A personal blog that started about the experience with Canadian Immigration and the wait to bridge the gap between two in Love. An American and Canadian that were trying to finally be together once and for all!! After 360 days, Furman was granted Permanent Residency in Canada. Now, we are getting Furman settled here. He is home! Now, the road to Dual Citizenship.
Well.... As you can probably figure, we are still waiting to hear from immigration. But... It's July. We are starting our sixth month and what I believe will be the last stretch of this process. (Based on the timelines provided by other successful applicants that is.)
I really have no clue.
Day in and day out I go to the website and check for updates. Any word of anything different happening with our application, but get nothing. No confirmation of medicals received yet. Nothing. This is normal from what I have gathered from others on the Road to Canada Forums. So....we keep waiting. But, we are keeping busy. What would be absolutely awesome is if we received word before heading to Florida in 11 days! Our next adventure! ROADTRIP!!!! But..I wont hold my breath for that.
Immigration workers are probably saying.......
Yeah... don't rush them!
So....while we are still waiting...i'll keep blogging about "complete drivel" as one of my familial readers once commented. Gotta love it. Hey, it'll help me with my writing skills that I was also told I needed to work on. lol
The weekend was wonderful. Aside from spending time in the gym supporting the twirlers of Stars United Baton Club, we got an opportunity to visit St Jacobs Country. Did you know that St Jacobs is Canada's largest year round farmer's market? I had no clue but I certainly saw why. A lovely place to visit. We definitely will have to go back.
I took this photo inside one of the buildings at the farmers market. Because we weren't heading right home we obviously couldn't pick up too much other than kennel corn, pepperoni sticks, trays of peanuts and some fruit. lol Some of the prices were crazy!! Great deals.
What was awesome too were the Mennonite people. (I had to look up what the difference was between the Mennonite people and the Amish - interesting) They were all around the market to sell their goods sticking out like sore thumbs because of how they dress. It was even more cool to drive along the roadside along the families travelling in their horse and buggy. How they live in such simplicity is amazing. We are definitely a spoiled society! They live with so much less and are probably much happier than many of us who live with so much more. lol Could you do it?
Oh, and the horse and buggy parking at Walmart tripped me out too. Too funny!
Seriously....they had one.
Had to search a photo to show you because we didn't get a chance to take one ourselves. Here it is.
Thanks to my FB friends for the tips on what to check out while we were in St Jacobs.
Anyways...the weekend is over and time to get ready for the next. What to do? What to do? We've got a few BBQ's to possibly attend of which one is being held by the ladies from my Ladie's Prayer Breakfast group. And...I know that Furman has been waiting patiently, very patiently, to get to Canada's Wonderland. I'm thinking that the theme park might win out if we can't figure out a way to do it all. Hmmm?
In the meantime, Mom's balcony is our first order of business. Doin' The Pigeon Thank you to all that have given me some tips on how to get this clean and keep it clean. Furman and I will be doing some balcony task shopping this evening. Owls? I never knew!! lmao
Oh yeah, and before I forget...here is a video from Furman's 1st Canada Day Weekend. This is the video I mentioned we had. There is a part where we almost completely flipped shown in slow motion that was crazy because you could see the bottom of the tube and we survived. lol However, you'll also get to see where I didn't quite make it. hahaha Best time ever! Wish my daughter didn't have to miss it. She would have had a blast too. But, happy I have my hubby to share new experiences with me.
Oh.....and we will keep waiting on Immigration!! lol Got no choice.
Remember this? lmao Classic..if I must say so myself.
Sesame Street used to be my show when I was younger. Oh yeah! I loved me some Bert and Ernie. I don't remember Elmo being as huge as he is now. lol But he's quite the star these days. For today's blog topic Bert dancing to Doin' The Pigeon comes to mind. Why? Because my husband and I will be taking on the daunting task of cleaning my mother's balcony. God help us.
