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Everyone Has a Story

I am starting this post with a quote from Jeff Prost, the host of Survivor. He said, "everyone has a story, and once you know their story, they make sense". When you think about it, the adversities a person faces during their lives, is their story. It is how a person molds and adapts to the challenges that they have faced in their lives that makes their story make sense. When I worked in Palliative Care, I would often say to a patient, "tell me your story". People's lives are fascinating, and at the end of life, it can be releasing to be given an opportunity to share about their life. As we age, we start to feel like our stories aren't very important. It is just an old person talking about the past. It is unbelievable what some people have been through in their lives. To be given an opportunity to share their story makes them feel like they made a difference, their life was worthy. Story tellers come in a variety pack. There are good story te...

Thank God that's Over

Today we are putting January 2026 in the past. Anyone that has made the decision to live in the Canadian prairies knows to brace themselves for January. This year, each day seemed to hold its own little weather adventure, most of which were not that much fun. I have to admit I am looking forward to turning the calendar to February. January is a special birthday month for my family. My Mom has a daughter, a grandson, a great grandson and great granddaughter and now a great great grandson that celebrate their birthdays in January. We are a small family, but one quarter of our family celebrate their birthdays in January, three on one day. My Irish twin sister turned 70 and we spent some time together that day. She came home from Pheonix to celebrate with her family. She has a grandson and a granddaughter born on her birthday, so why not! I told her that she could check out how being 70 works, and then, when it is my turn in November, I can decide if I am going to do it or...

January and Mental Health

January 21, was the 16th year for Bell's "Let's Talk Day". The day is identified as a way to come together to make mental health a priority. The annual awareness campaign and day is to help reduce stigma associated with mental health and to promote awareness and understanding. Break the silence and talk about it. Bell is investing $10 million in Canadian mental health initiatives, making a total of $194 million since 2010. The third Monday of January is identified as "Blue Monday" or the most depressing day of the year. The "Monday Blues" is a day where someone experiences negative thoughts about Monday. It is a common feeling of unhappiness as people face the work week. This year Blue Monday was on January 19th. The weather that day had a real feel of -35 with the rest of the week even colder. It doesn't take long to get down when the frigid cold goes on for days. I have heard that "Talk therapy" is the best therapy for mental healt...

You are what you eat

I heard the quote, "you are what you eat". I smiled to myself because that means I am pretty darn "sweet". The phrase, "you are what you eat" is intended to mean; that the food we eat has a direct impact on our health, well-being, and overall identity. The quality and type of food we choose to eat can influence not only our physical health but also our mood, energy levels and even our personality. I have a close relationship with cookies. I like everything about a cookie, I like making them, baking them, eating them, sharing them and admiring them. Cookies are comfort food, and they make the best gift ever. I once heard the saying, "if you don't know what to do, bake cookies". My whole cookie making life has changed since I met "parchment paper". A cookie is meant to be soft, and these two things will ensure they are. Parchment paper and removing the cookies from the oven before they are done and allowing them to finish baking on ...

Turn Pain into Purpose

I watched an inspiring piece of news about a 71-year-old man who had lost his wife of 45 years and his daughter. As a retired social worker, he was encouraged by his granddaughter, that lost her mom, to turn his pain into purpose. What this man does is: he sets up two chairs and a table in various public places and encourage people to sit and talk. He is taking a step towards hope and kindness shown by a total stranger. He is traveling all across Canada and is doing what he calls "lean into love, lean into life". I was at coffee with a friend whose husband had passed away just before Christmas. She said that everyone had left from Christmas and it was the first day she was on her own. She had no expectations of herself; she was just going to "see" how she made out. She said, "this is the process, this is how it's done and something I have to go through". One thing she was planning was to return to her volunteer positions; she was ready to give back. S...

2026

What are your first thoughts when you think of starting a new year? This year my first thought was the fact that we have one quarter of a century behind us. I also did the math and realized when we are halfway through the century, I will be 94 years old. I feel honored to come from female longevity, but it scares me to think of a 94-year-old me. My "write 6 things I am going to do in my 70th year journal on the 27th of every month" is already derailed. I started on November 27th, and I never made it one month without forgetting to do it. This may not be as easy as I thought, it wasn't until Dec 30th that I remembered. I should have kept writing all the great ides I had in November because so far, I have only been able to come up with one thing out of the 6. Clearly, I have no trouble creating a deadline or identifying a specific date to make sure I stay organized. I have come to realize it is the follow through that is the issue. I had planned all through the Ch...

Moving into 2026

Today is the last day to decide what needs to stay in 2025 and what is going into 2026. This is it; how you are going to step into the new year should be established, locked and loaded, and ready to go. I would assume that the majority of people will just roll from one year to another, just like they roll from one day to the next. I realize there are people that calmly go about their lives not making or even considering making changes on New Year's Eve. I will refer to them as content with life. For the rest of it, today and tomorrow are exciting days. A friend of mine who is only 40 said that 2026 is going to be her year. She has suffered with some serious health issues for the last 3 years and she has decided things are going to turn around for her in 2026. She is ready to kick 2025 to the curb. There is power in positive thinking, and this girl has it in spades. If you have had a tough year, I am hopeful you are ready to leave that in 2025 and go for it in 2026. I ...

My 3 things I did with gusto in 2025

At the start of 2025 I read an article that said to do three or four things with gusto instead of trying to do a bunch of things and end up with all of them not successful. I have always thought of myself as a gusto kind of person. I am all-in when it comes to an idea about lifestyle or organizing an event. At the start of the year, way back in January, I started writing this post. I felt it would be perfect for an end of the year blog. I added a bit from time to time, and when I was ready to finish it, I thought this is not gusto, this is a mess. The meaning of gusto is "enthusiastic and vigorous enjoyment or appreciation". That definition was not even close to what I had written. I wanted to stay true to myself and finish what I started, which meant I needed to rethink this post and do considerable rewriting. So, as lame as it is, here is my gusto. What you are about to read is 3 subtle changes I have made throughout the year, not with gusto but with appreciation. ...