A DELIGHTFUL DAY

              Dad was feeling in a very good mood and got all dressed us to take me out for lunch.

                                          We went to the North View Winter club.
Lots of snow there and it looked beautiful even though it was nor colorful.

He later bought these lovely red roses and some chocolates.  We are enjoying both.

It is raining now but it may get cold again.  Rick is driving down from Kamloop's and we are celebrating dad's birthday at Sandra and Randy's.  Rick will come here first and drive us over.  I hope the roads are good for his drive.

We are looking forward to seeing our family especially Astrid and Ophelia.

Spirituality is not meant to be a cop out or an escape but a powerful tool to renew our strength from the inside out.  I am thankful that I have had enough faith to keep believing and trusting.

"The whole thing about the mystery of God and suffering is infinitely bigger than we can understand."   -Sheila Cassidy  M.D.

Transformation takes hard work and effort and can be extremely painful.
I am not there yet!

TOO ICY

Happy Valentine's Day.

Dad is taking me out for lunch.

He is still very romantic!

Very icy!  Just had a short walk around the block.

My friend,  who came to the door to see if I was okay last year,  caught up with me and walked me home.  I do not want to have another fall.

I am reading a article by Dr. Dean Ornish who shares the depression and anxiety he experienced at medical School.  He dropped out unable to cope.  He knows all about the pain of suffering.

Instead of asking what can make me happy he asked what am I doing to disturb my peace and sense of well-being?

He discovered suffering can be a doorway for transformation.

He suggests prayer and meditation along with the support of your husband or wife and family and community.  I am thankful I have all this!

I agree with him when he says healing occurs in the spirit.  Healing of isolation and meaninglessness.

We ask ourselves questions that can transform emotional our minds and our hearts!

CHAOS

Huge mounds of snow on branches could cause chaos as it melts and rains and freezes again.
The sunshine has caused big chunks to fall off branches along our street already.

Meanwhile chaos is happening politically in our country as well as the States.  Scandal and cover-up about the government involvement in SCN Lavalin court case.  There will be further investigations and problems for the P,M,O. and his office.  This has been stirred up by the resignation of Wilson-Raybould.   Many questions need to be answered.

Chaos can happen even in our personal lives when something unexpected happens and creates stress
and unresolved issues. 

Jordan B. Peterson offers some advice in his book 12 Rules For Life, an antidote to Chaos.
A search for meaning and for truth in this journey we are all on together.

IDEAS

                   New ideas can destroy old and comfortable certainties.  -Jordan Peterson
                   I need to keep an open mind to allow space for new thoughts and possibilities.
                         I am reading and writing my way to renewed health and wholeness.

                                     There has been a lot more snow since this was taken.
I was out sweep of the front driveway, we do not have a snow shovel, and it would be too heavy anyway. when T.J. my neighbor meets we shoveling from the bottom up.  He has been doing our driveway twice a day.  He cleans the snow off all around the corner too.  I am so thankful for his help.

I walked dad over to the Dentist, Bob Patterson.  He had a long appointment.  I met Aneta on my way home and she walked four more blocks with me.  The fresh air is good but walking tiring as a lot of places have not been cleared. 

I came home and made a banana loaf from a mix and then walked back to pick up dad.  He was really frozen but had a healthy shake with some frozen spinach in it.

We watched the news and then both had a rest.

I am thankful for a healthy marriage, phone calls from family and visits from Randy and Sandra.

"We need both faith and reason to make meaning in an uncertain world."  -Brene Brown

"Faith is a place of mystery, where we find the courage to believe in what we cannot see and the strength to let go of our fear of uncertainty."  -B Brown

SNOW

It snow all day Sunday.  We were in watching Colombo  on T.V/ and a neighbor cleared off our driveway.  It kept snowing and another neighbor was cleaning off our driveway as we got ready for bed.  We could not tell who it was.

I did not go for a walk but shook snow off some of the branches.  I also put some ice down to help keep things clean.

We finally made it over to the store for much needed milk and bread.  Very busy there.

We would have liked to go to Carol and Panteli's for supper but more snow warnings in the forecast.  We have driven in lots of snow conditions but find it more stressful now.

We are feeling our age today that is for sure.

I do not want to be like the person in a story by Aoichan Cha of a person who goes out in the morning to see his chickens but picks up the droppings instead of the eggs.

I know it is important to accept the changes as we age.

There is a stillness that comes with the snow that I find is a blessing.

DEEPER

I was sure I might set the church on fire when I lit a candle and said a prayer for dad.  He was not feeling well.  We were a smaller group because of the cold weather and the threat of snow.  Our friends were there, Pat and John and I thought they may drop over after wards but they did not. 
We did have a visit from Sandra and Randy who had dropped a kitten off at the shelter thinking it had a home but that did not work out.  Off they rushed to pick it up again.  Who is it harder on the kitten or Randy or Sandra?\\

"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and becoming the work of becoming yourself,"  -  Anna Quindlen

This requires us to look at our past with compassion but also with the willingness to dig deeper.

"Unexpressed emotions will never die
They are buried alive and will come forth later
in uglier ways.  -Sigmund Freud.

"Facing our inner emptiness opens the way for a newer existence.   -Henri J. Nouwen
 
I am thankful it did not snow until after I got home.

It has been snowing all afternoon.  Yes it is lovely to look out upon but digging out can be hard work!

BRAVE

                  Finally found the new boots for dad to take some brave new steps to continue his journey .

A cold very windy morning for me to brave my morning walk .  Lots of branches blown down on the road,  First it was walking into the wind then when I turned the corner it blew me down the road.

After breakfast we started out to look for the store which had the boots dad was looking for.  We could not find it but found another store which had the boots available and just the right size.
Dad and I both have new boots now.

We arrived home to have Cathy our old neighbor come to visit us.  She is bravely facing a lot of new decisions finding a new place to live.

I know she feels brave and afraid at the same time which is I guess how we all feel.