Her balcony has been in horrible shape for years, completely taken over by the neighborhood pigeons. I'm not sure why, other than the fact that she doesn't use it. Her building is surrounded by several other buildings. Do they have to always go to HER balcony? I mean really! There are soo many to choose from. Are there really that many pigeons in the neighborhood that her balcony is getting it's fair share of pigeon feces? hahaha It's crazy. My mom smokes so when you visit her you are dying for air because her windows are usually closed and she smokes in the apartment. However, with the state of the balcony you actually fear opening the windows. It's that bad! Pigeons have nested and laid their eggs in corners of her balcony. Pigeons have died with their carcasses left in opposite corners. Pigeons are shitting all over the place! I told you..not a pretty sight. Not sanitary at all. However, as a result of my mother's health it's been a struggle to get the building to perform any maintenance in her unit let alone clean a balcony that they probably aren't responsible for anyways. I got them to do it once many years ago and they netted it too. But, they aren't doing it anymore. And, it can be costly for an outside agency to do it. It's been difficult to have her balcony cleaned and maintained because she hasn't had long periods of good health....till now.
Not moms but an idea
The net she once had ended up being removed. I had originally thought my mom had done it when she wasn't well but a neighbor confirmed that the building had done it and didn't get around to putting it back up. Just great! So now, it's something I have to take care of before they levy a $500 fine on her. Nobody else is going to do it and mom certainly can't afford any fines. Now mind you, many many years back an Aunt took on this task and cleaned my mother's balcony for her when it was just as bad. It was awesome. It didn't stay clean for that long though. God bless my auntie for what she did. I don't know how she did it. Just looking onto the balcony sometimes makes me want to gag. (Sitting in the house in the smoke is just as bad..lol) Maybe I should get some tips from auntie? Naw...I got hubby. We got this! My mom knows who to call when she wants or needs something, and that she did. After all, my hubby said he would take care of it as soon as he saw it and knew he'd be here to deal with it. God bless him. He's a good man!
Sooo....the crew of pigeons that loves to take over mom's balcony will have to bugger off soon enough. We are gonna deal with them! (Ok, maybe mostly Furman...hahaha But, i'll do my best to help). Looks like sometime in the next week is the plan before we are off again on our next adventure. Gotta figure out what we need to get started. Definitely a shovel. Hazmat suits might be in order too! lol Furman might think i'm being ridiculous but i'm as serious as a heart attack. My stomach is weak! So, you know that when we get around to getting this done there are gonna be stories. hahaha
Now...if anyone has any suggestions, special remedies for prevention of their return, etc....Please do share!
Shopping List:
Masks
Shovel
Garbage Bags
Javex....and more Javex
new Netting
........and make sure I remember my old shoes to trash when we are done. ANYTHING ELSE?
Special thanks to an angel in my mom's building that has been keeping in contact with me to always let me know what's up! Things that need to be taken care of, like the balcony, word on the street about individuals I need to deal with that are Using my mom....all that! It's amazing how God puts people into your life for a Reason, Season and a Lifetime. Like the lady had said to me, my mom "needs people in her life that aren't going to use her". Sooo right! Thank God for always looking out for my mom.
So....I'm really going to enjoy the weekend ahead because when I get back, we got work to do!!
After about 5 years of my daughter twirling a baton, we are finally attending the Last Competition.
We will be away in Kitchener this weekend to attend Canadians! It's the big one. What the girls spend all year working for. The FINAL seasonal performance. In Canada that is.
Problem is....she wont be there. It's bittersweet.
She let them down. It happens. Kids! All a part of their learning I guess. Sad, but true. But...the show must go on. Hotel has been taken care of, other things that came up to do for the weekend had been turned down because we had things to do - root for the Stars United Baton Club. And by golly...that's what we are going to do with or without my daughter. They have been like a family for the last several years and it will be sad to part ways without my daughter properly completing the season. I couldn't let them down, so we are still going. I know i'm just a parent but I feel that it's the right thing to do. Something I always try to teach my kids. I don't always know, but I do my best. So, Furman and I will be there cheering them on as if my daughter is on the floor with them. In my mind, she will be. Looking all cute in her costumes. Love her so much. I know it will be a bit tough but i'm willing to do it. I'm doing it for my daughter too because I want her to learn from me! Just wish things were different.
What happened? Not quite sure actually. She is a teenager. She started becoming unreliable and I guess she lost some of her passion for the sport. The coach couldn't take the chance that she'd disappoint the team on the big day. So, she was removed right before competition. A decision I unfortunately had to agree with. Coach Satyne has always had a rule in place for as long as I could remember that if anyone misses practice right before competition, that they would be pulled from competing. She meant it. That's what happened! My daughter's first, and last time. Lesson learned I hope. It's all about remembering that there is no "I" in Team. It's all about our choices and how they affect others sometimes. It's not always about US!
