Tag: happiness

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Cheer from the stands

roller derbyThere are times when standing on the sidelines is just as much fun as playing the game. Last night for Clare’s birthday, we took her and four of her friends to the Kingston Derby Girls end of season match. I’ve never been to the roller derby before. It was a riot.

They billed it as The Best. The Most. The GREATEST night of roller derby in Kingston–the fifth anniversary of Back to Cruel, when it all began.

It took us a bit to pick up the game and figure out the Jammers were the girls with the stars on their helmet and they got a point every time they passed members of the other team. It was a double header, the Kingston Disloyalists versus the London Timber Rollers followed by a hometown match of the Rogue Warriors versus The Skateful Dead. Our favourite skaters were Manic Breeze, Sewciopath and Banger Management.

I don’t know what was more fun, watching the crowd (which by the way included everyone from two-year olds with their parents, to a bunch of Queen’s students making beer statues on the sidelines to people in their sixties and seventies), or following the action on the rink, but it was rockin’.

This week’s Happy Act is to cheer from the stands. Get lost in the game, cheer loudly for your favourite team and have fun. Here are some more pictures of last night’s action. Become a fan—like the Kingston Derby Girls on Facebook.

roller derby

 

Kids watching roller derby
The little kids and one big kid taking in the action
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Spend time with someone older and wiser

Our family and Audrey
Celebrating with Audrey

Yesterday we celebrated the 85th birthday of someone who holds a special place in many hearts, Audrey Tarasick.

I first met Audrey in 1979 when her daughter Leslie and I became inseparable as teenagers. Audrey lived on a farm north of Kingston where she had moved on her own to set up an alternative school. Fiercely independent, with a zest for adventure and life, yet soft-spoken, patient and loving, Audrey quickly became a unique role model in my life.

She was one of the only women I knew who was an expert woodworker and who converted the entire front section of her house into a workshop to make dollhouses. She was the first to say, “go for it” on hot summer days when she would take us to Eagle Lake for a swim even though we didn’t have our bathing suits.

She has taught us the precise time to sugar off, when the syrup drips deliciously from the ladle to form a silver dollar at maple syrup time. She has steadfastly refused over the years to “babysit” her grandchildren, opting to spend time with them instead, and as a result has close relationships with the 15 grandchildren who love her dearly today. She has taught me about parenting, and has been there for Dave and me during some of the most difficult times in our life.

I have learned so much from this incredible woman. But the thing I appreciate most about Audrey is her different viewpoint on life. Whether it’s global warming, parenting, politics or rural living, Audrey always has a unique and insightful perspective. There’s been many a time in the family kitchen during a heated discussion, I find myself wondering, “I wonder what Audrey is going to say.”

This week’s #HappyAct is to spend time with someone older and wiser than you. Listen to what pearls of wisdom they may share. Here was my favourite from yesterday. Audrey was shooting hoops in the basketball competition, and I teased her that she was grunting like the tennis pros. She said to me, “As you get older, everything is easier if you grunt”. Happy birthday, Audrey. Thanks for being such a wonderful friend and role model.

Audrey shooting a bow and arrow
Audrey trying her hand in the archery competition

 

Women having tea in a team room
Special girls outing to Spindletree gardens earlier this summer, three generations of two families celebrating together
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Ride a rollercoaster

Father and daughter riding rollercoaster
Dave and Clare riding the Wildcat at Hershey Park. We got sucked into buying the picture because we loved the expression on their faces

There’s only two weeks left of this infernal imposter summer. Make the most of it by doing something that gets your adrenaline pumping. Ride a rollercoaster.

I had forgotten what a rush it is to hurl down a clickety clack track at 50 mph but the fear and exhilaration came racing back to me recently when we attacked the 12 rollercoasters at Hershey Park, Pennsylvania. I only rode about four of them before my stomach gave out, but thrillseekers Dave and Clare squeezed in as many as possible before the park closed.

