Saturday's Email of the Week: Reaping the Rewards

Saturday's Email of the Week

Happy Saturday all!

I have to be honest with you. This week was not what I expected at all. I don't know quite what I was expecting, but I was riding off of saying goodbye to my friends/teachers from daycare, losing a client and finally losing my babysitter. To say the least, I was not in a very good mood. Kind of glum in fact. I had a big internal pout on and thought about crying into my shoes. 

Instead, I bought mulch and gardened. Mother Nature has a way of taking all your ills and whisking them away, while you toil in the dirt. At least that is how it works for me. A little meditation if you will, as I imagine things growing here, flowers blooming there and edible bits popping up in the lawn (yes, clover, violets and dandelions are all edible!). I am in the moment while debating terra firma and the rest of the world disappears. 

On Saturday last, I pulled every plant out of a small garden and rearranged it freshly and nice. It all started with a peony that refused to bloom. People say that they are particular about their depth - too deep or too shallow and they will not bloom (YUP!). So I uprooted it (to show it what for), set it aside, then debated where to replant it. That lead to the day lilies coming out, the balloon flowers moving to the front, irises being added into the mix and wishing adieu to the transcendentia. I can't always visualize so well, so I just pulled them all out, added in some new and divided the others to replant elsewhere. By the time I was done, it looked much better, but all the existing mulch had either been turned under or ran for the hills while I wasn't otherwise engaged with staring blankly at the blank slate of dirt that I had created. 

So with plants newly arranged, I headed out to the closest big box store on Monday and purchase me 6 more bags of mulch to disperse hither and yon. Most in the 'new' garden, but a bunch in places where divisions found new homes as well. I might have been just hiding from responsibility just a little bit, but at that point I didn't care. My internal pout felt pretty comfortably in place and I used the full moon as another excellent reason to indulge my escapist whims. I have to say, by the time I was done, it looked pretty darn good too. 

Eventually I could not ignore the clock any more though. I might have been down a client, but there was still work to do and only so many hours left before I would have to pick the kids up from school. Plus we were expecting friends for dinner. They always come with wine and sympathetic ears, so I kept that thought in mind and plodded through the rest of the afternoon.

Well, wouldn't you know, but they brought good news in tow! At a Car-Free Festival, I had met a woman who was a friend/business associate to my dear friend. They had chatty chatted about me in my absence, and lo and behold, the woman is in need of some social media help. By mid-week, we had a coffee date and I had a new client in my roster! Not only that, but another friend of mine contacted me the same day asking about this "social media thing" and wondering if there was a reason to get into it as a small business person. He showed up at my house with coffee in hand and left with a promise from me that we would start him out on a new path too! Two new clients on the same day!

So with my head spinning by the end of the week, I look forward to a new start next week with fresh clients, new and very different topics, and an upgraded schedule to set my days. I am excited for the challenge, nervous about how I will handle it, but ready to face the day. Perhaps my reward for tending to Mother Nature's patch was a little helping hand in the fate department? I am going to take that as a yes and head into the weekend with a smile on my face and a much lighter heart. And with that I leave you with a little light-hearted humour to go out into your day with. 

Daddy, how was I born? 


A little boy goes to his father and asks 'Daddy, how was I born?' The father answers, 'Well, son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Your Mom and I first got together in a chat roomon Yahoo. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, and googled each other. There your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button ,nine months later a little Pop-Up appeared that said: Scroll down...You'll love this 

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...... 'You got Male!

Saturday's Email of the Week: A Look Back

Saturday's Email of the Week

Goodness, a little late this week! The week has come and gone and now its Saturday already. It has been a busy, strange kind of week with much new goings on. For starters, the children started back to school. I held up much better this year, as compared to last. To be honest, I had a harder time letting go of the fact that we were saying goodbye to the daycare that we had been attending for the last six years. The ladies there were all warm and loving individuals that not only physically took care of my children, but made me feel like a part of all of their families. I tried not to break down too much, but there were more than a few tears shed in anticipation of the last time we would walk out their doors. I was not the only one with tears in my eyes though. It reaffirmed our connection, getting those teary hugs from many staff who were just as sad to see us go.