My daughter started twirling baton about 5 years ago. One day she was just so excited to show me what she could do. She made me sit down on the couch as she stood in front of the television with a small curtain rod that had been sitting around waiting to be put up. I can still remember her excitement. :) Such a happy memory. Anyways, when she felt she had my full attention she started spinning the rod in her fingers. I must say, I was quite impressed. She was really good. I have no clue how she initially learned how to do that. Certainly wasn't from me. lol She said she had been playing with it and I guess she was a natural. So...when she was finished with me I hopped on the computer. I knew there was a name for what she was doing but couldn't quite remember. Oh yeah...Baton! So I searched for baton in my area. I had no clue what I was looking for exactly. Were there baton twirling clubs? There sure are and one in my area. It was called Progress Baton Club at the time, later changed to Stars United Baton Club run by Satyne Ward. So, I gave them a call and set something up. The rest is history.
My daughter started twirling on Saturdays for a season. Not sure if it was a complete season though. There was only her and a smaller girl in the class. Like I said, my daughter was a natural. It didn't take the coach long to see my daughters potential. With that said, the following season my daughter skipped a level and moved right into competitive. It was a proud moment. The coach had confidence in my daughters abilities. She was a great addition to the teams. For my daughter, it was a bit scary because everyone on the competitive team had been twirling baton for years. Not keeping this in mind at times, my daughter was very hard on herself....but, she was good. I had to constantly remind her of this.
At home 5 years later, we have tons of baton trophies and medals. It's crazy. My daughter has even had the honor of holding the titles of Miss Majorette of Ontario as well as Miss Majorette of Canada I think in the same year. Got those sashes at home too. Makes me smile because when I was younger I wasn't a part of anything. That's probably part of the reason why I did whatever I had to do to foster my daughters passion for baton twirling. The friend I had at the time couldn't imagine how I did it, after she got to experience a full day at a baton competition with me. lol It's a long day..let me tell you! We've been to plenty. Kitchener, Oshawa, Hamilton, Stratford, Whitby, Walkerton....all over I tell ya! But, it was so worth it to see my daughter do her thing and look cute in her costumes. To watch ALL the girls who are just totally awesome at what they do. I'm proud of them all. Heck, their appearance on Breakfast Television one morning even pulled my own father out of the woodwork to try and get a glimpse of the granddaughter he had never met. He was looking for me too! lol He recognized his granddaughter. That prompted him to dial a phone number I never knew he had, mine, to let me know he was proud too. And..he sure sounded it.
Oh...but there is nothing like the pride you feel when you get to attend the really big one. Yup..bigger than Canadians. AYOP..at the University of Notre Dame in Southbend, Indiana. We went twice. Such an awesome experience. Wonderful memories. Proud as a peacock. Reminded me of the times my mom would boast "That's MY baby!"..lol Although I never did anything special other than be her baby. But, I get it now. Furman and I had been dating and on both occasions he flew from Miami to Toronto just so that he could drive to Indiana with us as a family to attend. Told ya...I got a really good one! He's always made me feel very special and treats my daughter like his own. I told him, twice, he could fly there and meet us. Eventually, I understood and it all made sense. Took a while. Just wasn't something I was used to. For 5 years I couldn't even get my daughters father to attend her competitions in the city let alone one out of town. Here, was a man that I was dating (and now happily married) playing the part of the doting father. It was awesome. We're blessed. Oh..but the other baton parents can attest to the fact that he is actually great company too! lol Gotta love Furman!
Like I said....loooong days. This was at AYOP 2010.
So....one last time! Well, who knows..maybe in the future my daughter, Furman and I can surprise the team with a visit to one of their competitions. We are a Stars United family so we will surely be keeping in touch. My daughter will be an alumnus of the Stars United Baton Club and that will always be. I have soo much to be thankful for and so does my daughter. I guess here is where I lose a few tears as I think about the support that the awesome coaches have given our family over the years. Many thank you's to Miss Satyne, Miss Simone who really had my daughter under her wing for a while, Miss Diana, Miss Andrea, Miss Michelle and Miss Stephanie who was my daughters very first coach when she was twirling on weekends. You've all helped my daughter grow so much and get through some trying times. Thank you to the other parents as well for being great company as we cheered our children on. Oh..and thank you to the other athletes. You ladies Rock!