Boredom and routine can cast a shadow over the joys of everyday life. It’s a rare day when we do something so exhilarating it gets our adrenaline pumping and we lose all inhibition. That’s what’s so great about rollercoasters. You don’t worry about what your hair looks like, or about that deadline at work. All you can think about is what’s around the next bend. I don’t think at all. I literally scream the entire way around the track at the top of my lungs. I can’t think of a greater stress buster in the world.

This week’s #HappyAct is to ride a rollercoaster. Let every inhibition hurl out of you and feel the thrill of the rush. The Canadian National Exhibition is on in Toronto. Relive your youth, spend the day at the Ex, and scream til your lungs hurt. Leave a comment—what’s your favourite rollercoaster?

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Listen to live music

band on stage
Celtic band Irish Roots playing at the Verona Cattail Festival

This weekend is a big deal in my small town. It’s the weekend of the annual Verona Cattail Festival. It kicks off with a parade that lasts about 10 minutes and has more people in it than watching it, features a Red Green Cardboard Duct Tape Boat Race where entrants make a boat out of cardboard and duct tape and everybody cheers as the boats sink, a pancake breakfast, fish fry and antique car show (on today if you’re looking for something to do and like antique cars).

For me, the highlight of our little festival is the music on the main stage. The organizers do a great job attracting talent from all genres. Last night the best act was a group called the Bon Evans Band—a guy who looked and sounded like Cat Stevens who played all originals, but the celtic group and Rockabilly Allstars were fun too.

The reality today is, most of us listen to music through some sort of device. It’s great that music is now universally accessible thanks to iTunes and iPods, but we’ve lost that experience of seeing the musicians on stage, hearing the music live and watching the performers interact with the audience. Many artists now have to charge exorbitant amounts for their concerts since it is their primary source of income.

At one point last night, I was watching the band. The sun was setting over the fields. Beside the stage were two Canadian flags gently billowing in the wind. Beside the stage Clare was dancing with friends and an older couple were dancing. It was a one of those blissful moments when you realize there is no place you’d rather be and no better place in the world to live than in Canada.

This week’s #HappyAct is to listen to some live music. The more intimate the venue, the better. Tap your toes, get up and dance, let the music take you away. A plug: if you’re out on a Saturday night in Kingston, my co-worker Tim Aylesworth and his buddy Craig Jones are always playing at Tir Nan Og Irish Pub on Ontario Street on the patio–he’s a great singer songwriter.

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Watch a baby grow–read about our loons

Loon family
Our loon family

I was kayaking in our back lake last Sunday. It was a bit of a challenge to even get into the lake because the beavers had dammed up the channel, but I made it in, and was rewarded to discover our two loons with a brand new baby.

We had given up hope there would be a baby this year. I had taken pictures of the mother on her nest and the egg about a month ago, but when no baby appeared, we assumed the egg had been eaten by a snapping turtle or pike.

Each day this past week has brought a new wonder as we’ve watched “Wheezy” (short for Louise) grow. She started out staying very close to her mother, often riding on her back , then learning how to dive.

The other day she was in the middle of the lake by herself. The mama and papa loon were closer to our dock. You could tell they were worried and trying to find her. She’d give a little hoot, and they’d answer with a full call, dipping their heads under water to try to hear her better and locate her. The parents started swimming quickly toward her and the family was reunited. Last night, I watched as the dad fished and fed the baby his catch.

There is nothing more life affirming than witnessing the miracle of life. It represents everything that is good in this world–innocence, trust, love, optimism, and endless possibility. We experienced this same feeling a few weeks ago on vacation when we watched a newborn foal find his legs during our week-long visit.

Fast forward to two nights ago. I was walking across the soccer field. My two girls were walking and talking in front of me. I was suddenly struck by what beautiful, spirited people they had become. In that moment I was so proud. It has been both a pleasure and a privilege to watch them grow. I look forward to the next ten years to see the young women they become.

