Advent 12

 Let's just pick up where I left off. Those missed days are NBD.

(No big deal.)

To be honest, I'm finding these journal-type prompt questions uninspiring. (My dream December destination? or, My heart is filled with love when I think about ...) Blechk. 

But you know what I DO find inspiring? Conversation with friends who bubble with enthusiasm when they talk about something/anything with passion. 

Recently I was out for dinner with M. When I asked her what she's been up to lately, she started to glow when she told me she had just finished doing her favorite Christmas activity. "It's that Gift Giving Opportunity at London Drugs. The one where you take a name tag off their Christmas tree, and buy some of the items on their wish list. It's always for a senior, living in a care home. Someone who doesn't have family and receives no gifts. 

Every year I look forward to choosing a name. This year, I looked at a few name tag options, but when I saw the one for Alice, who is 85 and blind; I KNEW she was my gal. She asked for some sugar-free candy, and a sweater or tshirt in size medium.

I spent the afternoon choosing a number of high quality, super soft, beautiful coordinating sweaters and shirts for her, not able to decide which ones to give her. And, seeing I'm diabetic, I know the best low/no sugar treats out there. I was so excited to get a good assortment for her. 

When I got home, I asked B (husband) which clothing items he thought we should wrap, and he said, Give her everything. They're all so perfect."

RIGHT?!?

She was grinning and buzzing. 

I love it when I get to see the natural high people get when they've done something (outrageously) (anonymously) generous. Also (wildly) personal. And (totally) perfect. 

I don't think I've ever thought twice about that London Drugs Giving Tree. Or buying gifts for seniors. 

I just loved everything about her story. 

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After writing out that ^, I opened Facebook to grab a photo, and this was the first story on my feed:

We want to HELP if we can.

my name is Sam, my fiancé is Tori. we are life long locals, Chilliwack/langley and we feel an overwhelming sadness, and calling to help in any way we can.

we have 1 extra vehicle, we can lend. we have 2 dogs 2 rabbits, and we are able to house more if needed. we aren't able to provide any hospitality to livestock bigger than a goat but we would try if we could

if you need a place to stay we have a spare room. im a HD mechanic, with years of fab experience, i have access to any peice of hd equipment or lift you may need and tori is a commercial scuba diver. I also dive but I don't think there's anything we can help with under water. we both know boats so if yours is floating we could save it and keep it at our place in the driveway. our cars can be parked on the street. we are in a very safe neighborhood in north Vancouver.

neither of us knows what we can offer but we are both professionals who deal with water every day either above or below. if we can help you, we want to.

we are praying for you all and if there is anything we can do please ask. if you know someone who needs help please share. and if you can help and we get overwhelmed, I will forward them to you.

you aren't alone and tori and I want you to know that. please reach out even for the littlest thing.

I don't know this young couple, but whoa. People are amazing. 

(For anyone reading this blog post in the future, or from a part of the world that is unaware of our current situation, an atmospheric river dumped ten billion gazillion litres of rain water on us and the resulting floods have put parts of Hwy #1 (and surrounding low lands) under water. More rain is forecasted in the coming days. We. Are. Wet. )

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Three Things I'm Thankful For:

1. Inspiring meals this week with incredible friends. (On Tuesday I was with a friend who is writing a series of stories based on the Women of the Bible for a study with a group of older ladies (in their 80's and 90's). She read us the stories she'd written about Elizabeth (John the Baptist's mom) and Mary (Jesus' mom). OY. She made their lives real and honest and alive and relatable. 

2. I am so thankful for Canuck Place's Children's Hospice. (Karyn's niece is getting exceptional care, and her family is getting much-needed support during these difficult days. If you could contribute towards Karyn's goal of raising $150, you can do so here. )

3. I am thankful for machines that see deep inside us. And I'm thankful for smart people who know how to interpret those images. 

Thanks for dropping by,

xo

Advent 9

On Dec 9, 1976 at the Johnston Heights Jr. Secondary's School Christmas Dance (with live band, Bowser Moon playing) I experienced my first kiss. The chemical reaction of having two separate saliva systems mixing for the first time in my mouth caused the gum I had been chewing (for fresh breath) to dissolve into a million tiny pieces. Today is the 50th anniversary of that science experiment. 

It's also Day 9 of this Advent Project.

My options today are:

1. My home is cozy because ...

2. The most adventurous place I'd love to stay for one night is ...

3. Three things I wouldn't change about this year, no matter what.

I'm choosing to answer both 1 & 2. (The third question is just another way of asking the same question I've already answered previously. No need for me to talk about Clint and Karyn's or Drew and Mackenzie's engagements, or my hip surgery again.)

• My home is cozy because it is tiny. 

(For a more complete answer, it is cozy because it is a south-western corner suite with lots of windows, because I had some money and a vision for what I hoped it would feel like when I bought it, and because a million friends gave me plants when I moved in.)

