7 Quick Takes...

I came across this fun meme over at The Conversion Diary and I thought I'd join in, so without further delay, here are my 7 Quick Takes:

1. Another Friday, another challenge over at The Inspired Scrapper. This one is simply to use flowers. Spring is springing, after all! Check it out, and join in via Mr. Linky!

2. After being married for almost eight years and having three children, my husband and I are now looking to buy our first home. It's a nerve wracking process at times! In the past, whenever I've heard anybody say they were 'devastated' when an offer that they've made on a house hasn't worked out, I would think, 'Relax - it's just a house - find another!'. Nice, eh?! Now - I understand how somebody could feel that way.

3. This is the final weekend of the 2010 Winter Olympics. I'm going to miss it! Living in the host city has been the opportunity of a lifetime - I wonder, have I done enough? Have I taken advantage of all the goings on? How are my children going to remember this time? I think that Vancouver is going to feel some post-event blues. I think I will too. On the positive side, while I've enjoyed watching all the Canadian and International coverage on televsion - I'm looking forward to NOT having the TV on for awhile!

4. I never thought I'd ever say this, but...I actually prefer McDonald's coffee to Tim Hortons and Starbucks! I used to look at McDonald's coffee with complete disdain. Then, sometime this past year, McDonald's offered free coffee in the morning for a period of a few weeks, so I started hitting the drive-thru on my way to work for my freebie, and marketing works, folks, because McDonald's proved to me that their coffee is now not only improved, but superior! I actually crave it now and will go out of my way just to hit the drive-thru. I still feel a bit embarrassed to be seen drinking their coffee (I'm sure that will pass), but...I'm a convert!

5. I have been blogging for over three years now - I can't believe it! I started this blog when my last born child was about three weeks old - feels like a lifetime ago. At the time, I wasn't sure about this whole blogging thing, but three years later - I absolutely love it! I think I'll be blogging forever - although, it will be interesting to see how blogging evolves and what it will consist of in the years to come.

6. I am mulling over the idea of getting a dog. For years, I was dead-set against having any pets, but now...this little itch for a dog is getting bigger. I'm not going to make any sudden moves - it's a huge decision. Like having another child, in a lot of ways. A dog is a big, long-term, and somewhat expensive commitment, and not one that I take lightly. I think I'll have to dedicate an entirely separate post to discussing the pros and cons of adding a dog to our family. I hope my husband's not reading this...I don't think he's anywhere near being ready for a conversation about this! The kids, however, would be ecstatic. We'll keep this quiet for now...ssshhh...

7. It was harder than I thought it would be to come up with '7' quick takes, and I don't know if they'd all qualify as 'quick', but this was a fun meme to take part in and I will definitely be doing it again!

Happy Friday!

TGIF! Three reasons why this Friday in particular is a great one:

1. Friday over at the Inspired Scrapper means that a new challenge is posted, along with great projects by the designers. Looking for Valentines inspiration in particular? Go check it out!

2. Here in Vancouver, the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics begins at 6:00 pm PST. My husband was in BC Place Stadium on July 2, 2003 when Vancouver was awarded these Games. I was watching from home on TV, pregnant with our second child, who was born three days later. Since then, we've had a third child, so we've essentially been waiting for this moment for the duration of our boys' lives!

3. To be honest, I can't come up with a third reason specific to this Friday, but come on - who doesn't love a Friday - any Friday?! It's the kickoff to the weekend, and here's wishing you a great one!

Two Cards For Two Challenges...

To begin, I feel compelled to dedicate this post to Kat - thanks for calling me out! (*wink*).

Today's cards are in response to two sketch challenges - the card on the right is based on sketch #48 at Card Patterns and the card on the left is based on a sketch over at Mojo Monday . Both of these sites are great for the card maker who may be in need of a gentle prod to boost creativity and/or productivity.