This week’s #HappyAct is to watch a baby grow. Witness the miracle of life and be thankful that each day is a gift. I have two more births to look forward to. Our neighbours are expecting a baby this fall and we are looking forward to welcoming their little one into the world and watch him grow. And Dave’s almost finished building the chicken coop—time to get baby chicks!

Adult loon ruffling its feathers
The papa loon warns us we are getting too close
Baby loon on her mother's back
Wheezy getting a ride on her mother’s back
Loon egg
The egg is a mottled brown, about the size of a grapefruit
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Embrace your natural self

Nicole Richie with purple hairI was catching up on entertainment news this week and saw a clip on Nicole Richie, who is sporting shocking purple hair for her reality series. A day later, I saw an article in People magazine on celebrities who’ve had tattoos removed (more about tattoos in a minute).

I’m always curious why people feel they need to change what’s given to them naturally. Let me be clear to pre-empt the inevitable comments about being prejudiced against people who look different. I’m not against purple hair or tattoos. I’m all for being different and applaud individuality. I just don’t get why you would want to drastically change your natural self.

If you’re in the entertainment industry, it’s different–it’s about image and attracting attention. Two people I admire are Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. Both are incredibly talented artists and brilliant businesswomen who aren’t afraid to take risks and showcase their individuality in different ways. Interesting, both also have not been afraid to show their natural looks to their fans and public.

As a society, I think it’s safe to say we are obsessed with appearance. I’ve always preferred the natural look, but I’ll admit there is a secret side to me that wishes I wasn’t so “normcore”. Yes, I discovered there is a name for people like me. Normcore is “being unselfconscious in a society that’s gone uber-conscious. For the sake of argument, let’s call it trendlessness,” according to the Financial Post.  As I get older, I’ll admit I’m more self-conscious about my looks, especially the effects of aging. But any desire I have to change my appearance stems from a desire to restore my natural beauty that is fading with age, as opposed to trying to change what I look like.

There is a girl I know who epitomizes what I’m trying to say about embracing your natural self. She often has a pink or purple streak in her hair and wears funky clothes. These outward expressions actually convey her natural self beautifully, which is someone who is fun, energetic and who has an incredible outlook on life.

Finally, a word on tattoos. Again, for the record, I think tattoos are really cool and view them as incredible works of art. I will never get one for two reasons. First, I have a cardinal rule to avoid inflicting pain on my body. Second, they irreversibly alter my natural self. Hair styles, clothes—they can all be changed at the drop of a dime but tattoos are forever.

There is a third reason, and that is a question I’d like to put out there without judgement. Like it or not, we are a society obsessed with appearance. People stare at tattoos. In your interactions in life, do you really want your tattoo to speak for who you are? For this reason, and because tattoos are forever, I don’t think anyone under the age of 25 should get tattoos. There, I said it. Let the comments fly.

But before you lambast me, read this article on what visible tattoos might do to your chances of being hired.

This week’s #HappyAct is to embrace your natural self, whatever that may be. Don’t be afraid to show who you are, but make sure what you do on the outside expresses who you are on the inside.

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Have a double s’cream day

Girl eating ice cream sundaeOne of my favourite weeks of the year is our annual family vacation. Each year we pick a region in the States, set up base renting a home from vrbo.com and then go exploring. This year our home base was Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Here’s the house we rented this year—it was beautiful.

As always, we had a super week. We visited Gettysburg, Hershey’s Chocolate World and amusement park, Longwood Gardens, Herr’s potato chip factory, and spent a day swimming in the ocean in Chesapeake Bay and tubing on Pequea Creek, a beautiful little tributary of the Susquehanna. Everyone had horses, and we felt very privileged to be there just twelve hours after our neighbour’s horse gave birth to a beautiful black foal.

Coming home is always bitter sweet, but we made it extra sweet by having a double ice cream day yesterday. We stopped in Jim Thorpe, PA for a walk about and an ice cream cone, then had sundaes at Friendlys for dessert for our last supper on the road. I can’t think of a better way to end a vacation.

