Halloween

Here is the question, kind of.... remember way back when our children were small and we had to coordinate these Halloween nights? We needed to walk the kiddies through our neighbourhoods AND we needed to light that candle inside our perfectly? carved pumpkins in order to let the trick or treaters know we were home and more than willing to give out candy. Looking back it is easy to recall those exhausting pressurized nights when we tried so hard to be everywhere and to do everything but today, in what appears to be a time span that has run its course quicker thatn the blink of an eye, the children are grown and gone and somehow the urgency to dole out the sugar has faded; or has it? In the rosey glow of a first and second Halloween with no children to costume, we think; well we've paid our dues, we can now breathe easy as we are happily? out of the running, ahead of the Halloween race to get that pumpkin carved and lit, to get those candy bowls filled and to have endless supplies of coins for Unicef. The key word here is 'THINK!!" We do not expect those eerie Halloween pangs of wisfulness to kick in with such an intensity so it comes as a tremendous shock to when we inexplicably find ourselves in the candy aisles of the supermarket buying out a substantial portion of their wares. What is even scarier is how we grab our purchases and sneak off to a friends house to help THEM give out candy. It seems we care little that we have not bought a pumpkin or candy in years, and we find that in fact it is quite like riding a bicycle. We are back where we were always meant to be: answering each and every knock at the door and disregarding our older achy backs as we bend and scoop the loot for a new generation of little ones who may know more than we do about how important it is to have these special occasions to celebrate. So much for getting what you 'think' you wish for.

Faublous Eighty!!!

No words are adequate to describe our own personal woman of valour who today marks an awe-inspiring milestone that we are so fortunate to be able to celebrate with her although some of us are not in the same geographical area. It is testimony to the wide net she casts with love, that we can and do feel so near despite the many many miles that are between us. Our guiding light, our shining star our mother, like no other before her and we four, the smartest children who ever lived for having the sheer genius required to choose the very best that heaven had to offer. It is often said that we pick our parents and what a pick we made! So Mom will be glad to know that today is not only about her, it is about us too, her four jewels, her four treasures, her two sons and her two daughters. Today is our day to pat ourselves on our backs for choosing so perfectly. Today is the day when we recognize yet again how lucky we are, how much we love and respect our mom and how much joy she has always made sure we had in our day to day lives both as little ones and now adults. In a way, today is a day like every other, it is yet another day for us to continue to show Mom that she is respected, admired, oh so easy on the eyes and totally loved.

Self Absorption

Judge for yourself:




A woman of impeccable taste who spends real time getting ready, is clearly always perfectly turned out no matter what the occasion. She never needs to ask for anyone's opinion because she KNOWS everything she needs to know about her "look" and has the confidence that her years of experience will guarantee the photo finish product she expects of herself before she takes even one step outside her dressing-room.
Recently this woman along with her husband, son and grandchildren attended an in house dinner party at an old friends place. Upon arrival she deposited the de rigeur hostess gift on the table and as she greeted her old friend, the friend whispered; " you have a small hair curler in your bangs." The woman quickly removed the intruder, thanked her friend and proceeded with her evening unfazed. My take on this is that this woman whose family was with her all the way to the party, never once noticed the little pink object that wasn't meant to be there, and this leads me to the obvious; all those family members who were in attendance are way too self-absorbed.

The Board Meeting

In the workplace there is only one thing more unnatural than being confined with all your colleagues to that tiny spot called the staff lunchroom, and that would be the staff meetings where you are gathered in the boardroom scattered at various long tables all with an unobstructed view of that incredibly cutting edge WHITE BOARD! You are prisoners of odd and usually random groupings which unfortunately makes this situation so unlike any other social function where you might be tempted to alter pre-arranged seating and actually be able to switch the placecards around. There are no placecards so you are doomed to spend the entire 4 hours in the company of many with whom you'd rather not even be on the same bus; small consolation that if you were on a bus you might perhaps have an actual seat while they stand above you hanging on to those bars. The CEO takes you through your paces and when you do get to chat within your small groups it is interesting to note that those who daily try to command every possible situation, continue in that vein as they take over the tables where they sit until theirs is the only voice you get to hear. These monopolizers have no clue as to the meaning of 'shared' conversation and as you try to analyze the data on your agenda it quickly becomes clear that there is nothing 'shared' at all except for this one individual's negativity. Unless this is how you intend to allow your life at work to be you have one of two options from which to choose; Get up and move to another table or simply feign an illness and skip the meeting!