Vancouver is enjoying a very mild winter right now and Spring is peeking out all around in the way of budding trees and shrubs, and once-dormant bulbs shooting their green tips up through the dirt. This is not good news for a city that is set to host the 2010 Winter Olympics in two weeks, but selfishly, this is great news for me! Aside from the fact that there are multitudes of reasons to love Spring, I’m just very glad that I can photograph my cards outside. I am still struggling to get good lighting with my indoor photography. Plus, I must confess that there is not a decent backdrop to be had inside my house because my housekeeper has been letting her duties slide badly these days (that would be me!). One of my favorite quotes of all times (from the fabulous Phyllis Diller) is a rather apropos way to wrap this post up...

“Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.”

To Everything There Is A Season...

Today is a grey, rainy day in Vancouver. It is also a bit cool. I think this officially ends what has been an outstanding summer here in Vancouver. I'm a bit sad about closing the door on summer, but because it really was such a spectacular season weather-wise this year, I have to be thankful for that much at least, and appreciate the good fortune of this lovely last stretch of Indian Summer that we have been enjoying up until now. Summer '09, we had a good run! Thank you for that! You will go down in the history books (and my scrapbooks!) as a winner! Truly, what more can we ask for? It's got to come to an end sometime, and given that today is the first day of October, I can't feel too much remorse! Besides, I don't like to focus on the negative. Remember the song, 'Turn, Turn, Turn' by the Byrds, from back in 1965, with words adapted from The Bible, book of Ecclesiastes? Click here for the YouTube link. It feels like a good song for today.

At work today, I left my building to head over to the nearby Starbucks. I hadn't yet had a caffeinated beverage and was feeling like my day, therefore, had not gotten off to a suitable start. My drink of choice through the summer months has been the Cafe Con Leche - also known as Iced Coffee, and I have not yet given up on this cold, refreshing beverage in favour of the steamy hot lattes just yet, so I suppose I haven't fully let go of summer...but I digress. This closing thought was not going to be about drinks or long goodbyes...I was going to end this post on a specifically positive, uplifting note. As I mentioned above, I do not like to focus on the negative, in any aspect of my life. I try to look out at the world with the determination that, to a significant degree, the success of a good day, or the failure to enjoy a day, is largely based on how we choose to see things. For example, I left my building today to head over to the nearby Starbucks. The outside world was somewhat dark, certainly gray, and enthusiastically moistened. A woman leaving the building at the same time as me stated, "What a crappy day!". I turned to her, smiled broadly, and said, "I prefer to think of it as lovely for the trees and grass!". She paused, looked doubtfully at me, and carried on her un-merry way. Apparently, she did not feel agreeable with me on this. Hmm. Oh well. I'll leave you with this:

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine."

- Anthony D'Angelo

Earth Day Spotlight - Coyotes

This past Saturday was the 9th Annual Earth Day Event at Everett Crowley Park. Here is the event description, borrowed from the Earth Day Canada website:

"Everett Crowley Park was once used as Vancouver’s landfill. VanEast Parks Department in cooperation with Everett Crowley Committee Members and Community Volunteers have turned this abused site into the “jewel of East Vancouver.” Planting of native species and removal of invasive alien plant species is undertaken annually by the Community at each annual Earth Day Event and created a beautiful park for all to enjoy. The site has Viewpoints which offer stunning views across the Fraser River overlooking lush green market gardens and to the East a magnificent view of Mount Baker. Eagles, hawks and owls fly overhead, nature walks and birding tours are offered by the Committee. People of all ages now walk and play in open areas surrounded by towering evergreens. In 2008, 5,000 people came to enjoy a day of free live entertainment, learned new things, got down and planted and had a wonderful day in the Park. Educational booths offer information on how each of us can make small changes in our daily lives to help protect our environment for today and for future generations. We expect a large turnout this year to enjoy what has become an eagerly anticipated event."

All three of my children and I walked over around noon to see what was going on. This was the first year that we attended. It was wonderful! So much to see and do, and there were so many friends and neighbours there to wave to or stop and chat with.

