Finding Peace

I am not new to this world, and I understand the circle of life.  Despite these two facts, I will never be ready to accept the inevitable changes that come with life moving forward. I love her. She is 92, and I feel like I have loved her enough for 92 years, even though I only have 32 years of experience in loving her with my best. For the past four days, I have spent every moment with her recognizing how lucky I am to have my grandmother. I have spent each moment soaking up every little piece of her.  I have watched her eyes light up as Austen runs into the room for the eighth time, leaping into her Granddaughter's loving arms. I have watched her welcome the basketball that my Ava has passed to her for the 10th time, each time with the excitement as though it were only the first time. I have watched her 92 year old arms scoop up my daughter when she said, "uppy," because that's what you're supposed to do, even if you are 92. I have watched her face fill ...

Until I had a family, I never realized how lucky I was to grow up in one place; to be rooted, within a town, at one elementary school and then one high school, within my cup-de-sac, and I suppose most importantly, firmly rooted, supported and loved within my family. In the last couple of months, I have been so lucky to have my daughter take music classes from a woman with a degree and a masters in musicology, a woman who happens to be my best friend. A woman who I was lucky enough to meet in the 8th grade and who I have not let go of since. This would likely not have happened had I been moved around as a child, and not rooted in one community; in one community that I loved growing up in, but also that I love to come back to as an adult. Chilliwack A few weeks ago I found out that my former best friend, with whom I was inseparable from the minute she walked into my class after arriving from Drumhellar to the minute she left for Calgary 3 short years later, was ENGAGED! Crystal a...

My darling girl, as I near the end of my two week Spring Break, I find myself feeling a little heavy-hearted, a little emotional about how amazing you are and how much you are learning, and so, so, so proud of everything you are. It's an amazing feeling to have SO much love for someone, and just like at the end of my two week Christmas vacation, your perfectness only makes it that much harder to go back to work, rather than spend every waking minute with you. Miss Ava, your vocabulary has EXPLODED, and you are copying just about every word we say to you. You are confidently saying about 20 words, and we are starting to notice that you are getting more excited when reading books because you can spot the "ball," "puppy," "bee," and even the "clock" that says "tick-tock" (or ti-ta in your language!). You don't yet say duck, but when you see one, you excitedly say, "quack quack!" You like to pick up things that you...