Laughing at Ourselves...

For the next eight weeks on Monday afternoons my friend and I will be doing an exercise program which lasts for an hour at the Sportsplex.  We have had two classes so far and I'm enjoying it very much. I'm finding out that as I age I'm not quite as steady on my pins as I used to be.

We do one exercise where we stand behind our chairs and put one foot in front of the other, our feet touching and my muscles are a bit shaky. Then we are to take three steps forward, then backwards with feet touching again, toe of left foot touching heel of right foot..then the instructor tells us to close one eye. What a difference in perception then! I can get a bit wobbly and have to put one finger on the top of the chair. The good news is the more I review the exercises at home, the steadier my muscles get.

This past Tuesday was a free class at the same place to try out line dancing. My friend said she was going, did I want to join her. As I discussed it with my husband during supper the night before he told me to go and have fun. I reminded him I can be rather uncoordinated at times. He reassured me that he was sure people would "laugh with me" and not at me. I decided that he was probably right and called my friend in the morning to tell her I'd go.

When we arrived I was delighted to see another lady there I know well, I also knew she had taken line dancing lessons for a few years so would know her way around. The room started to fill up, I think at last count there were close to twenty people there, including several men. In fact our instructor was a man and he said he recognized me from somewhere...wonder where?

Our first dance was the electric slide. He would do the whole dance himself first then "chunk" it down, repeating a few steps over and over until we had it. This was all fine, I watched his feet and felt I had the steps. After quite a few repetitions,  he turned on the music which speeded up the routine. Well was I lost! What was wrong with my feet, felt like I had two left ones..

We were taught a waltz next which had more to remember but I could do that fine..then we learned a Greek dance to music where the tempo would be slow then speed up..I was able to do that most of the time although sometimes my legs and feet looked like a twisted pretzel. Although I was really warm from this last dance I really started to sweat when the instructor said we would do review. Which meant starting with the electric slide again. Oh NO!

Each time you do that dance you make a quarter turn to the left, so when I ended up facing the front of the building, everyone else should have been behind me..how embarrassing,  I'm facing everyone else! Suffice it to say I eventually just stood back against the wall until the music stopped and watched those more expert on their feet. It was the only dance where my head and feet just didn't want to co-operate.

Three ladies came quickly up to me when it was all over and told me not to get discouraged or quit, that they were exactly the same the first time they took the class last year. I had to laugh at myself in order that others would laugh with me and not at me plus I know I wasn't the only one who had difficulty that afternoon. I think we expect too much of ourselves, after all it was the first class I'd taken,  there were six more classes to take if I signed up. My friend turned to me and said she really liked it and was signing up, so hoping I would improve over time I signed up also.

I'm hoping eventually I'll remember all the routines and dance expertly around the floor with all the other participants. But if that is not to be, if memory fails and feet fall all over themselves, at least I'll increase my endorphins by laughing at myself...My husband chuckled as I related my afternoon. He repeated how I would have lots of fun and it's an afternoon out to meet new people. It's a win, win situation if I don't practice in my sleep, fretting over what foot goes where. At the very least I should lose some weight, now if I can just get my friend to skip the donut shop after our lessons!

Saying Good-bye to Summer

We are saying good-bye to summer here in Muskoka and perhaps saying good-bye to the fall season too. Yesterday in a period of three or four hours we had sunshine, heavy rain and a few seconds of hail. The weather channel and radio weather announcer keeps mentioning the unwelcome word "snow" the last couple of days. Of course it won't remain long but still it makes me shiver.

Looking ahead to cooler temperatures I put away the shorts, sleeveless tops, the sandals and bathing suits. Out came the long-sleeved shirts and sweaters, warmer coats and scarves. I have a weakness for a pretty scarf and added to my growing collection yesterday.

We have a huge candle store here in town called Rich Hill Candles. Every year at Thanksgiving they have a giant 3 day sale. I should not have gone out to it, should have stayed home but I had good intentions of looking for Christmas gifts for a couple of girlfriends. And what did I spy but a huge selection of new scarves plus many other delights to tease the eye. So another lovely scarf was added to my supply but I made sure it would go with more than one jacket or coat. It has red, orange, purple and a deep rose in it, so will go with my new deep plum hoodie from Victoria, B.C. plus my black 3/4 fall coat and red winter coat. Takes some of the guilt away you see...