The Stanley Park Ecology Society had an information booth set up which focused on "Co-existing with Coyotes". I found it to be very interesting - I've seen many coyotes in the city - from a distance as well as a few 'too close for comfort' encounters. The SPEC steward who was manning the booth had a homemade 'coyote shaker' that he was demonstrating and passing about. I had never heard of one before, but now that I've seen one, I've decided that it is going to be this week's craft project with the kids! Here is some infomation from SPEC's website:

The Coyote Shaker

Materials:
•Pop or juice can
•About 40 pennies
•Aluminum foil
•Duct tape


Instructions:
1.Place the pennies in the can
2.Cover the opening with tape
3.Cut a piece of foil and tape it around the can


Using the Shaker
Shake the tin at the coyote while slowly moving towards an area of increased activity. The shaker scares the approaching coyote in three ways, through:

1.Aggressive hand motion
2.Loud noise
3.Reflective light

The shaker easily fits in a pocket or bag.

Also from the SPEC website, "It may surprise some readers that the Co-existing with Coyotes program encourages people to harass coyotes. Coyotes are opportunists and always learning, it's a major factor in their success. By harassing a coyote that shows no fear of people, or follows your dog, you send it a message that they have been recognized and that they need to keep their distance. Without a reasonable fear of people, coyotes and other urban wildlife will often become habituated, thereby increasing the potential for conflicts with humans. The most common conflicts involve coyotes attacking pets."

Certainly a good perspective to keep in mind! Happily, I know two little boys with big imaginations and lots of energy for adventure who will be raring to head back to the park to make some noise with their newly constructed, SPEC sanctioned gadgets! I'll arm myself with my ecologically sound, reusable coffee canteen and my camera of choice and I'll be just as eager to head out, in pursuit of little boys' laughter, sunshine, and good photo ops! Fun for all ages!

Good Morning on Good Friday...

Good morning, good morning, what a good morning it is! The sun is shining, the birds are singing...and I mean, the birds are really singing!! They are quite a lively, busy, active little bunch around here! In fact, at times they sound almost lunatic - such a rapid, fervent cacophony they make. Some of my neighbours complain about their noise, but I love it. I welcome it! It always heralds the arrival of spring, and I will celebrate that always! True, the little winged wonders do start up on the early side each morning - sometimes while '4' is still the first number you see on the digital clock glowing beside the bed, but I will never complain. My mood, my energy, my frame of mind depends too much on the spring and summer seasons, and the weather they bring, to ever grieve any non sequitur like birdsong.

I feel very fortunate to live where I do. I believe that one of the things that British Columbia, and Vancouver, is recognized for is our abundance of wildlife, trees, and greenery. The neighbourhood I live in within Vancouver is almost a parklike setting. Woods and trails and ponds and creeks, all just above the mighty Fraser River. During the summer, I can look out my living room window and barely be able to make out the townhouse complex next door to us, or even my neighbours houses across from my backyard, for all the full, broad, mature (mostly deciduous) trees there are. They are a wonderful privacy screen, and they provide such great sunshade for the children out playing in the summer. It's somewhat startling, in the autumn, to have almost all the leaves fall away to reveal (gasp!) civilization! So dense, and so close - just on the other side of the fence!

I used to associate 'birdwatching' with either odd, antisocial, professor-type men, or your stereotypical 'little old lady' - ancient and frail, looking out her kitchen window at her generous array of birdfeeders, making sure all of her dear little birdies have their seed through the winter. Well, darned if I am not turning into a bit of a birdwatcher myself! How could I not?! I'll be sitting on the couch in front of the big window in the living room when a flash of movement catches my eye - what was that?! I turn and look outside, and a robin has landed on the balcony railing. A minute later - flash of movement. I turn my head. Two little chickadees are skipping about outside on the deck. I look out at the empty playground. Nothing going on out there. Or is there? The more I look, the more I see. Little birds swooping quickly by and out of sight....another robin hopping about on the grass...a couple of crows perched above, overseeing things and waiting perhaps for a sign that the robin might be on to something tasty...And farther above in the sky overtop of the neighbouring townhouse complex, some seagulls are circling about. Seagulls...well I'll be. There's nary a sea around here, and we're a bit more than a stone's throw from Kitsilano...I have seen woodpeckers, blue jays, hummingbirds, hawks, great blue herons, Canadian geese, bald eagles and more - on the ground, in the trees, and in the sky above - right in my backyard.

