Sometimes.

I’ve been in Washington, DC, for the last three days, visiting my best friend Sarah.  We have been friends for twenty-five years now, through thick and thin, and she’s just had her second baby boy.  I travelled to DC solo, to have a few uninterrupted days to get to know him and to catch up with her.  

This is what I learned:

Friendships, true friendships, survive distance and time.  

They survive cross-country moves, broken hearts, the pressures of grad school, and the stress of new jobs. They survive marriages and babies and practices and renovations.  They pick up where they left off whenever and wherever an opportunity presents.

And that’s what we’ve done.  For twelve years together and thirteen years apart, we’ve laughed and cried and laughed some more.  

This weekend, we talked about how we never imagined our futures like this. Our teenage minds could never have dreamt of these busy, loving, fulfilled lives we live, and they certainly didn’t dream of raising our babies five hundred miles and a country apart.  Yet, here we are. So although we can’t have dinner together on Sunday nights or see our kids play in the backyard as a pack of four, we can do these things sometimes.  Some is better than none, and once-in-awhile beats never.

So, sometimes, it will be.

  


Worobec Beach

Did you know that it was Burlington Green’s Community Clean Up Green Up Day this past weekend?  I’m asking because I was only made aware of this wonderful event a couple of years ago.  It’s now an annual tradition for our family, and one that I treasure for so many reasons.

Every year around Earth Day, the valuable Burlington Green committee sets up an online registry whereby residents can choose an area of the city to focus their cleanup efforts, or join a larger group effort, of which many neighbourhoods plan in advance.  The City even provides cleanup supplies and disposes of waste items collected.  There is a celebratory BBQ afterwards and a compilation of cleanup pictures distributed at a later date.

Last year, we chose to clean up the ravine that was directly behind our house. In a matter of a couple of hours, we had pulled four drum-liner garbage bags of waste from the ravine and its stream.  I was amazed at what a clear impact we made in such a short time and impressed with the impression it made on my kids.  This year, in a new house and new surroundings, we decided to choose a place near and dear to our hearts; we chose “Worobec beach.”  Now, you will not find the name Worobec Beach on any official maps, but we’ve found a small secluded stretch of the Lake Ontario shoreline only a 10-minute bike ride from home, and made it our namesake.  It’s our little treasure in the city, our happy place.

We spent about an hour at Worobec Beach, wearing rubber boots and work gloves, combing through things that had washed up onshore and things that had blown in from the park or the road.  We picked in between the boulders that lined the shoreline, and the trees that give Worobec Beach its secluded privacy.  Although not as garbage-riddled as last year’s ravine cleanup, we did manage to fill one garbage bag right to the brim, mostly with plastic bottle tops, straws, and empty beer bottles.

We made a difference.  My kids saw the obvious implications of their hard work.  They learned about their environment, contributing to their community, and the value of working together.  All while basking in the sunshine and their parent’s pride.

I encourage you to sign yourself up for Burlington Green’s Eco-News so that you don’t miss this valuable event next year.

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A Wrapping Cabinet

I have a wrapping cabinet.  And it brings me so much joy.

What’s a wrapping cabinet, you ask?  Well, a wrapping cabinet is just that; a cabinet that houses gift-wrapping supplies.  My wrapping cabinet has a hanging shelf for giftbags of various sizes and occasion, coloured tissue paper, ribbons and bows, and enough space for several rolls of wrapping paper to stand.  It’s in our basement,  in the corner of the room, with a large, open area of carpet beneath it.  I have boxes of greeting cards, gift tags for every holiday, and even bacon-printed wrapping paper.bacon-wrapping-paper-3736-1287950355-58

These supplies are things that I’ve accumulated over the years, and yes, I am that person that folds all the tissue paper that comes with the gift bags I receive at Christmas and birthdays, and re-uses it again, wrinkles and all.  I am nothing if not ecologically thrifty.  But the part I love the most about my wrapping cabinet, the part that brings me the most joy, are the thoughts I have about the person for whom the gift is for.  I value my relationships above most other things, and I find giving to be a great way to outwardly express my love for the people in my life.

Now, I’m certainly not talking about spending wads of money and being extravagant and excessive.  I’m talking about sending the perfect card for the perfect occasion or finding the perfect offering for the perfect person.  I take great pride in gift-giving and card-writing, and often buy things months in advance, knowing they will make the eventual recipient very happy.  I’ve been known to mail care packages halfway around the world, spend more on shipping than the gift itself, and send birthday cards week ahead of time.  It’s the act of giving, the thoughts behind giving, and the emotion involved in giving that makes me so happy.

I love to sit in front of my wrapping cabinet with a cup of coffee and a pen, and find the words to convey my thoughts onto a 5×7 birthday card.  And I’m definitely better at communicating through the written word than I am the spoken word (hence this blog), so perhaps that’s why I love it so much.  I’m able to say what I really mean, and channel the strength of my emotions.

Wrapping cabinets are good for the soul.  Trust me on this one.

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