This week’s #HappyAct is to have a double ice cream day. Throw caution and your waistline to the wind just once. Why not today? After all…wait for it…it is sundae!

Empty sundae dish

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Do something adventurous

Young man in the 1930s standing in front of an airplane
John Gillies, the pilot

My father was a creature of habit. He had five shirts in his closet, one for Monday to Friday. He ordered the same meals when we went out for dinner and always golfed on Sundays in the summer. The neighbours set their clocks by his daily walk with our old dog Bailey.

When my Dad passed away 12 years ago, we held a celebration at a restaurant. There were lots of laughs and drinks raised in his honour, which is exactly how he would have wanted it. When we were putting together a small display for the restaurant, the full richness of my Dad’s life starting forming in the pages, and it struck me that my dad had a hidden adventurer in him.

There were pictures of him fishing in Northern Ontario and playing trombone at the Palais Royale in Toronto. There were photos of him standing nonchalantly in an airplane hanger in front of the plane he flew when he was in his 20s. There were photos of him meeting the Queen of England (as the press coordinator for the Royal tours in Canada in the 70’s, he met most of the royal family several times and dined on the Royal yacht).

I like to think there is a bit of a hidden adventurer in all of us. In many ways I am like my dad, a creature of habit, but with a hidden adventurer waiting to explore the world and the next adventure in my life.

This week’s #HappyAct is to do something adventurous. While often it’s the small moments and gestures in our lives that bring us the most joy and happiness, we all need a bit of adventure. My adventure this week will be tree top trekking in Muskoka next weekend with my girlfriends. And yes, I’ll be bringing my bug zapper!

To all you Dads out there celebrating Father’s Day, I hope it’s one of the best days of your life, and to my own wonderful husband, the “President Choice of Husbands”, thank you for being such a wonderful partner and father all these years.

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Plan the best day of your life

I once heard an interview with Mike Myers of SNL and Austin Power fame where he was asked what his perfect day would look like. His answer was the exact same as mine. Well, actually, I have two perfect days and they both centre around my lake.

My first perfect day is a winter’s day (the same as Mike’s). I would sleep in, have a couple of cups of coffee and read the papers. The brilliant blue sky and warm sun shimmering on the snow would beckon me outside and I’d go play hockey on my lake all day, then come up for a glass of wine in front of the fire and a hot tub.

My perfect summer day starts off the same—sleeping in. Then I’d either sneak down to the lake for an early morning kayak or read the papers on the back deck. I might putter in the garden for a few hours or walk the dogs, but the day would be spent at the lake, swimming, reading, fishing, going for a paddle boat with my two girls and watching the sun kiss their hair, or exploring the waters with my snorkel and mask. The wine and hot tub part pretty well stays the same no matter what the season.

This week’s #HappyAct is to plan the best day of your life. What would it look like? Leave a comment and share—I’d love to hear it. One more #HappyAct for today: watch this funny, but heartwarming video from the band American Authors, the dog version of the best day. If you live in Ontario, don’t forget to vote Thursday.

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Carry on the wisdom of mother Maya

Maya Angelou once said she had thousands of daughters. I was one of them. I had never met this great lady but like thousands of other women, have been inspired by her words and wisdom and was devastated when I learned of her passing on Wednesday at the age of 86.

Nearly all of my favourite quotes are from Maya Angelou. One I live by. It is “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This has become a mantra for me in how I try to live my life and in my work as a communicator.

Here are some of my other favourite Maya Angelou quotes

“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”

“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.”

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”

“All great artists draw from the same resource: the human heart, which tells us that we are all more alike than we are unalike.”

“You can tell a lot about a person by the way she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.”

“There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside of you.”

This week’s #HappyAct is to carry on the wisdom of our mother Maya. Tell the untold story inside of you. Go out and kick some ass. Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud. God bless, Maya.