So here at my house, spring is springing, birds are singing - and there is no place I'd rather be!

All Geared Up and Ready To Go!

Today was opening day for Vancouver Minor Baseball. This will be Casey's third year playing. He spent two years in 'Blastball' and has now moved up to 'Mini Tad'. While Blastball has the kids hitting the ball off of a T-stand, the Mini Tads have graduated to a pitching machine, which means new equipment is required. At this level, the team supplies the batting helmet, but it was time for a new glove as Casey had grown out of his old one from last season (Cody happily inherited it), and the other new piece of equipment required at this stage is a jock. Sounds like a Daddy job to me! So, a few days ago, Steve took Casey out to look at getting a new mitt and his first jock. Casey wasn't quite sure what a jock is, so Steve gave him an explanation, involving what I don't know. Casey processed the information and then asked, "You mean like armor for your penis?" I can always count on Casey for a chuckle!

Frustrated!!!

So here I am again and still, blogging from bed. Dang it! I am no better today than I was almost a week ago when I first got sick, and I'm super p*ssed about it!! I would so rather be at work! I would so rather be cleaning the house! I would so rather be doing anything other than lying in my bed, stuffy and achy and tired and BORED TO DEATH!! Frustrated!! I promised myself that this was NOT going to be another self-indulgent post about poor me I'm sick boo hoo etc. SO - moving right along...

Let's talk about the rain! Ah yes, Vancouver's liquid sunshine. Such a classic Spring Break on the Wet Coast! Casey's in a week long half-day soccer school program and he is super excited about it! Of course, we signed him up for this before he came down with pneumonia, ear infection, etc. So now he's out in the elements, running around, exerting himself, soaked through from head to toe...I remember reading a long time ago a magazine or newspaper article called "Old Wives Tales Debunked!" or some such thing. The article stated that the whole myth about kids catching cold from being out in the rain and/or cold etc. was untrue - colds are caused by viruses, not weather. Okay, makes sense. But I still can't shake my sense of guilt about sending my newly recovered Casey outside for three hours on a day like today! He has been SO excited about it though - to tell him he can't go would probably be worse for him than the weather and us Vancouverites, we gotta be tough! We can't slow down or stop for a little rain! We'd cease to exist!! I remember seeing a t-shirt when I was a kid - it said, "Welcome to the Vancouver Rain Festival! September 1 to August 31!". It took me a minute to figure it out, but once I did - HAH! I loved it! And that about sums it up, doesn't it?! So that takes up back to Spring Break. I do feel disappointed about the weather. Between the rain and me being sick, there's not much fun going on around here for the kids. So, I have to toss aside most, if not all, of my plans with them for the week, but I'm still holding out for Friday. We have been planning on driving down to Seattle to spend the weekend with my sister and her family - my little niece is turning 2 on the first day of Spring! She's only seven weeks younger than Cody. We haven't gotten together with all the kids in months and months, so this trip HAS to happen!! I HAVE to be better by then! Rain or shine, it will be a splendid, excellent, super fun time. Fingers crossed!

Back With The Weather Right After This Break...

Rain, oh glorious rain!! I never thought I'd hear myself say it but all this snow we've gotten in the past few weeks has brought on a refreshing new perspective! The silver lining, it is. At first, the snow was lovely. Romantic. Pretty. Fun for the kids. A novelty. Then, it became a bit much, didn't it?! It looks like it's over though, and it's exciting to see how quickly the mounds of snow are diminishing, between the warmer temperatures and all the blessed rain. I've become quite the weather watcher. It borders on obsession. I find myself Googling 'Vancouver weather', logging into the Weather Network a couple of times a day, and though I don't (can't!) watch the news, I implore my husband to please catch the weather and let me know what it's going to be like tomorrow or I won't be able to sleep! Okay, I exaggerate a bit.