It's been a blast! I dedicate this song to you all. THANKS FOR THE MEMORY
Look forward to seeing you all this weekend to cheer on the rest of the girls as they complete another great season! Stars United is Numero Uno!! Bring home the bling again girls!!!!
On behalf of my daughter, I truly THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING!
And apologize for not being there this one last time.
Message to my daughter: I LOVE YOU SOOO VERY MUCH! I AM SO VERY PROUD OF YOU FOR ALL YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED AND ALL YOU STILL HAVE YET TO ACCOMPLISH.
The Sky is the Limit! Your choice! I'll give everyone an extra special hug just for you.
Well, we completed Furman's 1st Canada Day Weekend and had an absolute BLAST!
Thanks soo much to a dear friend and her family for making it so.
I've always wanted to say this ... "we went up to the cottage". Lol. No but seriously, we did. We were literally "true north strong and free".
We started our weekend at Head Lake where I lived to tell you about it after a totally WICKED tube ride on Saturday. Lol. OMG....I can't wait to find a pic to share. (There is video because you know Furman had his helmet cam again) First, let me tell you about the Mosquitos. You really gotta see the size of them at Head Lake. They were ridonculous! Lol We arrived at Head Lake just as the Mosquitos were coming out....I mean really coming out! I had to laugh because with Furman having been in the military for so many years he was used to Mosquitos and all kinds of other bugs but even he had to comment on the size of the damn Mosquitos. Too funny! Oh, but it was even funnier when he went for a run on Saturday morning followed by a swarm of horseflies that he only really saw once the sun was behind him. If only he had a photo of the shadow created by the swarm. lol
After an awesome breakfast on Saturday we got out onto the lake. It was real cool because we went out there with my friend and her family and joined two other boats from the nearby cottages. We created (I know there is a name for it) a party in the middle of the lake. The photo shared is not us but just to give you an idea. It was soo much fun. Diving off the boats into the water into the lake and nearby river. But...that wasn't until after we went on our first water tubing ride. That...was the shit! OMG! I can't even tell you how WICKED the experience was on that water tube being pulled by the boat. Oh...but the real ride was on our way back to the cottage when only Furman and myself were sitting on each end and my girl was in the boat with the video camera. Her brother was trying to make sure we had the time of our lives and I can tell you that I sure did. The boat was throwing us around on the lake like rag dolls. lol After being tossed around a bit I said to Furman "I think he is trying to make us tip" lol No sooner did I say that did I flip. It happened soo fast that I can honestly say that I really and truly didn't know what hit me. I flew off soo fast and into the water that I knew that when I reached the surface that I had to hold up my hand to let everyone know that I was safe. Have you ever seen anyone on tv get sucked out of an airplane? Man oh man! That was me being sucked off the tube and into the water. hahaha Furman will have to go through the tape and see what was caught on it so we have some pics. Trust me...my telling you about it doesn't do it any justice. Even my friend said that at one point we had an awesome recovery because she had actually seen the bottom of the tube as we were raised off the water into the air and back down. Her brother was determined to get us off but only got me!
Saturday evening was when we headed out to Birchwood Camp so we could get an early start to the rest of our weekend. I was soo looking forward to it. My previous camp experiences have been with my extended family. Furman had missed out on some great camping trips to Blairton Trailer Park with my family and I, so I was anxious to take him camping. My family and I had been going to Blairton for several years thanks to one of my cousins. I have some awesome memories of those trips. Awe..yes! Camping with my family is a hoot. However, we were kind of looking for a change in location. I had been recommending Birchwood that is run by family of a good friend of mine but I had never actually been there till now. OMG! I strongly recommend that people go check this place out. Totally awesome. Please check out the pics on the website as I have too many to post in my blog. But yeah, we got there late on Saturday evening and checked in to Cabin 7. My lucky number! Nice cabin. The bed was soo comfy. But you should see the other cabins.
Sunday we got to check out Birchwood in the daytime after a good nights sleep. Really get to admire the scenery and the facilities in general. Like I said...NICE! The people that run the place are absolutely awesome. I can't say enough about them. The nicest people I tell ya. We had the best host and were well taken care of.