• A place I'd like to stay for one night (not sure how adventurous this is... it's in Yarrow...) is the Hazelnut Inn. I've watched it being built/created over the years and I think it would be magical. 

It would feel like staying inside a cartoon, yes? 

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Today's lunch; which include life giving conversation and soft boiled eggs with soldier toast. FIRST time I'd ever had this and it was yummy. 

2. Also, thankful for Andrea who send me detailed instructions on how to retrieve content previously posted to 'Stories', after reading my blog post about those memories being lost forever.  Haha. I love having young(er) friends for exactly this reason.

(And other reasons of course. But their generosity when it comes to sharing their tech or social media knowledge is defo a bonus.)

In case you too are interested:

3. I am thankful for these friends, Rudy and Marg, who shared their story at church before they lit the second Advent candle. Rudy had a severe brain bleed (5% survival rate) in June and was on life support three separate times during his two month hospital stay. They are an amazing, inspiring couple; their journey has been difficult but their faith is rock solid. 

Here's a teaser one minute clip ... watch here. (Took me an hour how to figure that out. Please watch it so my work was not in vain.) 

Or, know what?  Just go ahead and watch the whole interview here: 

Time 18:00 - 24:00

Thanks for dropping by,

xo

Advent 8

To be honest, I've done better than I thought I would. Eight consecutive days of blogging. Yay, me. 

Haha. Of course these are pretty crappy posts. 

I'm not particularly proud of any of them. 

Today's blog prompt buffet includes the following selection:

1. This year I was good at ____

2. A place that's more enjoyable in the winter than summer ...

3. The people you spent the most time with this year (and what you did.)

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Might as well answer them all:

1. This year I got better at asking for help. I was heavily, pathetically, totally reliant on the kindness of kids and friends after my hip replacement surgery. It's hard to ask someone to lift your dead leg onto an ottoman. Or fill up the ice machine with more frozen bottles of water. Or keep your plants alive. (GAHHH, so many plants...) I am so grateful for all the kind responses to my neediness. 

That said, I'm very happy to be back to being my ol'  (semi) self-sufficient self. 

2. There is no place that is more enjoyable in the winter than the summer. 

3. The person I spent the most time hanging out with this year, cumulatively, (once a week for 3 - 5 hours) (= 200 hours, annually give 'r take) (plus 200 hours to get to and from her place) is my mom. We spend 100% of our time together talking. (But we also eat and sometimes shop). You know, typical mother-daughter stuff. 

She'll be 86 in a couple weeks. 

I spend more time with her than any other person.

There's a famous quote by Jim Rohn, "you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with" ... (meaning, your habits, mindset and success mirror that of your inner circle's). If this is true, you should choose your friends, co-workers, and how you spend your days, wisely, because someday you'll be just like them. 

This "truth" (?) (quote) has crossed my mind often. When you're married, and live in a house with your children, and have a fulltime job; your five people are easy to identify. (Pssst, They're your immediate family and the co-workers you spend 40+ hours a week with.) Simply by their proximity they are your five. They 'rub' off on you, so to speak. Your similarities can include what you believe, how you play, how you spend your money, the type of foods you eat, your ancestry, and so on. When you're single, live alone, are not working, and have very independent sons whom you see every other month for dinner... (Me. I'm talking about me), then your 5 are harder to identify, and they are decidedly more intentional. 

We all have our own reputations... (Our character, our strengths, our weaknesses, our positive qualities, our offerings to society, what we bring to the table in friendships, our 'brands'), and without sounding crass, we're always evaluating and being evaluated. Who is choosing to spend time with me? Who am I inviting into my life? 

Three Things I'm Thankful For:

1. A cozy place to live when the weather is frightful. 

2. A God who listens when I go on and on about the same 'ol crap. 

3. A gym that is mostly empty one hour before closing time. 

Thanks for dropping by,

xo

Advent 7

Today's (Sunday's) blogging/journaling options:

Well, well, well. If it isn't another set of prompts that don't inspire me at all.

1. I can bring joy into some people's lives by doing more (more time together, more contact, more plans...) and I can bring joy to others by doing less (less texting, less curiosity, less attempts at closeness). Haha. It's a juggle. 

2. A gift that isn't an object and doesn't exist physically. OBVIOUSLY these are The Love Language Gifts; the gift of acts of service, the gift of quality time, the gift of words of affirmation, the gift of physical touch, the gift of a heartfelt gift. 

My love language is the gift of quality time, which is probably the most expensive gift of them all. 

3. WHAT? List all the places I regularly hung out at? And the memories I made there? My calendar keeps track of those things. If I had to sum it all up in one sentence though? I'd say I've spent a lot of time in restaurants and coffee shops (4 to 5 times a week) with friends, talking about deep and important things. Haha. Nothing but memories of good food, great conversations and stiff bones when it's time to leave. 

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Pretty sunsets. Even if they do happen at 4 pm:

2. Walking buddies:

3. Christmas lights in the courtyard:

4. And Christmas lights in the building across from mine:

Thanks for dropping by,

xo