I did not see something for my girlfriends this trip but truth be told I'm quite advanced on my Christmas shopping. Our Zellar's store is closing here in March as well as the one in the next town. They are not being replaced by a Target Store much to my dismay, making it very hard to shop for clothes in this town. It was the store I went to for my bedding, towels, area rugs and many other items.

Thinking I should go and see what kind of sales they are having last week, I ended up getting quite a few gifts for Christmas which are now spread all over the spare room bed. Two great outfits for the granddaughter, a  man's shirt and two spring form pans, one of which is for myself..I saw a great recipe on an afternoon TV show for a homemade ice cream cake which I beleive I can make.

Several weeks ago we took my husband's daughter, husband and our granddaughter out for brunch for his daughter's birthday. Before leaving the city, Jim asked if there was anything else I wanted to do. Knowing I didn't need anything I said "no" at first, then thought: "well, I never get to Winner's that often, so changed my mind." Since hubby has his Kobo reader with him he is quite content to wait in the truck while I go shopping..well at least he was for the first hour and a half..he came looking for me, I said: "have I been that long already?"..it seemed like minutes. So I agreed to be done in another half hour. All my purchases except one were for Christmas gifts so I felt I did well..

A friend's granddaughter is expecting a baby in January so I was able to pick up some gifts to add to the baby blanket I'm knitting in the evenings while watching television. Once that blanket is done one of my girlfriends hinted that a bunch of cotton wool I purchased while shopping with her would really suit a throw for her upstairs chesterfield. So the rush will be on to start that as my next project, but I know I can't finish it before Christmas...they take a long time, my right wrist often suffers when knitting for long periods so I have to take breaks away from it. At least she will know it's forth coming..

I keep a Christmas gift book, writing down year to year what I give and to whom, making comments in the book of suggestions I hear people make throughout the year which helps in gift selection. With my children living quite a distance away they usually get money which suits them. I'm one of those mothers who doesn't have a clue what clothes to buy them anymore, they'd rather pick their own.

I have to have things to look forward to you in the winter months so over my yard sale travels I purchased four interesting jigsaw puzzles. I am taking a ten week exercise program starting next Monday with a friend and I believe she will want to take another one after that, or classes in line dancing which would be a fun way to lose weight also.

The winter months aren't looking quite so bleak as they can when I've no plans in place. Last week I completely rearranged all the furniture in my living-room. It's not finished as it's not quite where it should be yet, but it encourages me to tear apart the house room by room, putting it back together hopefully with less in it! At least now I have some goals for when those white flakes start to fall for real, a time when I might be more house bound but with lots to do..(unless I start reading!).....

Wedding on Vancouver Island

We have now been home five days from our wonderful trip to Victoria on Vancouver Island for a very beautiful and touching wedding. The wedding was held outside on the grounds of Victoria University, a most perfect setting. It was my first trip to the West Coast and very exciting for me.

After having a week of sunshine every day and with temperatures in the mid-twenties, I'm "almost" tempted to move out there. But of course we are retiring in Prince Edward Island and I'm not about to give up that dream. I think we will have the best of both worlds for as long as Jim's son and new wife live in Victoria as they have a spare room! We are already hoping to make it out there in another three years just before we retire. The new bride and groom are visiting us next fall on the island again, to help with our renovations so we had better hurry and finish our spare room!

It is hard to put into words how I felt flying over and seeing the mountains for the first time. Inspiring comes to mind, awesome, glorious also describes how they looked. My first sight was of snow covered peaks all floating in blue..I couldn't look away for a moment. Later they turned granite colored and I saw so many blue or green tinged lakes and rivers among the mountains. It made me think how fortunate we are in Canada to have so much water.

The first word that comes to mind on seeing Victoria is lush. Even though many lawns there had burnt because of lack of rain like here at home, there was greenery everywhere, trees I've never seen before like a Monkey Puzzle Tree or Arbutus tree and flowers everywhere downtown by the harbour. For a gardener like myself, all the gardens I saw and toured were full of new ideas for me.

The wedding rehearsal supper was very enjoyable, we got to meet many of the bride's relatives, some of which flew in from Scotland. The wedding day arrived sunny and warm, perfect in all ways. Our little granddaughter Claire made an adorable flower girl, the outdoor setting was relaxing and we enjoyed a few dances after the delicious meal.