Midlothian Castle
On the way back from Burk's Falls to get a few grocery items we were introduced to a crazy place called Screaming Heads. You have to see this place to believe it. Soo cool. The size of the place is ridiculous so we never walked it all but we walked enough to get an idea of the place. My friend was right...definitely a must see. Apparently they hold a Harvest Festival that we were told we really need to come back and check out too. Sounds like a plan!
Anyways....back to Birchwood. The weekend was soo relaxing with the best company. Met some great people. Sunday evening we were taken to Magnetawan to watch the Canada Day fireworks. The fireworks were awesome although them pesky mosquitos were out. My friend was telling us about the Magnetawan Fire while we were there too. Crazy! Some guy got kicked out of the bar across the street from the general store and in his anger he vowed to burn the town down, so he did just that. Oh..but he didn't burn the place he got kicked out of...nope. People are crazy! Such a sad story. After the fireworks we made sure to get some Kawartha Lakes ice cream. Awe yes...Moose Tracks! But the OMG moment was when we got an ice cream cone in Port Carmen on Monday. lol The size small wasn't small at all. The lady in the store said that he dad taught her not to be cheap with the ice cream. lol Good man. I meant to take a photo of the darn ice cream cone because it was soo big for a small. Definitely have to go back there. Furman was in love with his Pralines and Cream. lol
Perhaps the highlight of our Monday was when we went hiking through the Birchwood property. My friend was telling us about the hike and the wonderful view we'd find at the top so we had to check it out ourselves. We didn't find what we were supposed to find but man oh man did we get lost. Furman doesn't say we got lost because all he had to do was look at the sun to find his way. You know..."the sun rises in the east and sets in the west". lol Means nothing to me. He may have known how to find his way but I was lost and a bit nervous. (I think he was lost too if even for a few minutes..lol) Soo happy I wasn't alone or they'd need a helicopter to find me for sure. Besides, there is no better person to get lost with than the man you love. It was awesome being in the woods with my husband like we were on some kind of military mission. hahahaha At one point we came across an abandoned trailer with an old car on it. I climbed onto the trailer and walked past the car afraid to look in it. After all, it's in the woods like it's been there forever...there could have been a body in there or something. lol There wasn't. It was close to a road we found when we exited the woods at one point. But, unsure where the road would take us we decided to head back into the woods. lol Luckily, the only wildlife we came across were chipmunks.Guess the deer and moose had other things to do.
Birchwood Camp - Lake Cecebe
The long weekend was so chill that I had to take an extra day! lol Emergency Day we call them at work. It was an emergency...I needed more time. Besides, I was given fair warning about the long weekend traffic returning home on Monday and we had wanted to stop at the Farmers Market before going home too. Staying the extra night was the smart thing to do as we found out on the drive home today. Smooth! No issues. Took us 2 hours and 15 minutes to get home from Burks Falls. Think it was supposed to take 3 hours. We completely forgot about going to the Farmers Market. My friend called me Trissy Andretti. hahahaha Ok Ok..my foot can be a bit heavy at times i'll admit. We got home safe.
Ready to start my week. Back to reality.
Again, much much thanks to my friend and her family for allowing us to share in such an awesome weekend. You guys are the greatest. Totally look forward to doing it again.
I dedicate this blogpost to Someone I Used To Know who is planning to walk down the aisle this weekend. (Disclaimer: Please don't think this blog post is written with any ill intentions as it is not)
I just had to post this song. Love it!
My heartfelt Congratulations to this person! (God knows my heart) I hope it is all they dreamed of and everything goes as planned. (with the exception of my not attending.)
They've grown up...a little. With still a long way to go. Hell, i'm still growing. But, i'm happy they'll have someone by their side to grow with them. I don't know anything about him, but from the little that I have heard the two of them are definitely made for each other. I can only wish them both all the best. Furman is my Soul Mate...maybe they are Soul Mates too. ???
