The Goodbye Season

 Times. They are a changin'.

My workplace has undergone some mighty big staffing changes in the past 6 months; people leaving, people joining. For someone like me, (who values relationships and consistency), the environment is unsettling and it's stirring up a whole buncha emotions. 

Each goodbye has been hard. (Rolf, Emily, Joanna, Shuwen, Isaac, Gloria, Karin ... you are missed every day.)

But the hardest 'see ya later' took place earlier this month on Melanie's last day. She was my first Work BFF... you know... that person you sit beside during staff events, that person you ride horses with during Fun Day, that person you pray with during devos.

Mel, (one of our Senior Vice Presidents) was also my role model and mentor; I learned so much about leadership from watching her lead her teams. 

Aside from that; we have The Ring Connection from December 2015...

Once upon a time, like say, back in 2012, a series of unfortunate events occurred. One of those things was a robbery where all my jewelry was stolen. 

Because I was insured, a settlement of $20,000 was agreed upon. $15,000 of that went into replacing my roof because raccoons and rats and possums had removed the cedar shakes and made a nice wide entrance for themselves and their partying friends. 

And I bought myself a diamond ring with the balance. 

On Friday, December 4, 2015 I lost it. 

I had attended a Make-It Christmas event in Vancouver that evening, but really I could've lost it at any point during the day. 

Melanie was thinking about going to that event on Sunday, so she Facebook messaged me about the market, asking if it was worth going on Saturday. I said yes. And then mentioned my lost ring:

Me:

I don't want a lost ring to be THE thing that takes up all my energy this month, but it feels shitty to know its gone. It was an extravagant purchase, totally unnecessary, and I'm not really a jewellery person, so I often felt guilty/unworthy even owning it.

It wasn't a symbol of love given to me by anyone special, it's not a heirloom passed down through generations - so there was no romantic or historical meaning behind it. I bought it with the insurance money because I thought I should have something sparkly and fun after the super shitty year I was having.

Considering all the crappy things that people in my life are dealing with, a dumb lost ring isn't worth mentioning or crying over.

God's got this; He knows where it is. And if I'm to have it back, I will.

And then on that Sunday afternoon Melanie got in touch with me again. (She'd gone to the Christmas Market with her husband):

Her:

Hey, have u heard anything?

Me: 

Nope. I left a message at their lost and found, but I don't really expect it to be there.

Her: 

Is this it?

Me:

WHAT!!!!!!

Her:

God loves you

Me:

OH MY GOODNESS

OH MY GOODNESS.

UN Believable.

Seriously?

Her:

and wants u to have sparkly things

Me:

I'm crying.

Her:

Yup!!!!

Us too

Me:

Seriously bawling.

Her:

Me too. Couldn't call. Texting is easier.

Me: 

I can't even.

Christmas Miracle or WHAT?

Her;

Totally.

Me: 

I'm still in awe. Like, you have no idea. Well, maybe you do.

Her:

No I do. Believe me.

Me:

I've only told, like 3 or 4 people that it's missing. I wasn't going to tell anyone. And I'm still surprised I told you. And hahaha. You have it. Did they just hand it over to you?

Her:

We went through the whole show and decided we'd ask at the end. But I kept thinking how easy it would be not to find it. It's such a big show. So many hiding places. 

So once we were done, we walked up to the ticket booth. There was a dude with a host jacket on. I tapped him on the shoulder and asked if there was a lost and found. 

He said yes, what did I lose. I said my friend lost a diamond ring. Had they received anything like that. 

He paused and said yes. 

He walked over to the counter and asked a lady for the ring. He asked me to describe it and it was exactly that. 

They gave it to me. I think we all were in a bit of disbelief. I was practically crying and said I was going to contact you right then, 

So awesome.

So easy.

Me: 

Oh that God. He's so. so, so ... something.

Her:

So God.

Me:

Yup, 

Feeling a little overwhelmed and totally loved.

Thankful that He used you in this story. 

Her:

Me too...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

I haven't worn the ring more than once or twice since then. Obviously I can't be trusted not to lose it. 

But I wore it on Melanie's last day at work. Because God connected us through that bit of bling all those years ago, and it meant something to both of us. 

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. The positive experience these past 11 (!) years of working with skilled, talented, committed, compassionate, people who care deeply about the organization and the people who work there. 

2. THIS weekend, when, for the first time since I said goodbye to them in Rome, we gathered at the lake to celebrate Thanksgiving. 

3. Max offered to manage to whole turkey project. 

4. Clint and Max said yes, when I (casually) asked them if they wanted to go for a walk with me. (!)

5. A life-giving concert on Wednesday evening with Matt Maher. 

6. Another stellar GLS (Global Leadership Summit) conference on Thursday and Friday. Nothing fills my tank quite like two days of presentations on leadership issues like this event does. So grateful that smart people share their experience and knowledge so compellingly. 