My level of interest in the weather is, however, a measure of my adultness. When I was a kid and staying with my grandparents, every day at noon they'd eat their lunch in front of the TV because they had to 'catch the weather'. I didn't get it. Catch the weather?! 'If you want to know the weather, take a look outside! That'll tell you the weather!' (I was such a little smart ass!). 6:00 pm, the Early News would come on, and again - they had to watch for the weather report. WTHeck?! You just found out a few hours ago AND you can ALSO take a look outside! And, lord help me, 11:00 pm would roll around and...you guessed it. The weather. They just wanted to get the local news and the weather before they went to bed. Now here I am. All these years later. I'm sure they are both just looking down on me with bemused smiles on their faces, nodding their heads, saying, 'ah yes...our granddaughter is officially, and fully, an adult now'.

In Lieu of a 'Real' Post...

An original, seasonal haiku...

Snow in Vancouver
Pandemonium breaks out!
Starbucks on foot then.

Love the Usborne Books!

For anyone in the Metro Vancouver area (still feels a bit weird saying that - I'm a creature of habit, still thinking the 'Lower Mainland'!), I am having an Usborne Books open house at my house on Sunday, November 30, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. If you're interested in coming by, email me for my address! There'll be snacks/refreshments, and lots of great childrens books to peruse! Also, I'll enter your name in a draw for free books, and if you bring a friend, you get a free book! If you're interested in checking out the online catalogue, go to http://www.usborne.ca/. Any orders made by the end of November will be received before Christmas! You're welcome to bring your kids - our place is small, but we've got a playroom downstairs (and there will be plenty of age-appropriate reading material!) Hope to see you!

Just weighing in...

Another pristine Autumn day in Vancouver! Bright blue sky, sun shining - gotta love it! I have to say, though, that within the last week or two, I've been noticing a fair amount of people about town wearing gloves, toques, and/or scarves. I've gotta ask - is it really that cold to you people?! Or perhaps some of you are just getting an early jump on late fall/winter fashion? I don't want to come across as insensitive or ignorant to people who may actually have circulatory issues or some such medical condition, but aside from them, come on. This is Vancouver - one of the few places in Canada that doesn't freeze over by Halloween - where hardcore Vancouverites wear shorts year-round! So, really...what is up with all that wool and fleece out there on the streets?!

On another note, today was my first weigh-in/meeting night after coming back/recommiting to Weight Watchers. It is my opinion that the first week is always a doozy, no matter how determined or driven a person may be! I hate to say it, but I was HUNGRY this week, and that pisses me off! But, I battled. I wrestled my own mind daily, hourly - the old demons, bad habits, everyday temptations...I fought it out and persevered. I was excited about weighing in again - I wanted my payoff, I wanted results! Weighing in can be nervewracking - some weeks during my first go at WW this past spring, I'd be SO focused, SO diligent and I'd step up on the scale expecting great news, and...pfft. Only half a pound down. Half a pound?! Is it worth all the blood, sweat, and tears for half a freaking pound?! (And the answer is, yes it is! It's better than nothing, and chances are, if you have a tough week but you're really sticking to it, the next week will make up for it! I must say though, it's sometimes hard to see the bigger picture at times like that). I'd been checking in on my scale at home every now and then, and I hadn't seen much of anything happening (although my home scale is pretty unreliable), and I didn't feel like I'd lost anything...So I got to my meeting, stepped up onto the scale, and lo and behold! I'm down 4.8 pounds!! So it was worth it, and I've got that first week behind me, and I'm off to a great start. So I just have to do it again tomorrow. One more week, one day at a time!

(Please note: This blog post was written yesterday, October 4th, and not posted until today. You are NOT in a time warp! I, however, am a day late and a dollar short. As is often the case!)

Today is a great day for three reasons! (Well, for more than three reasons, but for the purpose of this blog post, I’m going for three main reasons with many other sub-reasons scattered throughout!).

