know how I feel, and I do tend to be extreme either way.

I so wish I could find a happy balance.

But my wiring seems to short circuit on most every day.
It's either "All or None"...and it can be exhausting!
(especially for those around me:(

The exclamation point comes from the term note of admiration, in which admiration referred to its Latin sense of wonderment. 

One theory of its origin is that it was originally the Latin word for joy, Io, written with the "I" written above the "o".

(I like this theory best:)

I mean...how can you NOT exclaim over a massive sky which floats around you like this?!

I guess the world needs all kinds.

Commas are good.,

At least they pause to think about what they say and do before they do it.

The hyphen links it all together. -

The full stop, or period, at least they know how to complete matters..

And question marks? ?

Always good. Who doesn't like an intelligent inquiry?

I guess a balance would be a good thing.

But I'd like to keep my Exclamation status for now.

I really do find it hard to be anything but .....

there's just too much around me to exclaim over

!

(I guess I could be a bit more "comm-a" 

'bout the way I go exclaiming...)

:)

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas...

and enjoy the last week of this year 2010!

:)

Where does it go?

Time is what prevents everything from happening at once.  ~John Archibald Wheeler

I was sitting down at the table with my kids the other morning, and upon looking at the clock I exclaimed how fast the time just went!

One of my boys' innocently asked, 

"Where does time go after it ticks?"

~~~~

A question full of answers~

but none that can be put into words.

~

A time museum would be nice.

Bottling the seconds and minutes would be lovely~ especially if we could use them up once again.

But instead,  the tick of the never-ending clock continues

and there is no reverting back.

~~~

Time is the most undefinable yet paradoxical of things; the past is gone, the future is not come, and the present becomes the past even while we attempt to define it, and, like the flash of lightning, at once exists and expires. 

 ~Charles Caleb Colton

Time is not something one can define.

For sure~~~ we can lament that there isn't enough of it.

We can use it (or not) wisely.

We can count it down or reminisce it's moments.

There is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at, and who steals what is most precious to men:  time.  ~Napoleon I, Maxims, 1815

Time can bring us many things.

Beauty.

Longing.

Sadness.

Heartache.

Joy.

Breathtaking moments.

Love.

For the most part~ we are captains of our time.

Choosing how each moment will be spent.

Other times~~~

 time takes us places we don't want to be, but go because it takes us.

Time captives.

Time goes, you say?  Ah no!
Alas, Time stays, we go.
~Henry Austin Dobson

Time allows us to become who we are to be.

And enjoy the moments we are blessed with.

Time is a gift.~A great gift.

Time! the corrector when our judgments err.  ~Lord Byron

TIME.

Can be laughter.

And so full of beauty.

How long a minute is, depends on which side of the bathroom door you're on.  

~Zall's Second Law

~(I had to throw this one in~ there is that matter of being 

just a tad too serious with your time:)~

But regardless of how one views time and where it goes,

it comes and passes with one tick of the clock.

The Future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.  ~C.S. Lewis

But what minutes!  Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day.  

~Benjamin Disraeli

How will you spend your time today?

~~~~