We Are Full

 Friendship is hard to define. I have friends who I never see, rarely talk to, and view their lives from a distance through social media. Yet I know without a doubt that if I ran into Charmaine we would be chatting in seconds as if we saw each other the day before. Or Donna and I would be laughing over some stupid thing we did in our early 20's and how we desperately hope our kids don't ever find out! I never take for granted the fact that some people get me...cause many don't. 

   After a particularly rough year for us, I treasure my crew here more than words, and last night as we solved all our problems, laughed, cried, and broke a few things I looked at this group of incredible women and thought for the millionth time how lucky I am!! 

  When Isabella laughs we all laugh. She's got a show-stopping, contagious laugh. It is the sound of pure joy, disbelief and sarcasm rolled into one. I laugh with her without even knowing why. She laughs when most of us would cry. It's one of her superpowers. It leaves me feeling lighter and better equipped to see the absolute absurdity in life.

 Jane is one of the most honest people you will ever meet. About her life, her beliefs, her moral compass. Yet she can challenge you without confrontation and agree to disagree. All while saying the wine she is pouring will give her a migraine and giggling. 

  Amal is our rock. She's the one who gives us her stability, her strength. We know what her reaction will be, unless she's not working the next day then all bets are off, to any conversation. And we take comfort in that. More than she could possibly imagine. And she's reading this saying "that's not true" but it is. And we love you for it.

  Delilah is all of us rolled into one. She's conservative and liberal. She's strong and in need of a shoulder. She remembers everything and where it is. She's there for us 1000% of the time. Telling us to get up and blow our noses while passing the tissue box and wiping her eyes. Her trust in us to keep her secrets comes from knowing she remembers what the rest of us have forgotten!

  Francessca is our mama bear. She makes sure not too much time passes between our therapy sessions. Checking in on us. Keeping us connected in our busy worlds. She's a real-life superhero who can just as easily make fun of us as she can jump in front of a train to protect us. She has our back, even when we are wrong, then calls us a dumb-ass later. 

  Kate gives us a different perspective on life having had a polar opposite upbringing than all of us. She's "old school" with a modern twist. She will discuss any topic without hesitation and surprise us with her changing ideas as her life changes. Like Francessca, she will defend us to the death while rolling her eyes about how crazy we are. 

  While not with us anymore, she moved to the coast not died, our dear Kelly was the one who brought us all together. The one who said I like smart, quirky, eclectic women so let's put them all in a room together and see what happens. If it wasn't for her we wouldn't be. Even though you are not in the room with us anymore you are in the room with us. Always!

  And me well I'm the selfish one. I take each of the gifts these amazing, strong, beautiful women have and I use them. I use their strength and resilience when I feel overwhelmed and weighted down. I take their courage when I'm scared and their empathy when I can't see a way out. I guard their trust, their friendship, and their love like the crown jewels in the Tower of London.

  If you are lucky you see your friends in mine. Treasure them. You've hit the jackpot!

  Ang 

**names have been changed so no one can steal my friends**

Same Old Same Old Mayor

 Congratulations Ottawa on electing your new mayor yesterday. Surprise surprise we voted in another middle-aged, white male. He should fit in nicely with our premier and prime minister. Am I the only person in Ottawa who is tired of this exact same demographic running every level of government? I can't be. 

 Would a little diversity kill us? I don't think so. Imagine having someone in power who had lived different experiences, had a unique perspective on life or wasn't getting massive donations from local developers. Think of the city we could become! But no we are staying with the status quo. We chose to keep on the same path we've always been on since I moved here almost 20 years ago.

  I think we may have some big problems with our Mayor-Elect Sutcliffe. According to his bio, he is a writer and editor, and former journalist/broadcaster. He has zero political experience. You would assume before running for mayor of the nation's capital and a city of one million that you would at least have spent a term as councilor. You know, to figure out how things are down. The what's what and the who's who. Nope, this guy is gonna wing it.

 Good luck Mayor Sutcliffe. I hope you are successful. For all our sakes!

 Ang

 

  

Lesson Learned...Not!

  I did it again. I said to myself this year will be different. We are older. Wiser. Have more self-control. We learned our lesson. It will not happen again. Not to us. I didn't ask for a second opinion I just did it. No one can stop my blind faith in my family. No one. We are better than this. That's right I bought Halloween candy early!

  Casually strolling through the aisles of the pharmacy last week I saw the candy display. Treat size chocolate bars, licorice, peanut butter cups all on sale. Everything is expensive so it makes sense to buy early if it's saving you money. You don't need an economics degree to figure that one out. Basic common sense.

  Like any fiscally responsible adult I put enough for our expected trick or treaters in the cart. After checking out, I peek at my receipt to revel in my savings...$11 how fabulous is that??? That's dinner for four. Spaghetti, meatballs and sauce. If we buy the cheapest pasta we might even have enough for garlic bread. How smart am I?

  On the way home from my money-saving shopping spree I drop off a few things for my mother-in-law who is in the hospital. As I pick up her bag I realize she would love some of these little treats. She's got a sweet tooth. What a boost to someone who is in covid lockdown in the hospital. We open the box and grab several handfuls to put in the care package. I'm so glad we bought them.