Now, we can look back and laugh about some of the experiences that brought this person to this point. I certainly looked at mine. God is Good. For example, a look back at the last time this person thought they were going to get married was a lesson above all lessons. I'm glad they had that experience and that's all it was. I told them that God had something better for them and I was right. These things help you grow. I'm just happy I was there to help them through it, as it was a very tough time for them. It was a lesson nonetheless! It is said that if we don't learn certain lessons the first time that we will often go through the same or something similar again.That is soo true! I don't mind sharing lessons in hope that others can spare themselves things that others have gone through already. Too many times people get into relationships and have blinders on, or rose colored glasses. Has anyone ever told you you were looking through rose colored glasses? lol In this persons case, it was definitely the blinders. That's what happens when we are young and dumb. We want someone to love us so bad that when we think we've found it, that person can do no wrong. We see nothing, hear nothing, speak nothing bad about that person. We live in LaLa Land. Trust me, I've been there too. lol I was wearing the glasses. Just wait until I get into my own stories. hahaha
Several years back, this person had chosen not to speak to me for what I believe was a year or so. I can't even tell you why because I really don't know. Neither did they, as they eventually admitted. I guess it's because i'm such a horrible person as they say now. Yeah...i'll stick with that excuse. Sounds good. smh. I had taken this person into my home during their time of need when they didn't have anywhere else to go supposedly....and after I tried to address issues of my being taken advantage of, the person moved out and stopped speaking with me. Really!! Then out of the blue, they turned to me in another time of need. What nerve? Their boyfriend had died. A boyfriend I had never met because we had not been on good terms. Well, although I had been treated like crap by being stricken from their life for so long...I still sprung into action because that's just me (the horrible person) and because I loved this person more than they could understand. They called ME for help. Wonder why? So I put all else aside and was there, no questions asked. After all, it was the right thing to do. I have my mother's heart. Here is where something I said earlier comes into play...because I ended up taking this person back into my home a second time. I didn't learn the lesson the first time!
Anyways....in helping this person deal with all that resulted from the deceased boyfriend, all his skeletons started to come flying out of the closet. I mean flying!! We had to duck there were so many. Turns out, the boyfriend not only had another girlfriend that was with him when he died, but he also had a wife out of town. What? Oh yeah. But these two lived together! So, I had to help this person remove everything they could from where they lived before the wife could reach town to claim stuff. The family gave permission for the stuff to be taken. Go figure. I ended up using my own contacts to arrange a truck and MY friends to move the items. Not sure where their friends were? Oh, but one was there - the BFF. Awesome girl. Where was this person supposed to go? This person didn't have anywhere. So, the items ended up at my house in my garage while they stayed at my home. I wasn't asked...it just happened. Good thing I had a room available, although it wouldn't have mattered at the time. Imagine that...after not having spoken to me for over a year they now end up living with me...yet again! How could I? Did I not learn the first time? Guess not. But the love I had for this person was that great. Love makes you do crazy things, but it doesn't give you permission to walk all over me.
During this time of grief, all the skeletons flying out of the closet helped to turn that grief into anger. Once we were able to start going through items stored in the garage to give as donation, more and more info was coming to light. Oh yeah. This man was not 25-27 yrs old that was believed, his birth certificate showed him to be like 36! Damn, he was around my age! lol Oh..but it gets worse. He not only had a wife in another part of Canada, but he had a wife in another country. A wife and child actually. A child that this person had helped to provide for, not knowing it was the man's own child. Hell....I was angry and hurt at what this person had to go through. This was some made for TV stuff. I couldn't believe this was really happening. So, at the Wake, it was soo uncomfortable. I ended up going for support and was happy to be there to give it. I'm not sure I could have gone if it was my own situation. It was just soo weird watching people give their condolences to the other girlfriend as well as this person. The two wives and child weren't present, thank God. It was crazy. Luckily, we got out of there quick enough to close a chapter of this persons life. Lesson learned? Hopefully. How someone can pretend to be 10 years younger than they were, hide two wives, a child and a local girlfriend while they are living with another is beyond me. Like I said, I never met the dude although I later saw photos. I don't get it. He couldn't have been that good with his game. I chalk it up to being young and dumb. When you are trying to be an adult and have adult relationships with no experience, you have no clue what the signs of infidelity are. You just have no clue of things that just aren't right. I've been there. In this case, I wasn't originally around to give my usual great advice and point out things that didn't seem right, until..... lol Thank God this person got through it. They were tough and got closer to God at the time. I'll take a little credit for that. I go to church every Sunday so they came with me while they stayed in my home and God did the rest. The result, they got baptized. I was so proud. Not sure if they go to church any more though. All in all, they have their knight in shining armor now and I wish them the absolute best. Now, this is an experience you can look back and laugh at. It's why I mention it, not out of malice. Reflection is always good as it makes us appreciate where we are at when we are reminded of where we have been.
