Seafood Chowder for the Soul

There's a Reason Why I Love this Town....

2009-07-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

Random acts of Kindness

2008-04-21T05:53:00.000-07:00

A while back I had been having a few bad weeks....and nothing had been able to bring me out of it...until that one afternoon. I was sitting in McDonald's having lunch...really just minding my own business. Had the paper....glanced through it for a bit, nothing that spectacular to read about.
A young boy and his father had been eating a few tables down from me...I had noticed them when they came in, the young boy was mentally handicapped (not sure if that's the appropriate term now-a-days). When they got up to leave, they walked by me....and I saw the boy coming towards me, and I wasn't sure what to expect, where to look or what to even think. But he did something that totally melted my heart. He reached out and put his arms around me and gave me a hug and asked me how I was doing. It was the simplest of gestures, and he didn't know me, yet this young man lifted my spirits more than anything. His simple action put a smile on my face for the rest of the day.
This young man reminded me just how important little acts of kindness are. He reminded me not to judge a book by it's cover and that kindness is universal...it doesn't and shouldn't discriminate against anyone. To him I say thank you for a much needed reminder...and a much needed smile.

Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man. ~Rabindranath Tagore

While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.
~Angela Schwindt

Something that has always puzzled me all my life is why, when I am in special need of help, the good deed is usually done by somebody on whom I have no claim. ~William Feather

This is your Life....

2007-12-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

This Is Your Life - Switchfoot

Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
Yesterday is a promise that you've broken
Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes
This is your life and today is all you've got now
Yeah, and today is all you'll ever have
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes

This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose

Yesterday is a kid in the corner
Yesterday is dead and over

This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose

Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes

This is your life are you who you want to be
This is your life are you who you want to be, yeah

This is your life, are you who you want to be, who you want to be yeah
This is your life, are you who you want to be (who you want to be)
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose

And you had everything to lose

A friends of mine's song choice in his latest movie featuring Darren Hudson inspired me to write this week's blog entry.
Wow!...is all I can say when I heard this song. It was so fitting as I watched Darren going down the river...doing what he does best. He's a man not only following his passion but living a legacy. You can certainly hear it in his voice and see it in his smile...and isn't that what it's all about?
How many of us are following our dreams and living our lives to the fullest? I think often we hold ourselves back, we don't believe in ourselves enough to follow our passions. We think they are unattainable or too big to make real.
Darren is living proof that a small town boy can make it big and no dream is too big. Yes, he worked hard, we can't expect these things to come easily. I am sure if you asked Darren if all the hard work was worth it, the answer would be "hell yeah!"....and I am sure he's not finished yet.
So the next time you find yourself day dreaming about what you want out of life, remember, no dream is too big or too small. If you want it to happen, it will. This is your life....are you who you want to be?
Get out....do what you love and I can guarantee not only will you succeed....you will triumph!

Lessons Learned

2007-11-05T06:01:00.000-08:00

Failure is just a way for our lives to show us we're moving in the wrong direction, that we should try something different.
~Oprah Winfrey
I could write a long list of my so called failures in my life...a list that I'm pretty positive is still in the works...but I won't bore you with the sordid details. What I will tell you is what I have learned from some of those life experiences, as I would like to call them.
I have learned that without these things happening to me, I would never have learned some of the most important lessons in my life.
I've learned that when you are doing something that you absolutly hate doing, even though you sank a lot of money, time and energy into it....if you walk away from it, you'll be okay...in fact you will most likely be more than okay. Often times, things like this help you find out what you are really passionate about.
I've learned that sometimes when you think you have made the biggest mistake in your life, it ends up being the best thing that could have happened to you...one that would make you a much better person because of it.
Then of course there are things that happen that sometimes you really don't know why they happen...and you spend a great deal of time wondering what good could possibly come of it. If anything...it probably makes you a stronger person inside.
I read somewhere that failure holds no more power than we give it. A pretty powerful statement to say the least. I think if we take anything from our so called failures, it's to learn from them and take back the power and turn them into lessons learned...and not to dwell on them.
Maya Angelou said "You did then what you knew how to do, when you knew better...you did better" Take a lesson from that...you didn't fail...you only did what you knew how to do. Now go out and do better.
I think most of our fears don't come from fear of failure...it comes from fear of success. It's easy to keep doing what you are doing...because you know how to do it...it's safe. We might not be happy about how of life is...but it's comfortable, secure and familiar. Sort of puts it in a different perspective doesn't it?
well...that's about it in a nutshell...hope you can take something from it.