  As soon as we get home, minus a few to try ourselves, they get put aside for a few weeks. The box of cheesies is too large so it sits in the entryway til I can find a suitable resting place. Besides they are taped shut. No one is going to open them. We are not those people. 

  That was one week ago. The Halloween candy is no longer on sale. It seems the store is smarter than the rest of us. They know we all buy pre-Halloween treats at the sale price. More importantly they know we all eat that cheap candy ourselves and will be back to buy the over-priced treats on Oct 30 and 31! Marketing geniuses! 

  The 45 bags of cheesies are in the mid-teens. In our defence they are very small and the dog loves them. Happily there are some bars and candy left. I'm a little scared to see just how many. I'll just combine the two and call it enough. We will never learn will me?

  Maybe we will get lucky and it will rain that night. 

  Ang

  

  

  

Ghosts of Christmas Past

  I know it's too early but I have Christmas decorating fever. I'm spending too much time on Pintrest looking for new and more beautiful ways to decorate my home. Last night I started thinking about Christmas past and my own family's traditional decorating. I thought I'd share it with you.

  Growing up we had a real tree. It was always in the same spot in the living room tied to the window so that when the cat climbed up it, as they always did, the tree would not end up on the floor with broken glass embedded in the carpet as it did a few times before the string. Every second day someone would wriggle under the tree to the base to water it. Almost always missing the tree stand bowl! Because it would dry out inside, the decorating began just a week before the big day so there would still be needles left on the tree when New Year's Day rolled around. Mom would start later than others as she left it up til "Old Christmas" which was January 6th. A whole entire week extra.

  The process of actually putting on the ornaments could not begin til Uncle Bernie could spend a day putting the lights on. And yes it seemed to be a full days project. Mom thought she did a horrible job hanging the lights, she did a great job, but in her mind his way was perfect. I think they enjoyed spending time together more than he was an expert. They would laugh, play a few games of cards, laugh some more, and somehow the lights would get installed. She bought a fake tree, complete with lights, after he died. It was never about the lights.

  We always had garland strung from the ceiling of the living room and over the doorways. Not the green fake branches stuff but the shiny, colored, "don't let the cat eat it he'll die" stuff. We all loved helping til it came time to put on the tinsel. No one wanted anything to do with that! Mom was adamant those little silver strands went on one at a time. One at a time! A week before Christmas we were beyond excited that Santa was coming and relatives were bringing gifts and she would demand we went slowly? Not gonna happen.

 Mom had those stiff paper Christmas bells that were all the rage years ago. The kind that opened up with a couple of metal pieces to fold over. She hung those in the center of doorways and from windows. A small one always hung from the kitchen doorway that led into the hall. I used to jump as high as I could to try and swat it. As years passed my head would hit it if I didn't move. I swatted it every single time. 

  We never had wreathes but always a string of blue lights across the front of the house. Those stayed on all night on the 24th and 25th. One year Dad made a star and hung it from the top of the pine tree in the front yard. He climbed as high as he could and ran extension cords to light it up. He was so proud. As he got older the one string became two, then three then enough so the space station could see it as they went by!

  I just realized something. I don't remember many of the presents I got. Yet I can tell you in perfect detail how beautiful our home looked with the lights and decorations. How I used to lay on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket staring at the tree and the gifts with multicolored bows arranged carefully underneath. Even the special Christmas dishes that we had to pre-wash to get the dust off of before we could use them. 

  Funny how we think the memories will be about the gifts. Not even close.

  Ang

  

  

Life In A Nutshell

  In order to clear my mind of all the posts I wanted to write, started to write, or couldn't quite get right I've decided to do a quick recap. Just to see if that will make me finish a post or two. Here goes...

  The Queen died and I saw Elton John in concert. On the same day. I will never forget the look of pure joy on my 15-year-old piano-playing son's face when Elton took the stage! Toronto was fun as always but my sore ankle didn't appreciate it.

  I went to Nova Scotia on holiday and it never disappoints! Air conditioning sales should be increasing though. We had seafood and breathed in the salt air. Time restraints meant we didn't see as much family as we had hoped but I'm trying to squeeze in a return trip before winter.

  We were blessed to share in the joy of Michelle and Justin's wedding! They looked so happy it brought tears to my eyes. Both of them looked stunning though to be fair she would be beautiful in a paper bag as would he. The added bonus of spending four days with her parents, who I absolutely adore, made the celebration even better. 

  A few health scares within the family kept us on our toes. Covid gave my mom some trouble and being 90 hit my mother-in-law hard at times. Both came out stronger and we breathed sighs of relief all around. Getting treatment for one foot put the other out of commission for me. Sometimes the cure really is worse than the problem.

  Once again we are a two-vehicle family. Three drivers, soon to be four, and one car does not a happy household make! Especially when one of them works long hours and the city's transit system sucks. While we have transportation what we don't have is a pool. Well, we have one it just has a massive hole in it. Trying to get someone to fix it is a struggle that it seems we are going to lose. One more thing for us to figure out.

  School is back in session. Year 2 of university and grade 10. Where has the time gone?? When did my cute babies become handsome young men! Smart and kind. What a combination. I can't wait to see the lives they create.

  Tons more happened. Some really should have been shared and lessons learned imparted. Such is life. We are all busy. We are all stressed. We all need a week on a beach with our toes in the sand. 

  My mind is clear. 

  Ang