We managed well in the condo we shared with hubby's brother and wife, within walking distance of a grocery store and other shops. I spent my birthday in Victoria and was given complimentary tickets for Butchart Gardens. Again as a gardener, it was the most perfect birthday gift ever, we were escorted around the gardens by our new daughter-in-law as Jim's son had a return of the flu bug which had attached itself to him before the wedding.  Jim seemed to love the gardens as much as I did..I could tell that Jenn was making sure we didn't miss anything!

Another garden site we visited is Glendale Gardens or HCP, Horticulture Centre of the Pacific gardens where Jim's son volunteers..It's a garden for gardeners and the Zen Garden there  was such a calming place, a place to relax and cool down from the heat of the day. We also had a guided tour of China Town learning many interesting facts. We had rented a car so we toured Sydney-by-the Sea also going the opposite direction to Sooke and over the mountains to Lake Cowichan and Duncan.

We toured Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse another highlight for me as I love lighthouses..we went beachcombing there and yes, I did bring home some shells, few stones and beachglass to add to my already growing collection from P.E.I. We seemed to squeeze in a lot of sightseeing into such a short time, just wetting our appetite to go back and see more..while viewing Butchart Gardens, Jim's brother and wife went zip-lining, loving it so much they wanted to do it all over again..

We visited great pubs, had great meals and now I must start my daily walking again as a few lbs. came back on..I ate fish at every opportunity, the flavor so much better than here at home. I had made a bucket list of things I wanted to see before flying out and was surprised how many things I could cross off the list..We also enjoyed seeing deer, seals, eagles and rabbits on a hillside outside of Duncan. Jim's son is not so happy to see the deer as they eat many things he doesn't want them to in his yard..he said: "they are like squirrels out here"..

There were two little bumps in our trip, I left my favorite grey hoody in the airport in Toronto on the way out, then forgot to ask for it at a Lost and Found on our return. Also hubby lost one of his best black all weather jackets at a pub in Victoria the night of the bachelor party..we called several times, went back twice to no avail. I did get a new plum colored hoody for my birthday to replace my grey one and my new daughter-in-law bought me two new purses at the gift shop at Butchart Gardens. So a happy ending for me. The real downside of Jim losing his jacket was there was 4 complimentary tickets in the pocket for Butchart...someone is having a good time on his son's gift to us.

Victoria is a very beautiful place to visit and we realize they can get a lot of rain out there but we lucked out on a week of glorious weather, great adventures, a memory filled wedding, while meeting many new people. I find the flight a bit long, five hours out and four and a half hrs. back but with movies to watch, books to read and perhaps a nap thrown in, the time went fairly fast. Plus we were happy to get all our luggage at both ends. My sister-in-law Caron had a bit of bad luck, her zipper broke on her large suitcase about twenty minutes before the trip to the airport at 4 a.m. but my hubby came to the rescue by dumping out our suitcase on the couch and presenting her with it..thankfully we had lots of time before our flight and purchased a new hockey bag at Canadian Tire..

Caron also gifted me with a heather plant which I got home all in one piece. She transported a small Monkey Puzzle tree back to her home. All in all it was a wonderful experience, one I can look back in by reading my travel diary that I keep and viewing pictures we took and postcards I purchased. Once home it was back to reality, turning on the furnace, lots of rain and putting extra blankets on the bed. Our maples are starting to turn color so many tourists will be arriving to tour our country roads for the fall foliage..

We are looking forward to returning to the West Coast and my brother hopes to return there with his wife, so who knows, perhaps we can travel out together on a train and fly back. New memories to look forward to so I'd better start saving!!

East Coast, West Coast

In a few years hubby and I will be moving and retiring to the East Coast, to the gorgeous island of Prince Edward Island..We are restoring an old farmhouse which involves a lot of work but it's a labour of love, my husband might call it something else, he has to do most of the hard labour.

I asked my step-son who joined us on the island this year to dig up some of my plants here in Muskoka.  He and my husband then transported them in wash tubs out to the island..my husband filled the tubs with earth that had broken down from our black plastic composter..I received a funny email from my sister-in-law on the island this weekend, her and her husband keep our grass cut while we are not there..They have been very busy with work on their own property so our grass had gotten quite long before they had time to cut it. So Caron had quite the surprise awaiting her..

Caron informed me I had tomatoes growing, small cherry tomatoes and plum tomatoes in a flower bed... some of which she picked and will return to pick more once they ripen..she couldn't believe I'm not even there and we have vegetables growing on our property..as soon as I thought back to my transported plants in the tubs I realized what had happened. It was seeds from the soil in our composter as I have the same thing happen here, tomatoes plants pop up all over my garden and flower beds, even window boxes. Just like the dill plant, once planted it reseeds for years and years. As does my strawberry spinach plant if you leave one alone.

