good mother

We had my Grandpa's 94th birthday party this afternoon. Just my parents, my mom's cousin and her husband and us. We sat in the sun for hours and visited: laughing at my 10 month-old's tottering steps and my four-year-old's rendition of Johnny Reid's "Out of the Blue"! Lenten chocolate cake, made by my good mother - with strawberries and whipped topping. I appreciate my mother more every day, although our easily offended natures and sometimes clashing personalities makes it difficult to tell her so. Well, she knows I love her and hopefully knows I'm in her corner. She has a servant's heart, and a tireless energy - or so it seems. I don't know how many years it will be until she slows down and needs me to look after her more, but selfishly I pray it will be many. In the meantime, I have a lot to learn.

missing Grandma

My daughter wanted to push the automatic door open button at the mall, and a dear old lady on oxygen pointed out the button to her . . . of course that just made my two year old refuse to do it at all! Subtle attention is the only thing that works with my daughter right now. She doesn't like to be put on the spot, and she doesn't like being the center of attention. Hopefully as more words emerge, her confidence will grow and she won't be quite so shy. Although my Grandma wasn't on oxygen for very long before she died, seeing that old lady at the mall brought Grandma to mind. Goodness, I miss her so much. She was always supportive and encouraging towards me. She gave me confidence in myself, and I always knew she loved me.

a blog, eh?

Never thought I'd do this . . . a "blog" I mean.

My Grandpa wrote daily in a diary for over twenty years. I would love to read through his journals, although his handwriting is worse than a doctor's scrawl so it would take a good long time.

I don't have much to say, but in the interest of stopping time would like to put down some of our daily happenings.

It is gorgeous today - sunny and warm. My tendency is to get outside quick, before the sun disappears behind the clouds. But wait. There are no clouds here. We now live in a new dot on the map, a spot on the prairie, and the west coast 12-month rainy season is a thing of the past.

So, I sit at leisure and watch my kids playing and my puppy romping in the sunshine.  I know that I can always go out in it later on, after a few chores are done.