Category Archives: family

Celebrating milestones

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My parents will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary on July 25. Definitely a huge milestone – how many people these days can you say have been married for that long? Not too many. It’s very impressive that two people can be together that long.

I am very lucky to still have both of my parents, and I am very aware of that. People my age (mid-50s) are not normally so lucky to have the privilege of having both parents still around. I also live with them, and I enjoy asking questions of them of what they remember from all those years. Where were they when JFK was shot? Do they remember the landing of Apollo 11? The biggest stories of their times, and also my generation.

I enjoy hearing their stories of where they were, what they were doing, and the mindset of the people at that time.

This week all around the world we celebrate the moon landing of 1969. I asked my parents what they were doing when it happened, and it turns out we as a family were visiting my grandparents in Gaspe, Quebec. They watched it on TV, and I found out that a few of my relatives never believed that they actually landed on the moon. They believe it had been fabricated for TV. I realize that a lot of people at that time never believed it – which I find fascinating. I learned about it at school and I know that it did happen.

I am very appreciate that I get to celebrate this milestone with my family this week.

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53 and counting…

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For the past few years, I have spent my birthday away from Welland.  From 2012 to 2014, I was in Calgary.  In 2015, I turned 50 in Prague.  51 was Berlin and 52 was in China.  My 53rd birthday has me back in Ontario for the first time since 2011.  It’s been great being back here for my birthday – spent the day shopping and out for lunch yesterday in Fort Erie, and today was spent in Niagara Falls (breakfast and gambling – sad to say I didn’t win big but I also didn’t lose much either!).  It’s been a great day – and am grateful for all the birthday wishes from family and friends.

 

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What brings you happiness?

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What brings you happiness?  Is it seeing someone special in your life every day?  A smile from a crush?  The light that shines in a child’s eyes when they see you after a long day at work?  Or does the end of the day, getting in your car and heading home bring you happiness?

 

For some people, getting up to go to work brings them happiness and a joy in their life.  I have been very fortunate in my life to have jobs/careers that have brought me much happiness.  Working at some of the law firms that I did definitely brought me happiness.  I know – it’s hard to believe but when I was working at some of the law firms, I actually got up and looked forward to going in to work!  Waking up and knowing I could go and teach brought me a lot of happiness.  Even now, working at Tim Horton’s, which I am sure some people don’t understand, brings me happiness.  It is a simple job that does not require much thinking, but I have such a great rapport with my fellow workers that makes it such a fun and happy place, most days.

 

What else brings me happiness?  Hearing from my kids.  Knowing that everything is good with them, and that they are thinking of me, just like I think of them every single day.  Knowing that even though we don’t talk every day, they know that I love them and think of them.

 

Being in Welland and with my parents has brought me much happiness this year.  It’s the first Christmas since 2010 that I have been in Welland and I am very fortunate to still have my parents around at my age, and I am incredibly grateful and happy for that.

 

Happiness is possible for everyone.  It’s how we react and think.  Every job can bring you happiness – you just have to have the right attitude.

 

What brings me happiness?  My family, my jobs, my friends all over the world, and life.

 

So what brings you happiness?