So I was very pleased to know Caron will enjoy tomatoes from our yard that we didn't plan on, a little bonus for all their hard work on our behalf. Her and her husband keep a good eye on our place when we aren't there and oversee the people we hire to put in new windows or do other jobs for us.

Caron and her husband Frank, Jim's brother will also be joining us a week from today for a wedding we are attending in Victoria, British Columbia. My husband's son is getting married outside on the grounds of Victoria University. It will be like going home for my husband as he lived many years in Vancouver B.C. in his early twenties. So he was able to visit Victoria a few times. For me, it will be a brand new experience as I've never been to any of the provinces out West.

We have a rehearsal supper to attend Friday night, the wedding on September 15th and then the rest of the week is ours to explore as we like. I will also be celebrating my birthday out there this year. I know the week will speed by and we won't get to see nearly all we'd like but I know several garden tours are on the agenda. My step-son is an arborist and also very interested in gardens so he has arranged one tour for me he said to Bushart Gardens. He has just returned from working for 6 weeks in London, England in different venues, doing tree work even at Buckingham Palace and Clarence House...It will be exciting to see his hundreds of photos from England, especially as he was there during the Olympics.

My hubby Jim and I are recovering from bad summer colds, which don't seem to want to leave us but we hope we are 100% well by the time we leave. We have had to discourage visits from our granddaughter which has been very disappointing just another reason we want to be well..the spare room bed is totally covered with clothes to be sorted and packed for the wedding... its just a bit harder when we don't know what the weather will be like..as I look at weather reports for Victoria this week, the weather seems quite warm with cooler evenings. Let's hope that continues.

To be honest I'm not looking forward to the five hour plane ride out and back but once we take off I tend to relax and the landing is my favorite part! I find the flight from here to P.E.I. just about perfect, not too long with a nice small airport at the other end. I always feel I could get lost at the airport in Toronto, it overwhelms me..Well I'd better be off and get the ironing board out, brush the cobwebs off it, as I use it about twice a year! Try and resist packing everything I own and remind myself, we only needs clothes for a week not six months..I have a reputation for overpacking so I challenge myself to pare back...of course if I cut back on my husbands clothes I can take more of mine!

Breaking Up...with Make-up

This summer was one heat wave after another which can start to be exhausting. I so look forward to summer, winter being my least favorite month but I feel nothing was accomplished this summer as it was too hot to work outside in the gardens. We had so little rain, the lawns and gardens were parched, they are just now starting to get somewhat revived.

With going in the pool as much as three times a day the only lotion that went on my face, arms and legs was sun tan products. I've never worn make-up around home and don't use it very liberally when I go shopping or out to restaurants although there are those who probably think I should!

I haven't purchased a bottle of perfume for twenty years at least, have received some as gifts but when one lives in Muskoka where black flies greet you each spring and love perfume, one tends not to use it much if it all..plus my husband isn't fond of it. He also wouldn't care if I never saw the inside of a lipstick tube either..If he sees I'm wearing lipstick he tends to shy away from kissing me..he prefers me in other words with no make-up and no perfume..

I decided this summer to be "very" brave and not wear any make-up even for our Friday night date nights, for shopping, for days out with girlfriends. Believe it or not I'm starting to get used to myself without any added foundation dabbed here and there, like on the dark areas under my eyes, or eye liner, lipstick or powder..

When we are teenagers we don't usually like anything about ourselves..everytime I'd look in a mirror I'd pick out lots of things I didn't like..my thick dark hair, my nose, my eye lids like my mothers, with too much skin, making my eyes look smaller. Well after looking at myself every day, 365 days a year for sixty plus years I've begun to make peace with this face..the alternative would be for some surgery and I've thought how nice that extra skin on my eyelids would be if it was gone but then maybe I'd have this wide-eyed surprised look all the time..eye shadow is wasted on me..

A new nose would be awesome but then this is the face God gave me and He must have had a reason to combine my features this way so why mess with it? Besides I have better places to spend my money. A little under eye liner, some blush, a dab of foundation here and there, a great lipstick and I've shed at least 6 months off my age..well okay, maybe a week!

