Random Happiness

In the spirit of noticing things more, of looking up and finding small moments that make me smile here is a random list of 5 things that made me smile over the past weekend.

1)      Fundraising at the mall for The Children’s Hospital we borrowed their mascot suit and so my job was to be Dr. Goodbears escort for the day. It's impossible not to smile when you see the faces of child after child so very excited to see a giant bear who can hug back.

2)      Winning a game of Life. I know the outcome in a game of life has no bearing on any actual skills but still, everyone likes to win.

3)      New flowers in my favorite planters. It has not been a good gardening year, the deer have been quite destructive and I haven’t had a lot of time to spend tending to plants this year. These planters died out when we were away during some of the hottest days as the person who had volunteered to water for me didn’t.  The lack of colour in these planters has bothered me all summer so it’s nice to see them brightened up.  

4)      Feeding the geese and ducks at the Assiniboine park duck pond. They are always somewhat amusing to watch, well except when they chase you. Let me tell you Canadian Geese have got some attitude.

5)      Making fun of the planetarium show we saw on Sunday as a family. It had clearly been produced in the mid 70’s. That’s the problem with being museum members we aren’t as selective in the planetarium shows we see and end up watching even the crappy ones. Fun though to poke fun at them afterwards. Aha Pluto IS a planet, the planetarium still says so after all!

A Happy Anniversary

You never really know what will come after saying “I do” it’s a leap of faith and it’s one me and my husband took on a day that doesn’t seem nearly as long ago as it really was. For us that leap of faith has paid itself back a thousand times over and I’m still as glad we took that leap today as the day we did.

We were warned not to take that leap, by family, by friends and even by perfect strangers.  We were too young, broke and pregnant to make such a decision. Well contrary to popular belief we did know what we were doing, we knew the decisions were right for us and that time would show everyone else what we already knew and it did.

Time has taken care of the youth, hard work has taken care of being broke and nature took care of being pregnant.  We have certainly faced our share of hard times over the years but we faced them together and never has a moment passed in which either of us wish we had made a different choice.

I suppose we’ve never had big problems in our marriage because we didn’t start it expecting perfection. We understood even then that perfection as a spouse, as a parent or as a person is an unattainable goal.  We have searched out happiness instead and yes an imperfect life can certainly be a happy one.  

We are after all two separate people who will occasionally clash, whose habits and ideas will drive the other nuts on occasion and that’s ok. We trust that despite arguments annoyances and moments of angst that we will still support and love the other without question.

Today marks the end of another year spent as husband and wife and the 14^th one just begun.  I have high hopes that this year will be as happy as every other which has past.      

Paper Boats

This is one of my favorite pictures of E. She was not quite 4 when this picture was taken and I can't seem to say what exactly makes this picture special it just is. I love her hair and the small hint of toddler left. There is something in the angle of her stance and the clasped hands that seems very sweet. It appears to be and was a very peaceful and content moment.

Ever since this picture was taken making and sailing paper boats has become a spring tradition. Each year we spend some time making and sailing boats in the puddles of melting snow. It is a fun way to welcome in spring.  We expect the boats to fall apart eventually but seeing how long you can make them last is part of the fun. Some boats simply collapse as they come in contact with water and some seem to last forever. The smallest change in shape can make them catch the wind and speed across a puddle while others simply topple.  

I know the years of paper boats won’t be around forever but while they are here I plan on enjoying them. I won’t surprise me if this is the last year I can convince E to join in. She is quickly turning into an angsty teen who would rather chat with her friends them play some silly game with Mom.  Right now I can still cajole her into playing along and having fun with silly little things like this but I don’t know how much longer bugging her to join in will work.

I'm sure to have a few years left with A but even for her the excitment of paper boats isn't quite the same as the toddler and preschool years when it was completly new. She still very much enjoys it and is looking foward to making some this year but it's is no longer quite so amazing.