When there are painful or stressful things going on in my life, I tend to channel myself around them like a diverted river, or a road detour. It is the rare life that proceeds without the downs, and mine is not one of them.
I have a few issues in my life that I am dealing with at the moment. Most of them are chronic, ongoing, ho hum problems; problems that elicit deep sighs rather than panic. They are the potholes in the road I travel. Chronic Kidney Disease is the latest issue that I am slowly transforming from shock to oh well. I don’t write about indentifiable people problems here, because people problems involve other people, the stories are shared, the problems need to be addressed with the people involved, and outside of that, the issues are private.
In my world it is the wonderful things that I allow to occupy my mind and my heart. Although this is natural tendency, it has taken some practise over the years to learn how to balance the light with the dark. The dark side is part of the human experience, for me as for most people. I have periods of time when I acknowledge and spend time honouring the dark experiences and shadows that inhabit my life. I respectfully visit these regions, but I don’t live there.
Sunrise, morning coffee, bird song, Attila’s smile, the beauty and wonder of the Rideau Camp, our Ancestral Camp, my Granny and Grandpa’s house, the love, tenacity and strength of my Mom, the love I feel for my siblings, my wonderful friends, the list of loving and wonderful things in my life is long. Even in the bleakest of times I have found much to love in my life. Decades ago my dear friend Patrick called this coping mechanism of mine, “Maggie’s Golden Memories”. Hell yes.
It is cold this morning, well below freezing. Tonight is predicted to be even colder, -10C. I hope to sleep through that. Daytime temperatures are predicted to remain above freezing for the next week and beyond. That is something to celebrate.
This week Attila and I are dealing with the legal aspects of attaining ownership of the Rideau Camp. Visits to the banker and the lawyer are planned.
I spoke with the nurse at my GP’s office near the country house. Talking to the woman who books appointments is fruitless, she asks for details, makes comments, and I am often side-tracked onto fruitless and frustrating avenues of conversation. The nurse is wonderful, friendly, direct, succinct and efficient. The reports from my hospital visit were not in my file, so she is going to look into that, talk to the GP, and call me back when she has information for me. I feel a lot better after having spoken with her last night.
My big accomplishment for the day was to obtain a copy of our Open Air Camp Fire Permit, which we need to have a camp fire at the Rideau Camp. It took some doing, over the phone and email, and I couldn’t have done it without the help of the Administrator for fire services, she was terrific. I enjoyed the whole process, due to the relaxed and friendly manner of the Administrator. Some people are wonderfully suited to their jobs, and she is one of those people.
So Attila and I are set for this weekend’s day trips to the Rideau Camp. Grilled cheese sandwiches over an open fire here we come!
Worldly Distractions
Weather
-8°C
Date: 6:00 AM EDT Tuesday 5 April 2016
Condition: Clear
Pressure: 102.9 kPa
Tendency: rising
Visibility: 24 km
Temperature: -8.2°C
Dewpoint: -17.1°C
Humidity: 49%
Wind: N 13 km/h
Wind Chill: -14
Quote
“A love of tradition has never weakened a nation, indeed it has strengthened nations in their hour of peril; but the new view must come, the world must roll forward.”
Sir Winston Churchill
1874 – 1965
Love you, sending prayers. I’m going through some ‘stuff’ too and so is hubby. Sigh. I have found myself too looking back on good memories. I’m so glad we have them. x0x0x0x00x
Sending love and prayers to you and your hubby Nora, it is a circle! Memories are wonderful to have. I find them comforting because I already know the outcome of the vignettes, the safely happy little endings. x0x0x0x00x
What a difference in your lives now that you’ve made so many changes Maggie. It’s so nice to read how you are dealing with things, in a grown-up, thoughtful, considered, and intelligent manner.
love.
You’re a lucky woman to have such a long list of wonderful things in your life, Maggie. I look at your list and the only equivalents I find in mine are sunshine, bird song and Attila’s smile. After that, there’s the odd memory in recent times (the last 10 years) none of which connect to today and then the true golden memories of my teen years and childhood, which again have no connection to today as I don’t live near those areas and the people involved are all gone, now.
Okay, one connection running through all of the last 10+ years, DH and I meeting and getting married. I do have that one very bright filament that runs through my current life, and for that I’m so very grateful. This Christmas will be our 10th anniversary.
I dream sometimes of a small cottage by a lake somewhere around here. With a small garden. That would be lovely. But due to the high cost of property and having to whittle things down as retirement age approaches I’m not so sure that will ever happen.
Bex, I feel very fortunate that Attila and I have landed on our feet after having parachuted out of our country life. Attila is so much more relaxed working a regular number of hours in a given week, having most weekends to recuperate, and not having the pressure of heating with wood, shoveling snow, or commuting to renovate Mist Cottage. It was a challenging transition, there are still some gaps like health care, but all in all, we have gained what we both wanted most, more time to spend with each other. Neither one of us has experienced a single pang of regret in our decision to move to Mist Cottage, nor have we missed our country home. It was beautiful, but it wasn’t for us. Location, location, location!
I am thinking of you and Paul, sending healing thoughts your way. love
It sounds like you have lived many realities Teri, it is great that you are in a good one right now.
Lakefront property is very expensive, and the taxes are an ongoing expense. It wasn’t like that fifty years ago, but the population has exploded, transportation has improved, and times have changed. I hope you find your dream cottage, even if it isn’t on the water!
I love your list of things to be thankful for. It’s clear you know the power of gratitude! I’m sending you some positive energy to help you cope with the challenges in your life. We all have them, and it’s so good to know others support you!
You know, I remind myself that you’re a few years older than me and that you and Attila are just now getting into your own little cottage and laying the hopefully final groundwork for your happily ever after. That reassures me that DH and I still have some time to start pulling ‘it’ all together.
We’re always working paying off expenses that are holding us back. In the next few months we hope to pull things together to pay off DH’s car a year early. That will give us even more space to breath easier and better finances to snowball into paying something else off or roll into an improvement in this house.
And with SD and her mother having just moved several hours away the emotional load in this house has eased quite a bit. Being so exposed to the neighborhood and the high school next door it’s not ideal but we can make it better, changing it from the house originally bought for SD to go to school here into, hopefully, a wayside as we begin to chart our way toward our own Mist Cottage.
*sigh* For the second time I find myself sidetracked by worrying I’ll lose a lengthy post. Also wanted to say that I hope your personal rough spots smooth out soon. It’s hard to live with uncertainties in relationships. Hope it all straightens out for you soon.
Thanks Diane! Life is like walking through a pasture, one can enjoy wild flowers, the blue sky, the gentle breeze, the call of a passing bird, but one also has to watch for and walk around the cow pies.
Thanks Teri! I am putting one foot in front of the other, keeping kindness, tolerance, and self-preservation as my goals, and letting the universe unfold as it will.
You are inspiring me, Maggie.
Kate!