#1. My firstborn baby girl is 13 today!! She has chosen to spend the day at a Tae Kwon Do seminar with Master Tran who is, I gather, the high muck-a-muck of the International Tae Kwon Do Association. She also attended last year and really enjoyed it. I’m so proud of her and her accomplishments in sport in general, and TKD specifically. She’s a lot of steel packed into a little package and her sports provide a great channel for her. And, although she is only officially a teenager as of 6 a.m. this morning to be precise, it has felt like we have been living with a teenager for a lot longer than this! Thankfully, between tae kwon do, hockey, and soccer, some of the intensity of the ‘Tween’ experience has been dispersed and diffused remarkably well. I cringe to think of where any of us would be right now had my little birthday girl not found an outlet in sports! Between Chanel and I and also collectively as a family, we have had some trying times, some challenging moments, some downright dark days with our sweet and cherished Chanel at the centre of it all but alongside the less-than-stellar moments, there have been some truly rewarding and affirming moments as well. I have seen my tiny, newborn baby girl grow into a happy, gurgly baby into an amazingly articulate and clever little toddler/preschooler, into a witty, engaging little kid, and now into an increasingly beautiful, complex, and fascinating girl. I’m looking forward to all that is ahead (except for the getting emotionally shit-kicked part) and I have no doubt that on the other side of these intense and turbulent times we call ‘The Teens’, Chanel and I will both be standing, relatively intact, together arm in arm, looking back with fondness (and a huge amount of relief) that here we are on the other side of it all and, well, trendy rose-coloured sunglasses smartly in place, wasn’t it was a helluva ride?! Then we can stroll off together into the sunset, both of us complementing the other on our fashionable outfits and cute accessories and why don’t we go out for lunch and share something decadent for dessert and then go shopping for scrapbooking supplies?!

#2 - And speaking of scrapbooking supplies, today is World Cardmaking Day! Very exciting for us papercrafters! Lots of LSS’s offering make ‘n takes, etc. In fact, since I was already out in PoCo dropping my daughter off at her seminar, I thought I’d keep on heading east and finally pop into Photo Express. Yes, that’s right - I’ve never been there which is a big shocking thing apparently for someone who loves scrapbooking and lives in Metro Vancouver. So I made the pilgrimage and was it ever worth it! I’m heading back there with my next paycheque! They had some very nice make ‘n take cards presented by some very lovely employees. And talk about tons of inspiration everywhere I turned! Product and layouts and cards aplenty! Well worth the drive, although I must say - lil’ Pitt Meadows/Maple Ridge definitely has their share of traffic issues! And I know that there is all kinds of construction and capital improvements being made…and not one second too soon! They’s got themselves some serious growing pains right now! The region has EXPLODED since I used to live out there. Yes, I used to live in Maple Ridge many, many moons ago…back when EVERY night was half price night at Tommy’s…yes, that’s right. Tommy’s. At the Haney Hotel. Me old stompin’ grounds. I drove by it today on my way to PE…quite the trip down memory lane! Although I actually don’t remember too much about it all, quite honestly. I was nineteen, working full time, and living on my own and I spent the majority of my spare time seriously inebriated and dancing at Tommy’s until the fluorescents came on and nobody looked nearly as good as they had just moments before…myself included. I guess it’s changed a bit since then, but as I drove by it today I realized that I couldn’t really tell if much had changed because I don’t think I’ve ever seen it by daylight before…Oh come on! I sowed my wild oats and it’s in the distant past now…I’m (almost) not too embarrassed to admit it! Sheesh…I’ve really digressed from the original # 2 heading content. Oh well. I feel somewhat cleansed - like I’ve been to confession and have been given a whole new fresh start to mess up!

Maple Ridge really has changed a LOT since then…back before there was public transit or Tim Hortons or a shiny new library or free WiFi for the masses in the downtown core. It has grown up into a delightful, sophisticated little almost-city that has still managed to preserve it’s small town charm. And as for Photo Express - well, back in the olden days when I worked at Haney Place Mall, it was just a modest little photo-finishing place. Now - well, now! It is the motherlode of all things photographic and scrapworthy!! A veritable Mecca of creativity and paperstuff. Me likey! Me likey a lot! Photo Express and me…both getting better with age!