A Flame

When one speaks of flames what exactly is it that is meant when referencing all the possibilities where flames are concerned. There are eternal flames, past flames, (old) rekindled flames, (what was old is/can be new again) flames that are only really embryonic in terms of intensity, and flames way too hot to handle. (clearly the opposite of the embryonic!) Each strata of the various types of flames is unique yet all of them need to be handled with extreme care. Flames when mishandled have a terrible way of burning and not even flame resistent clothing can prevent the scarring. It really doesn't matter if you are able to diagnose your personal flame type; what does matter is that you see it for what it is and not be afraid to face what it brings. The saying 'don't get too close to the flame' is a rather broad preventative that in the end could cost you the undeniable once in a lifetime chance to experience something quite extraordinary.

Rats In The Cradle? No In The Window!!!!

Aside from dashed dreams and loss of income, razing the infested eating area that has always been a disease waiting to pounce, is a necessary step to take if the area in question is ever to be HEALTHY again; the upside would of course be no deaths due to poisoning. In a predominantly rat/mouse infested radius no matter how many inspectors were/are duped into issuing a 'Pass' rating, the bottom line is painfully evident when a simple camera lens is able to capture the image of Mr. Rat in a restaurant window standing guard over the green Pass permit. All this media coverage and nary a shot of the restaurant kitchens, washrooms etc. where in all probability, legions of rats run amok undetected by the paparazzi. Add to this leaked purchase receipts for indoor combat gear and you can pretty well picture the dress code for the food preparation staff. Mr. Rat calmly sunning himself for all to see is a final indicator of how brazen these rodents have become and leads me to believe that there is no alternative other than the big raze. The kitchen is hot enough without the added layers of protective clothing, and billy clubs should NEVER inadvertently be used as mixing spoons,

Foliage

There is only one valid reason to head for the woods in the autumn, at least as far as I'm concerned, and no it's not for the hunting although all wannabe hunters taking part in their qualifying rounds as we speak, would beg to differ. Not that I have anything against hunting especially as I am a qualified archer (arrows work well when hunting apples) on the contrary, I might like to try it someday, but not in the fall. I think the fall needs to be reserved for appreciation of the incredible palette of colours that our woods put before us each and every year. The hues are often so vivid that shades are required to make it easier for the eyes to bear the profusion of reds and oranges -so like flashes of flame- as you negotiate your steps among the trees. When face to face with spectacular autumn, it would be foolish to waste our attention on fleeting glimpses of fur, coloured vests and antlers when we really should be concentrating on nothing but the foliage!

Thanksgiving Long Weekend Looms

The perfect time to give thanks and ponder life as we know it, is upon us. Aptly named, it seems to generate thoughts on any and or all the components of our day to day and at some point no matter what the sum total is, we need to acknowledge that we have much to be grateful for. We begin perhaps with the little things such as gratitude for long weekends, and move on to the larger items like family, close friends and health. We do this simply by word motivation which thus begs an answer to the question what if there was no official "Thanksgiving," would we steal any time whatsoever from our hurried lives to really take an honest look at who we are or what we have? I think it is fair to say that many of us do in fact take fleeting moments to sit back and admit how lucky we are, but there are also many who would be lost sheep in the gratitude department were it not for this holiday. Many need to be enticed into the realm of counting blessings and because most methods used to encourage this are not successful, how fortuitous that we have Thanksgiving Day and its accompanying long weekend. Not only do we get the 'day' itself but we get a cornucopia of days just in case we happen to be too busy on THE day! In all, Thanksgiving is a win win time of year and the only way to improve upon this tried and true occasion, is to have at least one for every season.

Nostalgia

Well it happened! The switch has come to pass, the new boss is ensconced in his office and all seems ok until...the 'old' boss comes for a visit. Suddenly all your efforts at acclimatising to the changes the 'new guy' brought with him seem inadequate as you realize how much you have missed the old guy! He re-enters your work space bringing with him that aura of calm and joy that you realize you have been missing all the while you had been thinking that the transition was going fairly smoothly. So much for that ridiculous theory. New guy is nice and does his job well but old guy.....that's a completely different story. Old guy brings his heart everywhere he goes and that is impossible not to notice. You may not remember all that he did each and everday during his time at the helm, but it is clearly impossible to forget the man himself when you are confronted by sheer wonder as the essence of his being once again fills the building. His visit is thankfully brief as if he too feels the incredible power of nostalgia and knows as do you, that there is only so much of that one can take in the professional arena.