Sunday Scribblings

2007-10-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

I think it was quite appropriate that my first Sunday Scribbling topic was Hospitals. I don't very often venture into them, but on Monday I made a very special trip to our province's Children's Hospital to visit some very special babies.
My good friend gave birth to triplets on October 14th, and I've been so excited to be able to go see them, and her. The drive to visit them is 2 1/2 hour long drive, so it's not something one can do every day.
I've been keeping in touch through a local website and Facebook, getting to see some pictures of them, but nothing prepares you for just how tiny they are until you come face to face with them.
First off, I have three children myself, but I spaced them out pretty good, I can not imagine having to deal with three all at once! If anyone can handle it, it's Shannon...the mom to these little miracles. She's dealt with all of the excitement, the stress of having to be on bed rest for the past two months and the ever changing development of having three babies living inside of her, with such grace and poise I admire her so much for that.
Delaney, the littlest of the three, weighing in at 1 pound 15 ounces is the strongest one of the three. When I came face to face with her, she was trying so hard to open her eyes. Her little fingers were pulling at her wires and trying to take her diaper off. So tiny, yet so full of life. Alannah, triplet "C" was having some complications the day I saw her, nothing serious, just comes with the territory of being so small and being born premature. She has since gone through and operation for her heart murmur and is doing good. Nicholas, the big brother to his two sisters, is quite a bit bigger than them too. He too has just had his operation for his heart and is doing okay too. They all have a lot of people praying for them, so I'm sure it is helping a lot.
It's so amazing that these three little babies were all inside one belly! It's going to be amazing to watch them grow and develop into individuals. Welcome to the world Alannah, Delaney and Nick! xoxo

The Pursuit of Happiness

2007-10-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

Perhaps if one really knew when one was happy one would know the things that were necessary for one's life.
~Joanna Field

There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the world.
~Robert Louis Stevenson

Have you ever felt like there is something missing from your life...yet you aren't quite sure what it is? People are always saying...do what makes you happy...the rest will follow. Are these people following this same mantra? It seems more than one of us is walking around wondering what exactly our purpose on the earth is for. Are we living our purpose...or is there more to it? How do you know if this is what you are supposed to be doing?
This year...my goal is to pursue happiness.
It seems most of us...or women at least...spend all their time trying to make everyone around them happy....that they often forget what makes themselves happy. I think I've fallen into this category. I've forgot what it is that truly makes me happy. Does it make me selfish that I want to be happy....I often think it does.
Don't get me wrong...I'm very grateful for everything I have. But being grateful and happy I think are two different things...yet they also go hand in hand. Go figure.
I've discovered a lot of little things that make me happy....yet in order to really enjoy these things, it seems I have to give up other things. How is this fair? Is that how life works?
A friend of mine (well...more than one) keeps telling me I deserve to be happy. Doesn't everyone? Don't think I'm living in this life of despair...I'm not. But something is missing, I can't deny that. I think I just have to stop feeling guilty for wanting to be happy.
So in my pursuit of happiness....I'm going to learn to savor the small things that bring me contentment. I'm going to laugh more. I'm going to become more aware of what truly makes me happy. I'm going to learn to appreciate each day as a new one to explore. The pursuit of happiness isn't a luxury....it's a right...isn't it?
Sarah Ban Breathnach writes that "the magic seeds of contentment are planted deep within us. Happiness that the world cannot take away only flourishes in the secret garden of our souls."
So, on my journey in the pursuit of happiness....I hope others will join me. If you haven't discovered what makes you happy, why not do it now? What are you waiting for?

It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth --- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up --- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.
~Elisabeth Kubler Ross