#3 - And lastly, today is officially the first day of the 2008-2009 NHL season! Can I get a hell yeah?! (HELL YEAH!!!). And the Canucks have ushered in a new era under the cute and competent Roberto Luongo, wearing the ‘C’. Well, okay. Not really wearing the ‘C’, but the captain nevertheless! I’m looking forward to an exciting, injury-free, winning season!! GO CANUCKS GO!!!

So there you have it. Three great reasons for having a great day! Can't ask for more than that!

Random Thoughts...

…Not the most original title for a blog posting - but appropriate in this case! In fact, most of what I think of writing about would fall into the ‘Random’ category…I seem to have a lot to say about nothing in particular. Nothing earth shattering, nothing purposeful…just bits and pieces of this and that. And I’m okay with that! I’m sure there are blogs out there with lofty aspirations, that are driven, on a righteous mission. Intellectually sound, well researched, and grammatically flawless . Alas, this is not one of them. Sometimes I feel like I have a lot to blog about and other times...I got nuthin'. And yet I always have an urge to write. So I do, and wherever it goes, so it goes. The purpose of this paragraph, I suppose, is not so much to serve as a warning, but more of a disclaimer. So here goes…

I’m walking home from work yesterday. Late afternoon, glorious sunshine - a brilliant Vancouver-in-early-September day. A lot of people are out walking with their dogs, children, etc. I’m powering along, making it count, and eager to get home for an evening out with my husband (thank you, Grandma and Grandpa L for taking all three children overnight!). I’m rapidly gaining on an older/elderly-looking woman who is making her way along the sidewalk slowly but surely (in alarmingly wobbly-looking wedgie slip-on sandals - yikes! I‘m praying that she doesn’t twist her ankle or fall down!). As I am close enough behind her that I’m beginning to move onto the grass strip between the sidewalk and the road so as not to bump into her and also to ensure that she doesn’t have to maneuver over to allow me to pass, the thought crosses my mind - should I give her some kind of warning that somebody is approaching behind her? Shout out a little ‘passing on your right!’, or ‘Oop! Pardon me, excuse me, coming round!’ but then I decide, nah, that might startle her more than anything else and now I’m close enough that even if I gave my keys a little jingle (which I can’t because they’re buried in my oversized and cluttered purse) or cleared my throat/gave a little cough/ahem, I’d already be past her, so I just pull out and start to pass. Well. That little old lady jumped and shrieked and clutched her hands and purse to her chest because apparently, I’d caught her quite unawares and gave her a dreadful fright! I slowed and looked at her - I think my eyes were as wide-open as they’d ever been because I was so surprised and horrified that I’d scared her so badly. Once she got a look at me and realized I was just a harmless, decent-appearing (and casually but chicly dressed as well, I might add!) fellow woman, she smiled somewhat shakily but sheepishly and apologized, all at the same time I was already offering forth my sincere apologies. We continued apologizing to each other for some time, both of us earnestly and adamantly excusing the other while claiming the responsibility of the little incident as our own, then we got to chatting briefly about oh, whereabouts in the neighbourhood do you live, I’m just walking down to the store for milk, it’s very nice to meet you, etc, etc. and then I said good-bye, big wave, and powered on again.

So now I’m thinking - why didn’t I just call out a little warning for her? I know what it’s like to have somebody come up from behind and startle me while I’m out walking or shopping or whatever…why didn’t I show her the consideration and sensitivity that I myself have a personal awareness of? And the reason why is really the reason why I don’t do a lot of seemingly ’little things’…I overthought it. I questioned myself. I didn’t go with my ’gut instinct’. And I regret that! And I am going to make a very real and conscious attempt to NOT do that anymore! Because this is not the first time that I’ve found myself thinking about something after the fact and wishing I’d done it differently. Done it the way I’d FIRST thought about doing it before I muddled my head up with numerous other questions and considerations. So, nice little lady out there in the ‘hood - my sincere apologies once again. And, my sincere pledge that I will do better than that next time. I will do what I feel to be the right thing to do as I would appreciate someone doing for me! And I hope to see you ‘round here again - most definitely under less alarming circumstances!