Unfortunately, we are back where we were before - not speaking. At least this time I can say why. Although, when the person left my home for a second time, they stopped speaking to me just like they did the first time. No real reason. I guess they were done with me again for a while, didn't need my help with anything else..NEXT! There is MY lesson learned. See? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Same result with nobody to blame but myself. But, I will spare the details of why we aren't talking this time or you will be reading forever, like this isn't long enough. lol. Besides, there are always three sides to every story. People need to keep that in mind. I'll just say that it will NEVER happen a third time! This time may have worked itself out just like the first time if it weren't for an evil third party in another city that loves to incite drama. As a result, horrible things were said to me that can't be taken back. Nooo..This time is much different...it's been @4yrs. But, instead of time making things better, this person just keeps making things worse. They haven't learned THEIR lesson. What lesson is that? Hmm..maybe it's just keeping your mouth shut sometimes and to stop sending messages about things that need to be dealt with in person. So, they keep doing the same thing and sending nasty messages (kept them all) and talking behind my back instead of in person. The result..the same. It's Insanity! (Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.) We are at an impasse.
Oh, but I can dish it back if I need to. I don't just sit there and keep taking it. Don't you worry! Funny thing is, when I dished it back the last time, I gave them warning because they wouldn't stop. lol Then I dished it back and apologized all in the same message. hahaha. After all, they made me do it! :) I had to show that I can be just as nasty too but just choose not to be. That's the difference. Will they ever get it? It's amazing how people seem to have so much balls when they hide behind written word. I can never get a face to face, and i'm not even a violent person.
Nope, we don't need to be in each others lives. I don't like people inciting me to be how I am not. I've learned MY lesson so I am doing something different, I'm not letting anything this person does or says affect me. Why do people treat the ones they love the worst? Because we take the ones we love for granted and assume they love us just the same and will never leave us no matter what. I've already given this relationship to God. He will decide what becomes of it. I have forgiven this person and thank them for this experience, but some things are just beyond our own repair. I will love the good memories of Someone I Used To Know. And,..wish them a lifetime of happiness to boot.
Now, don't get me wrong. We met in person once and tried to clarify some things..work things out..whatever you want to call it. I came prepared with all the nastiness printed to address what had been said to myself and others. Funny how people have selective memory. Our meeting helped me with forgiveness of that person and moving on. It was like closure and I thank them. A bigger issue was FORGIVING MYSELF for allowing this person to abuse me for a second time. Because of what this person had meant to me and who they were - that took longer. But I did. As the nastiness continues, (because they didn't get the reaction to our meeting that they wanted) it reaffirms for me that I don't need this person in my life right now. I'm happy without them, they are happy without me...they just need to move on. If you can't enhance my life then you don't need to be part of it. It is what it is. So, they tell everyone they apologized to make themselves look good but not that they are still being abusive. They refuse to meet in person again because they see "no point" but rather hide behind the keyboard and monitor "because they would spend less energy building a house". Growing up is still needed. This is one of the reasons why I refused to attend this wedding. The knife in my back would mess up my dress. Our separation continues. My mom will be there as my stand-in. She sounded disappointed when she asked me for like the 10th time if I was attending this wedding without her. Hated to disappoint her...but this is something she will have to do without me. lol I'm with her in spirit. She understands. She'll be fine. I've worked so hard to make it so. She'll be mom for the day, and minus the gift it will only cost her about $25 for the gas to Niagara Falls. Sad! That people would take a wedding as an opportunity to try and make extra cash by gouging people for gas money, when they are already going to the same place. Maybe the happy couple will reimburse mom for her expenses. lol Since the mom that raised this person was not invited. I would.
Who needs me anyways? lol Furman does...my mom does....my children do. That's everything to me and I don't need to convince anyone of it. I'll love this person from a distance because of who they are and not what they are. Someone I Used To Know. But that doesn't mean I don't want the best for them. Enjoy!
