A wee bit of BS

If you have read this blog more than once, you know my health has been a major factor in my life. As much as I like to think it is not, it is. So when I have pain, it tends to throw me for a bit of a loop. Mostly because it happens so rarely now, yet when it does, I feel like it reduces me to someone who has been very unwell in the past. To be honest, I hate being defined by my health. I have had eight surgeries. I can say with confidence that four were because of doctors not listening to me and mistreating me. Three were to save my life. One was not related to the others but helped me immensely. Last Thursday I had pain again. This was a new pain. Old pains I know what to do with. I do not like them but I understand them. They are not typically serious. They are usually the result of 8 surgeries and pass quickly. I can handle them well partly because I know they will pass and I am fine. This one is different though. I went to Urgent Care yesterday and was given antibiotics and s...

The past two weeks I have been tired, more than usual. Even now I am sitting typing this when I should be putting away the four bags of groceries in my kitchen. Maybe in a bit. Right now I just want to sit. Relax. Rest. I have been wondering why I am so tired. Then I reminded myself (yes really) that I am doing many things constantly. I have a full time job and two very part time jobs as well. The part time jobs can be done easily at home. They are perfect for me. I enjoy them. I am also very thankful for them. I also volunteer - some would say a lot. Most weekends lately I have been volunteering somewhere. I do it because I enjoy it. I also do it because I don't have enough money to give to all the organizations I admire and respect. So I give them my time and energy. I am very happy for the opportunities to do so. I have met some amazing people and had some fun experiences. I have also had the chance to make a positive difference in small ways. I am blessed with many friend...

Tonight I came home from work tired and hot. I cannot remember a September with heat and humidity like this. I am not complaining, just setting up the story. It had been a long, short week. I did not feel like putting on the air conditioning in my house or making myself supper. So I decided to go out. I was going to take my MacBook and find somewhere with wifi and air conditioning to sit and do some work for a small side job I have. I packed up my things and headed to the bus stop. I knew where I wanted to go and also knew it was close enough to bus there. Being downtown I figured it would be easier to bus than drive as well. So off I went. As I got closer to my bus stop I noticed four people waiting there, seemingly intoxicated. Honestly, it is no big deal to me. I have met enough people in a similar state to know there is rarely anything to be afraid of. I got to the bus stop and sure enough one gentleman asked me for money. I did not have any. In fact, I rarely have any. I h...

Today I started another 30 days of thankfulness. I did it many months ago after seeing a friend post a challenge on Facebook. I really enjoyed it and was amazed at how my outlook on life improved when I noticed the many things I have to be thankful for. I was reminded by a dear friend yesterday of it as he shared how it blessed him. Today I was thankful for freedom. I live in a country that offers me great freedom to be a woman, to be educated, to work, to worship, to build friendships, to be involved in my community, and I could go on and on. It also reminded me of a cartoon depicting four women. In the first frame, two women in bikinis were walking past two women wearing a hijab (it has been a while since I saw the cartoon mind you so the women may have been completely covered) lamenting their lack of freedom. The next frame had the two women in a hijab lamenting the lack of freedom for the other women. Then today I was reading a blog by a mother who was encouraging other mothe...

Lately I have been wondering how much stuff I can pack into a day. I seem to be filling my days from start to finish with work, more work, friends and community stuff. This is not a complaint at all. It is my choice to fill my days so much. My life is not always so full either. It seems to go through seasons of busy-ness. I would be lying if I said I did not enjoy or appreciate it. Well, I don't enjoy how disorganized my home feels when I don't spend enough time here because I am so busy. There were a few years when I was unable to do much of anything. From 1996-1999 I did not accomplish much other than hospital visits and surgeries. That is not exactly the resume most 20 somethings are building. Yet that time taught me a lot about what is important. It taught me a lot about character, my character. When you are unable to do much physically, you start to do a lot mentally and emotionally. It can be exhausting. It can also be filled with peace and hope of change. I am than...

I have an older brother. He is 16 months older than I am. That is important because it means there are four months of the year when we can say he is two years older than I am. He is also adopted. (I am too, for those who might not have read previous posts.) When we were little I can remember waiting by the front door for him to come home from kindergarten. He was my best friend. He has always had an amazing ability to make me laugh uncontrollably. We also used to look alike. He had auburn hair and I had very red hair. Now, my hair is lighter and his is darker. If you come into my house you will quickly see four photo frames on the wall. Each frame has four photos each. In those frames are photos of my brother, sister and I. I chose each photo to display some of the happiest moments of my childhood. Those happy moments included both of my siblings. My sister is four years younger than I am. She is not adopted. That does not mean anything negative. It just means she is much younger t...

I have been Aunty B officially for 18 years. I have unofficially been Aunty B a bit longer than that. I have 5 nieces and nephews. I have countless other children in my life that I love, invest in and spend time with. I think about them all often even if I haven't seen them in a long time. Being Aunty B is very important to me. It might be one of the most amazing and enjoyable things I do in my life. I am not amazing. What is amazing, is the opportunity to build relationships with little people to help them become great big people. My oldest niece just turned 18. She graduated and is now heading off to Calgary to work and live. While my Aunty B heart is sad that she is leaving, it is also incredibly excited for her. I have always been a bit different from my siblings in the sense that I travelled a lot. I lived overseas for a few years and always look at life as an adventure. Seeing my oldest niece start to learn that on her own makes me very proud. She is a rather fantastic youn...