Happy Anniversary!

My husband is a great gift giver and one of the reasons why is that he is great at keeping a secret and then surprising the heck out of you when you least expect it! It was our four year anniversary on April 4th and I went to great lengths to prepare a great dinner and put together a gift for him. He gave nothing away and after I gave him his gift, he said, "but I only got you this small little gift" and produced a tiny box. when I opened it up - this is what I found!!!!!!! Bling, bling! How special is he?? He is a man of many surprises and I love him for it!

Spring Time

Easter has always been a special time in our family. Not for any religious reasons - it was just a time to celebrate spring! Our mom always prepared a huge feast and the family gathered to make memories and enjoy one another's company. Later, I was able to enjoy the easter festivities with my own children with an annual easter egg hunt that was so much fun.

Easter is another one of those special times through the year when we can show our loved ones and especially our kids how much we care. Putting together little easter packages for my kids is soooooo much fun even though they are grown ups now! Maybe more fun because I have to get creative. Any chance we have to say to our kids "I love you and I am thinking of you" is a good thing! Make hand dyed easter eggs or decorate cookies shaped like easter eggs, put together little baskets of goodies and have fun - just like a kid yourself!

I am signing off this blog for a while. I am beginning my training for the Kusam Klimb and if you want to share in the journey, check out www.ploddingtokusam.blogspot.com to see what I am up to now...

Pursuing Your Passions

As most people know, my two greatest passions are running and my kids. When I get an opportunity to combine the two AND add a wondeful visit with girlfriends - well, that's just pure nirvana for me.

I recently ran the First Half 1/2 marathon in Vancouver with two special girlfriends, Nyree and Ethel. Of course, no run would be complete without Nyree falling and Julian being there. Julian won first place in his age group (there is no living with him now!) and Nyree was covered in mud by the finish.

It was my slowest 1/2 marathon yet! But, who cares! It is the experience of being there, soaking in Stanley Park, catching up on all the news with the girls, watching all the other inspiring runners finish and basking in Julian's victory that made the whole weekend such a gift!

My father-in-law always says that if he can still go hunting (his passion) then everything is ok. I can't agree more. As long as I can go running, everything is a-ok! SEEK OUT YOUR PASSIONS and go for it!!!

Kathryn Eileen Thibodeau 17 05 1944 - 27 01 1999

Dear Mom:

I can't believe that it has been eight years since I last saw you.

I will never forget how you smelled or how soft your skin was. I miss you a lot, especially on Mother's Day, your birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I miss your cooking (noone cooks as good as you!), I miss your straight forward advice and I miss the way you connected our family together. I still wear some of your great clothes to work, like your burberry skirt and some of your jewelry. It makes me feel close to you.

You wouldn't believe how grown up Jessica and Julian are. Julian graduated from high school last year and Jessica is quite the career oriented woman now! You were so supportive of Jessica in her early teens and you kept reassuring me that everything would work out fine - you knew that because of your own experiences with teenage girls...

My life has changed a lot in the last eight years too. I married a great guy - I think you'd really like him. You'd probably be surprised that I got married again, but I found a great catch and I just couldn't let him get away. He is smart and kind - we have become great life partners. I am still working as a legal assistant and I really love my job. It is interesting work and the people are great. I have some other dreams that I am working to fullfill and your inspiration is always there.

I often wish you were here to share life's moments with. It never gets easier not having a mom but I know that you are right where I need you to be - in my heart!

I love you, mom

M

We even look alike!

Some people even say Jessica and I look alike - ya think!?!

Oh, the guy in the middle? That's Jules graduating from high school!

My Favourite Christmas Present!

I love it when I receive a gift that makes me feel special every time I use it. My fav gift this Christmas was this beautiful wool pumpkin scarf that my amazing daughter Jessica gave to me. Not only was it thoughtful (orange is my favourite colour) and practical, but I think of Jessica everything I wear it. It goes with all of the brown clothing items I own (brown is the new black!). Jessica has given me many of my favourite gifts like opal earrings from Australia and a beautiful pearl necklace she gave me for my birthday. I like getting gifts for her too because we have similar tastes. So I know if I like it, she'll like it!

The Gift of Health

Sometimes I have to choke back tears when I look at these pictures because running is one of the greatest gifts I have given myself EVER! It is spiritual, mental and physical. It is like an old friend that has seen me through times of stress and times of joy. I have travelled to run with girlfriends. I have run up mountains, I have run behind my husband, I have run on cobbled roads, I have run hours and miles around Canyon View trail, I have run the dark streets of Campbell River and Victoria while the world was sleeping, I have run under a scorching sun (hey, Ethel!!!), I have run 1/2 marathons in the driving rain and I have run in other countries.... But the most amazing and incredible experience for me has been sharing this passion with my eighteen year old son, Julian. He started seriously running when he was fifteen. We even celebrated his 16th birthday staying in motel in Nanaimo so we could run the Gutbuster trail run the next day. Not many moms get to share this kind of time with their teenage sons. I am soooooooo blessed! Not that we are ever running together at these events. Julian is a very talented long distance runner and is usually done 20 minutes to a half hour before mom sees the finish line. Often at a tough race, he will double back to find me in the crowd and run to the finish with me. We share post race snacks and battle stories. We have done events such as the Gutbuster series and the Kusam Klimb that are really tough races and relived the milestones kilometer by kilometer on the ride home - if we are awake!

Sometimes I think, I will never, ever do this race again (think Kusam Klimb) and then Julian calls and says "hey, let's do it" and I am off again running down some road or trail.

Sometimes our gifts don't come in boxes with bows but with the experiences we have in our lives with the peeps we love...