Happy belated Canada Day. I had a fantastic Canada Day celebration. My community hosts a wonderful family event and my boys are at the age now where they can be on their own and only have to check in with me every hour or when they need food or cash. I volunteered this year to bar tend and my one hour shift turned into 3 hours and lots of wine while I was working. Great time I must say. After the party we ventured down to my girlfriends house for more cocktails and food. She had a diverse group of guests over and I found myself sitting and chatting with an eleven, twelve and fifteen year old, all girls for the majority of the evening. Wow!! I was so impressed by these young women and very willingly engaged in what they were saying. I remember what it was like at that age when it came to social dynamics but I don't remember the pressures they have on them selves when it comes to appearance, boys and sex. At 42 I don't even have those pressures, I never did. I stayed true to my beliefs and did what I felt I could emotionally handle (I still follow that system). At 11 pm when dragged our tired asses out to go watch fireworks at the local field, a great way to wrap up an amazing day. What's the purpose of this blog? Nothing, just chatting.

When a husband loses his wife he is called a widower. When a wife loses her husband she is called a widow. When children lose their parents they are called orphans. When parents lose a child there is no label because how can you label something so incredibly tragic. My friend lost her 12 year old son on Sunday night. As a mother my heart shattered for her. She and her family will never be the same. How do you wake up every morning and put one foot in front of the other. My God the pain must be so intense. Really just speechless and stunned! Bragg Creek is silent today. I'm closing shop early. Want to see my boys.

My Tuesday rant.
So tommower I am hosting a Business to Business networking event on behalf of the Bragg Creek Chamber of Commerce. A fellow director and I have started a sub committee that focuses on the small business of Bragg Creek. What I am baffled about is the lack of store front owners that are not attending. We have 40 small business owners attending and only 4 are store front owners. Do these people not realize that they are the commercial core of the Hamlet and that they are the ones that are directly impacted with all the shit that is going on. Most of these businesses are feeling the economic crunch yet are refusing help. As business owners and community members we are all responsible to help each other succeed. That is my unimportant rant. Besides all the crap I played in my first womens soccer game last night. It has been 25 years since I played goalie...can we say shut out!!! So much fun but my ass is sore today.

When you enter into a relationship it is very similar to a business agreement yet with a business agreement, papers are signed, and some type of contract is produced. However, with a intimate relationship nothing is written down. I think this needs to change. I would like to develop a quick contract that I wish I would have given to my husband, then maybe I wouldn't be in this situation. 1-I will always try to be romantic 2-I will pick you up when you are down 3-I will keep my health and fitness a priority 4-I will be accountable for any of my actions that affect my relationships 5-I will assume 1/2 responsibility for my marriage breakdown 6-I will be happy as I know I am blessed 7-I will take you out 1x at least a month 8-I will encourage you in everything you do 9-I will forgive 10-I will love unconditionally

The second most important relationship in my life is with my husband. This is a relationship by choice, we pick our mates and we choose to either make the relationship work or to end it. Completely different from the relationship we have with our children. I recently met a woman who was venting about her teenage son and honestly said "I don't want a relationship with him anymore but I am stuck with him". Stuck? Interesting choice of words I thought, because it is true. The most important relationship I have is with my sons. Everyday is a challenge, everyday there is drama and everyday I am in awe of my responsibilities. And because I am a good mother I too am "stuck" with them, meaning I will always be there for them, love and nurture them and never leave them. I like the word stuck, rhymes with fuck, and I like that word too.

It's another beautiful day in Bragg Creek, it's extremely cold but the sun is out and the ground is white. It's Friday afternoon and I have already had a slew of people in the store today. 3 sisters who were engaging and fun, a mother with 4 kids who were very well behaved. My girlfriend who brought me a coffee and a gift (for helping her) and a group of tourists from England who were in snow pants because they were so cold. One of the young ladies (mid 20's) from England was gorgeous and I asked her if she modeled. Her aunt responded by saying "don't you hate her, because she's so pretty"? Isn't that a funny response? Why would I hate someone because of how they looked? I would be hating a lot of women if I felt that way. We need to accept ourselves for who we are and work with what we got. I know the aunt was only teasing but I wish she would of said something like "isn't she beautiful, inside and out". As women we need to support, encourage and accept one another, and we need to encourage the younger generations to do this as well.

It's been awhile since my last blog reason being I was in one of my rant moods. Sometimes you need to take a time out from communicating. When I'm in that type of mood, it's best to keep to myself. As most of my friends know I lack a filter and sometimes I need to walk away from situations. What I find so surprising is how many people lack common sense and that's scary. I am constantly around people, all day everyday. I am extremely social in my community and sit on a few boards. I run a household of all men including my cat and by the time 9pm rolls around I have to shut down and focus on myself. This takes effort. So many of us are never "present" I mean really aware of our emotions, and mental state. After 9pm it's my time and I have explained this to my family, my boys know that I need my time in order to be the mom they need me to be. Regardless how you spend your free time, try to be present in the moment. Be aware of how you are feeling and honour those emotions. If more people were aware of themselves maybe they would have more common sense.