7. Thankful for a quiet Saturday with my mom. 

8. Thankful for books. And the people who write them. 

9. Grateful for my condo and the community at Latimer Village. It's home. 

10. So glad the internet was invented. 

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Hug the ones you love, feel your boobs, and wash your hands. 

xo

Arrrrrt

Today was our annual Staff Fun Day.

We painted.

This was what we were aiming for:

(And YES, this is a variation of the mountain and lake and tree scene that my granny painted on mirrors and tiles and driftwood.) (One might think this sort of thing just flows through me because of DNA but one would be very wrong.)

My granny's sister (Aunt Agatha)'s daughter (Val) and her granddaughter, Vanessa have some talent:

They took a couple painting classes together ... above and below:

Plus Vanessa paints on her own:

My dad's side of the family is very artistic and handy with paintbrushes too. The pics below were painted by his twin sister, Margaret, her daughter, Ellie and her 8 year old granddaughter, Anna.

Aren't Anna's paintings cute?

(Feeling bad I have no photos of my granny's work. Just walked around my mom's house and can't see anything she painted here. You'll just have to trust me when I say she had talent as well.)

So glad Drew married Dani. For a whole bunch of reasons, one of them being her artistic talent. Love that we're infusing a bit of that back into our bloodline.

OK, sorry for the detour.
Back to my FUN PAINTING DAY at work.

This is Frieda, our instructor, from Zealous Art. She brought all the supplies.

And kept reminding us to breathe when we got tense.

This was my interpretation of the first step:

Others interpreted differently:

Adding mountain ranges was nerve wracking. I would've rather been at my desk, answering emails.

Next? Add green rolling hills and a blue lake.

And this is mine, so far:

Next up was trees.
And my back was ready to snap. All the tension in the world was residing in my shoulders.

I forgot to take a pic of my final, completed painting while at work (I was taking group shots), so here's mine, at home:

Kids were very kind and supportive.
So I'm painting a dozen more and everyone's getting one for Christmas.
Plus I'm going BIG. Going to reproduce this, as a mural on the wall at the cabin.


(Pssst.
No I'm not.
I'm good at making lists. Not holding a loaded paint brush.)



Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Fun days.
2. Sisters who chop off 8 inches of hair.
3. Spectacular full moons.
4. Artistic people.

Joooon

I ended May with another "Goodbye, Best Wishes" lunch for one of my designers. 

Eva from Quebec is getting married, then off on a one year around-the-world travel adventure/honeymoon.

Sigh. 

The whole team gathered, including those on mat leave or working from home:

Seeing I had my camera at work, I took some pics earlier that day, of what it looks like when we (the whole staff) pray every morning:

When you call or email a prayer request, we pray.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After work, I treated myself to:

... a pedi.

"Are you going somewhere tomorrow?" she asked as I was getting ready to soak my feet.
"You know me pretty well..."
"You only get your toes done the night before you leave on a trip. Where are you off to this time?"
"Long weekend in Palm Desert."

I feel so snobby even just saying that. Haha. WHO AM I that I can zip down to the desert for my birthday? CRAZY lucky I am.

I got to bed about 2 am, then got up at 5:15 am. Picked up Julie (not my sister), then drove to the airport for our 8:30 am flight. We landed in Palm Springs at noon, got our car rental (PEOPLE. RENT CARS THROUGH COSTCO. Our's cost $8 per day. Plus taxes and exchange BUT STILL. Cheap like borscht.) We stopped to pick up sandwiches, and were floating in her pool by 2 pm.

It was 90 degrees on our first day, and 113 degrees on the day we flew home. But it's a dry heat so you can hardly tell.

The 'shelf' in the water, at the front of the pic (below) was my spot to relax and read. I put a pool noodle behind my back and sat, submerged in 8 inches of water for 8 hours (slipping off once in a while to float in the deep end) and it was heaven.

Seriously, heaven will be 89 degrees and have a pool shelf for me.

The following morning, I woke to 100 notifications on my phone and a chocolate cupcake in my bed. (Julie had been up for hours, hiking, then shopping...)

...  and that evening, we walked down memory lane (also known as South Palm Canyon) and had dinner at the quintessential Palm Springs restaurant dining experience:

I love Palm Springs.
It's one of my happy places.
So many good memories in this town.

We spent our evenings on the lounge chairs in her yard, beside the lit pool, under the stars, listening to the frogs and crickets, talking about the deep things in life.

The whole weekend was just freakin wonderful.

Thanks, Jul, for inviting me to join you.
~~~~~~~~~~~

I came home to grey, cooler, cloudy days with mostly no plans.
Now that I'm old(er), I've been home every evening binge-watching Suits because Meghan Markle/Duchess of Something.
(Are you watching too? Donna is my fav character, but Patrick Adams (Mike Ross) has the best twitter account.)

I did go out with Maxine one evening.
We tried to outrun the wet by going as far west as possible.
We ended up at Kits Beach, where the rain wasn't heavy - and sat on a bench under a tree and watched the sun set.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. This beautiful earth.
2. Quiet evenings.
3. Seawall walks.

Shalom,
xo