Some people will be there physically for you in your bad times, and be happy for you while being there in spirit for your good times. That says to me that they would rather see you in good situations by not being around to create bad situations making both unhappy. A person of good character always thinks of others.
This weekend...I will be having a blast doing something that I've been waiting to do for some time now. Oh ..but I wont share until I return. I'll miss my daughter who was supposed to be joining us but wont be joining us anymore. It's definitely not another Spartan Race....hahahahaha Nope Mud Hero is in August.
Have an awesome Long Weekend people.
(Sorry for the extra long post but hope you enjoyed it)
And again...Congrats to Someone I Used To Know! I'm sure you'll have an absolutely awesome wedding (mine was) and will look just beautiful (I did). After all........
Someone shared this song this morning....so i'm sharing, because sometimes we forget.
Dropped my son to work this morning. I hadn't seen him in what felt like years.
Around a certain age they start to replace family with friends.....if only they really knew what mattered most.
Gave him the biggest hug. I lost a tear or two. I love him and miss him soo much. He hasn't gone anywhere really....he's just being a young man. Sometimes I wish he would just make some special time for mom other than when he needs something from me. A movie? Dinner?
Not yet....I guess that will come when they get older and learn to appreciate mom and all she tried to teach them. When they realize that mom will not always be there because she can't be around forever.
It's hard to watch your kids grow up.
They live their own lives, making their own choices and you just have to sit back and watch as their lives unfold with hope that everything turns out ok. Hope that they would take your advice for once! lol When they get to a certain age....they don't want to hear, they want to feel. So there ya go! I have two wonderful children who I love more than they will ever know.
This Classic came to mind as I was writing.......
Soooooooo.........We Are At It Again!! Oh Yeah!
It's only been 4 days since our Spartan Sprint, bruises are still healing, and we have now registered for our next adventure! Mud Hero Thanks Catie.
Since becoming a Spartan, my dear friend Catie has been completely stoked and ready to go! Gheez...you'd think she was living on borrowed time or something. lol Still...tomorrow is never promised so she is right...let's get to it! She sent me the link AFTER she already registered. hahahaha She was going with or without us. Gotta love her!
We paused our playback of The Bachelorette and had a look. Then, we registered. Next step...Facebook public invite. Just in case we can get others to hop on board our little adventure train, since Furman's Spartan Video gave them a taste of what they missed. lol This video I found on You Tube is a taste of what we'll be in for with Mud Hero. August 25th. I need more training!
So far....we've got a team of 5 that I know of. I managed to convince my cousin Michelle to join us. After seeing the fun we had with Spartan she didn't want to miss out on this one. She can do it! After posting about Mud Hero on Facebook my friend Paula even sent me a message asking if she could join us. She had looked at doing this last year but didn't know anyone interested in doing it. lol She does now...Imagine that!
This is going to be awesome. I wonder how many people we'll have by August. I'll let ya know. Catie was thinking matching t-shirts to look like a real team....I agree!! Makes for great pictures.
The weekend was wonderful. Aside from spending time in the gym supporting the twirlers of Stars United Baton Club, we got an opportunity to visit St Jacobs Country. Did you know that St Jacobs is Canada's largest year round farmer's market? I had no clue but I certainly saw why. A lovely place to visit. We definitely will have to go back.
Oh...but the real ride was on our way back to the cottage when only Furman and myself were sitting on each end and my girl was in the boat with the video camera. Her brother was trying to make sure we had the time of our lives and I can tell you that I sure did. The boat was throwing us around on the lake like rag dolls. lol After being tossed around a bit I said to Furman "I think he is trying to make us tip" lol No sooner did I say that did I flip. It happened soo fast that I can honestly say that I really and truly didn't know what hit me. I flew off soo fast and into the water that I knew that when I reached the surface that I had to hold up my hand to let everyone know that I was safe. Have you ever seen anyone on tv get sucked out of an airplane? Man oh man! That was me being sucked off the tube and into the water. hahaha Furman will have to go through the tape and see what was caught on it so we have some pics. Trust me...my telling you about it doesn't do it any justice. Even my friend said that at one point we had an awesome recovery because she had actually seen the bottom of the tube as we were raised off the water into the air and back down. Her brother was determined to get us off but only got me!