My writing and crafty self could not help but get involved in our goodbyes either (surprise). I made up a collage of snippets with what the girls had to say about individual teachers and mack-tacked it together to offer it to them. Here are just a few examples of the love that the girls poured forth;

“Cindy is a special person because she makes my life feel better sometimes. Cus she gives me a hug and she helped my do a nice craft today (Ie. Making books)” - words from my 4-year old

“I like her because she helps me exercise. And I like her because she tries to tickle me and sometimes does. ” - just one of the nice things that my 6-year old had to say about her teachers

And you know that I couldn't resist getting a few words in edgewise. I am pretty sure that I made a number of the teachers cry with my heartfelt missive of what they meant to me.

"Over the years, I have seen both of my girls grow and mature. I believe watching their father die has made them more sensitive and compassionate souls, and many times the E--- staff has pointed that out to me. The staff has always treated my girls as nothing short of normal and when I felt so far from that myself, that was a godsend. I constantly had staff ask about my days, weekends and family life. She might not have realized it at the time, but every time that K- remarked on a new haircut I got, I wanted to hug her, kiss her and/or cry. There was no one else to even notice if I did anything to my appearance. You were my family. B- encouraged T’s creativity and C- encouraged R’s sense of self. K-, M- and C- are always at the ready with tickles and both my girls always screech in delight at the sight of you. While some of you I have not gotten to know as well as others, you have all been an integral part of my family. You let me tinker in your garden every year and gave me thumbs up for the effort, when really it was one of the few ways I could think of to give back. Having R- at my side was a special moment for me that first year with my fingers in the dirt. Years later having L- approach me as the “Gardening Mom” and asking my advice made me feel special and kind of proud. You all have truly helped me grow back into me. Whether it was insisting that I stop, eat and talk, the week following my cousin’s death, or sensitively asking how to handle Father’s Day, I have always felt respected, cared for and loved. It was always offered so genuinely, that I could not help but absorb every ounce of it."

Now I get teary at the memory of it again. No time though as the girls are starting a Rolling & Tumbling Class today. We started back to swimming lessons and I have started back into a more active lifestyle by exercising myself while they are in the pool or at school. So now, time to go, go, go! I wish you all a fabulous weekend and hope that your first week back to school and September went well. I leave you with a little funny that showed up in my mailbox last week from one of my regular contributors to my laugh track. Peace!

Older Love Making

Maude and Claude, both 91, lived in The Villages, in Florida . They met at the singles club meeting and discovered over time that they enjoyed each other's company. After several weeks of meeting for coffee, Claude asked Maude out for dinner and, much to his delight, she accepted.

They had a lovely evening. They dined at the most romantic restaurant in town. Despite his age, they ended up at his place for an after-dinner drink.

Things continued along a natural course and age being no inhibitor, Maude soon joined Claude for a most enjoyable roll in the hay.

As they were basking in the glow of the magic moments they'd shared, each was lost for a time in their own thoughts.....

Claude was thinking:

'If I'd known she was a virgin,

I'd have been gentler.'

Maude was thinking:

'If I'd known he could still do it,

I'd have taken off my pantyhose.'

Saturday's Email of the Week: Snap Happy

Saturday's Email of the Week

Ok, I am going to be a little serious today. We are going into a long weekend and I know that many of you will be out and about with the family, quite possibly snapping a few pictures along the way. I know I certainly will be! Please watch this video before you head out today though. It will give you something to think about before you post any of those photos online.

I don't have a blackberry, smartphone or iphone of any sort, but this video is a little scary. While I don't have one, I can think of a whole bunch of other folks who do. I wouldn't doubt if some of you, my good readers have one as well. This video discusses the ability to track your location, via your phone. While you might think, "I know where I am!", what you don't want is every Tom, Dick and Scary Harry to know that though. This might be a little reactionary, but there are some questionable folks out there. So play safe and be aware of what you do with all the pictures that you take!

Happy Long Weekend everyone!