Go to the Water

What prompted this post was when I heard a breast cancer survivor tell her story on the news. She was preparing to run a 44km marathon. She felt by sharing her story it may inspire others. She ended her interview by saying, "beautiful things woven into ugly things".   Just recently, my Dragonboat team had a practice day, as opposed to our regular Wednesday night practice. Pink Ladies were everywhere. As I watched them get ready to paddle, I was curious as to how many accumulated survival years this team would have. They all have their own unique story, not one journey is the same as another paddler. There is one exception, their stories all end the same, they are all breast cancer s urvivors. Being on a Dragonboat with other breast cancer survivors is a perfect example of a beautiful thing woven into the ugly things.  When I first joined the team, as a supporter, I assumed it be like a support group; there would be lots of talk about breast cancer. Dragonboat paddling is ...

Since I got my Ford Escape in 2019, I have only had the oil changed at the dealership. Clearly, I had missed something because the "Change Oil Soon" notification was showing up every time I started my vehicle. Never ever in my lifetime of owning a vehicle has this happened. I made the decision that an independent oil changing place would be my new practice. I decided it would be the "Great Canadian Oil Change". I have to say, during the last 7 years there have been many changes in the oil change world. Although, I have had my oil changed this way, the young man that had to maneuver my questioning must have wondered. He was very nice and patient as he had to keep asking the same questions until I managed to come up with the answer he required. Once the Q&A was over, the mechanic then presented the oil options and price list on a big computer screen. I made a huge decision to go with the middle of the pack oil choice. He punched in my decision, and I handed over m...

I was leaving Mark's Work Wearhouse when I nearly collided with another woman. We were the only two in the entire parking lot, but somehow, we ended up doing the two step to avoid a collision with each other. I believe the reason this was happening was because she was looking at the dress I was wearing. I know that because she said, "I was just noticing what a nice spring dress you have on". Of course, a simple "thank you" is not adequate for Faye. Oh no, no, I have to launch into a long explanation. I informed the total stranger, that I love to wear dresses, and I just said to myself, "you have to wear the dresses you have in order to buy more". I am sure that information she will carry to her grave. I did spare her my usual reply which consists of, where I bought it and how much I paid for it.  I love wearing dresses, except in the wind. For some reason it brings out the little girl in me. My dress collection consists of at home dresses, spring dress...

I am very hopeful that many of you will relate to this post, and that I am not the only person that feels on some days, by 9 am, there is simply no way of rescuing the day. There are a couple of options to consider, going back to bed and resetting or push through the day with the hopes since there is nowhere to go but up, things will turn around. I am going to start by sharing an example.  I have a wired in smoke and carbon monoxide detector. The life span for the detectors is about 10 years. The last time it notified me it was needing to be changed, I simply did it. Off to Canadian Tire, I purchased a new one, switched it out and done. When a detector is done its life span, it will make a repeated ungodly sound, often at an inappropriate time in the day. Last time it was late at night, this time it was 7 pm on a Saturday evening. Trip #1 was to go to Canadian Tire to get a new detector. Trip #2 was to go back to CT a few minutes later to return the first detector and this time to ...