I find lipstick never last anyways, by the time I get to my destination, it's gone..has anyone noticed how heavy compacts, lipsticks etc., make your purse? How freeing to not have to lug a big make-up bag all over, my shoulders will thank me..We are going to a wedding in Victoria, B.C. in a couple of weeks and I'm wondering if I'm brave enough to do without the eye liner, blush, lipstick etc..when hubby's daughter got married in Cuba in 2010 I forgot my eye liner and actually survived..not one person said: "you have a naked look about you!"

No one told me to take hair spray there either, I don't even own any and when the wind played havoc with my hair I survived that also..even when my sister-in-law said: "your hair looks good with wings"...good grief....Wings!!! I ran to the nearest mirror..

It's so freeing to finally accept the face that looks back at me in the mirror now, it's not so bad after all, I've earned all the worry lines, the grey hair and yes, I now wish it was thicker like in my youth but at least I still have some..I've accepted my eyes without eyeliner, a dark pencil line drawn from the outside in, but just half way in order not to make my small eyes look even smaller..without the blush and who knows how to make it look natural anyways..and what about those emails telling us that some lipsticks are dangerous for us..do we read all the labels on everything and if we did, do we know what all the chemicals mean..I sure don't..don't even know what's in half my boxed foods..

My brother says if we can't pronounce it, we shouldn't be eating it..I digress, but then I always do..my husband said I can bring up a dozen topics in one conversation..I just say that's what makes me more intertesting, ha, ha...so as the wedding packing day approaches, I will be wrestling with myself, do I take make-up or don't I? Perhaps my summer tan will suffice. It will be a very brave move if I can manage it, going to a wedding with my face as the canvas the way God made it.....

Sunshine and Grey Days, Bits and Pieces

Just ask my husband if my thoughts can be scattered..if I can start one job with the best of intentions and end up wasting hours doing twelve other things totally unrelated. Today my thoughts are scrambled, flitter here and there.

We've had a very hot summer here in Muskoka, with temperatures hovering between 32 and 40 degrees celcius many days. It wouldn't have been so bad to be sweltering day after day if we could have had a good, serious rain shower at least once a week..This did not happen and our garden suffered, our lawn grew parched, died and looked more like cement than a lush green lawn.

But at the end of last week, things changed..we had rain for three days straight and lots of it. My two rain barrels are full again, my two wash tubs are full and overflowing. I didn't want to waste this water the first day of rain, not knowing if we'd get anymore so I took a pail and used the water on flower beds. As I gaze at the lawn I wonder if it will come back to it's orginal lushness but I imagine it will be too late for this year.

We are enjoying yellow beans from the garden now and the green peppers should be ready to eat in a week or two..I've thinned one row of carrots and their delicious sweetness makes me want to pick them all and eat them in one sitting..but I will resist. The garden will burst forth now with this blessed addition of rain..

Now my mind jumps to my brother Kim turning sixty! Sixty!! Wow, the years go by swiftly, out of five siblings there are now four of us in our sixties with Dale turning sixty-five this month and starting to collect her pension. I can remember getting my first senior's pension cheque and how exciting that was! It sure helps take some of the pain away from reaching the pinnacle of 65 years.

Speaking of my sister her son Jon, my nephew who had the motorcycle accident 3 weeks ago is making small strides in his recovery. He is now over his pneumonia, the nurses are helping him to sit on the edge of his bed from time to time. He is out of the critical care room into his own room now. He has the ventilator out, breathing on his own and talking to his parents. He has called his son on the phone and wants to see him..He needs to eat more, his heart rate is still a bit high and he is just seeing light and dark so far, but doctors are checking his eyes daily. Having diabetes since childhood is adding to some of his problems, like controlling his sugar. But we continue to pray for his complete recovery, for the day he finally leaves the hospital..

Grey days often make me feel grey and gloomy..funny how I always feel so energized when the sun is shining and should be outside enjoying the great day but instead I'm washing a floor or hunting down cobwebs! Of course they are highlighted so well when the sun is coming through the windows!..I usually spend most of my summer gardening, weeding, trimming, planting new flowers, moving others. But the heat this summer has grounded me and I've felt like I've been in limbo a lot. Also the worry over my nephew has added to my "grey" mood. My friends are busy themselves, so that the times we get together are dimished. Cooler temperatures of fall bring us back together again.

In my younger years I used to struggle with deep depression off and on, so now I recognize the symptoms, either not wanting to eat or wanting to eat more and more, especially sweets like chocolate bars. So I want to keep at bay any deep depression that lingers and debilitates. I need to guard against it taking a stranglehold on me, blocking light and activity from my life. I find going for a walk changes my perspective very quickly and is good for me physically as well..I won't let the demon depression gets it's tight grip on me again. I need to be strong for my sister and her family, do what I can to help them through this huge trial in their life.

Grey days often bring rain and it's something we've needed desperately this summer. I will take delight in the grey days, the wet days as the trees, gardens, flower beds all need it so badly. I will rejoice that my nephew is healing, is talking and making changes day by day. We had the thrill of entertaining our granddaughter this week, she can wreck havoc in a room in five seconds flat but she is so much fun and my heart loves to hear her yell: "Nannyeeee!"

The bits and pieces of our sunny days and our grey days add to the huge kaleidoscope of our lives, it's up to us to control the amount of blackness that forms the pattern and replace it with shots of brilliant color..today is a grey day, it's going to rain again, in fact it's supposed to rain three or four days in the coming week. But I'm going to be looking for the rainbow at the end!

The Harrison Five, Good Times and Hardships

I'm fairly certain my parents didn't PLAN to have five children, but that's what they got. And what would we have done if our "little" Jane hadn't come along twelve years after I was born? She was my real live doll, I carried her everywhere.

The photo shows us all in happier times, at a reunion at my home in Muskoka. Jane is far left, the youngest, then Dale who was born after me. Kim was the second son, born after Gord the brother with his arm around me, now the matriarch of the family. Why does that word make me feel ancient? We were all getting ready to say good-bye, my husband was taking the last photos of the day.

My sister Jane, Kim and Gord plus his wife Pat all had a 3 hour drive home ahead of them while my sister Dale lived just around the corner from us. We had a weekend full of good food, lots of laughter and perhaps the odd drink or two...who is counting? That was about four or five years ago.

Time marches on and not always with the beat we want, but sometimes with much joy and excitement. Jane and I purchased properties in Prince Edward Island and plan to retire there. We are so anxious to live out the rest of our lives on the island our hearts have grown to love so.

Our brother Kim, unmarried is a wonderful artist. But between the rest of us siblings, we have 7 grown children and 5 grandchildren. Plus I have two step-children, one of whom has given us our dear granddaughter Claire and her brother is getting married in September in Victoria, B.C. And before I forget, sister Jane has one step-son.

So one can imagine with a family of this size many happy and unhappy occasions can occur. University graduations, new jobs, new apartments, moving to different countries, cities, all happy occurances. But also with this many siblings and off-spring very unhappy things happen too.

My step-daughter was involved in a horrendous car accident 12 years ago this August. She survived thankfully but has some memory issues..My own daughter was involved in a car accident when she was 21 yrs. old, had a closed head injury and has memory issues. Other members of the family have had minor car mishaps and thankfully are fine today. Now we watch anxiously over our grandchildren.

But this past Sunday a mishap happened with my sister Dale's son Jonathon that has turned our world upside down. He was involved in a terrible motorcycle accident and was air-lifted to a hospital in Toronto. I know he will get the very best care there,  they will do all that is humanly possible for him as that is where Jim's daughter was taken and we witnessed the wonderful care she received.

Jon as I call him has a long road of recovery ahead of him, a broken hip and femur on the same leg, broken ribs and two vertabrae in his back. After a ten hour operation, he has a pin in his hip, a metal plate in his lower back, a metal rod fixing his femur.  Yesterday a Halo Brace was installed on him. This brace I believe will remain for 6 months. He is still heavily sedated although they are cutting back  but he has yet to speak to anyone. It is a day his parents, his only brother and all of us are waiting for with much anticipation.

His parents and brother are staying down in Toronto at this time and the rest of the family waits anxiously for updates on his recovery. There is much prayer being said on his behalf and we so appreciate it. I find I'm having to unclench my  jaw every few minutes, the strain and tension of waiting to hear what the next report will bring.

Little do we know what each day will bring us. We go along our merry way perhaps taking for granted many blessings we have in our lives, perhaps leaving quite a length of time before we email, phone or get together with family members. A tragedy like this always links us all closer together, we stand united behind the injured person. We wait with baited breath for some word about our dear loved one.

Jon is a strong and determinded young man closing in on forty years of age. He has a young teen-age son he wants to guide through life so we are all rooting for him to make a full recovery, to walk out of that hospital one day ready to get on with his life. It's all we can ask for.