A trampoline! Yes a trampoline is something to cheer about. Because I got up on that thing yesterday as my little, under two, granddaughter wanted to go on it and voila….I bounced with her. Did not collapse. Woohoo! It felt good. I understand my reality in that I am not going to be doing any flips any time soon…nah….not at all. But it felt good to hold her hands and bounce up and down letting her do her thing. Even bouncing, landing on my bottom, and rising landing on my feet again. I DID IT. It might not sound like much but these old bones and knees have seen better days. LOL. Brought me back to high school and university days on the trampoline, days when the mind and the body could work as one. You know, actually do what your minds says it is going to do. Bounce as high as you can and when that perfect timing comes, you twist and turn, flip in the air, and then land on your feet ready for the next movement. The glorious feeling of floating freely in the air, moving your body to do what you want it to, and then BAM…land on the mat of the trampoline again and do something else. Executed wonderfully. Now the mind is willing but not the body; hahaha, not on your life little one. Thank you body, knees in particular, for not letting me down. And let me tell you, I was smiling ear to ear.
So last weekend I was listening to the local Atlantic news. I kind of like the approach the news team takes for some reason. The people they have giving the news seem to have personalities that draw you in. Neighbourly. Personable. Friendly. Even a little kibitzing amongst them (I think it is a word). Anyway, it makes one feel you are part of the Maritime clan so to speak. Although some of the news maybe disturbing or unsettling or unbelievable at times, they do mix it up with segments of the personal, the family, the preserving of the local newsie kind of news… makes me smile. And in that they shared an interesting piece on fundraising which came from another Canadian province. So get ready educational colleagues of mine have I got a great idea for you.
In Saskatchewan there is a small community who raised quite a bit of money for their school in a unique way. The fundraising committee, due to the pandemic, had to be creative in their farming Edenwold community. The spokeswoman indicated that she personally did not think she could sell the 200 tickets for bingo. Bingo. That is not original. No, but Bovine bingo is. So a closed in pen was set up, squares were outlined on grass, and Rockstar the cow….well lets just say in cow patty bingo fashion, plop and woohoo. You got it. The contestants purchase a square on a grid set up in the pen and the owner of square the cow decides to do their business on is the lucky winner. What a cheery thought. Right? Well sold out crowd!!
Mr. Sun I cannot thank you enough. You bring cheer when you come out. I have been skipping and swirling lately as I go down the road to the red dirt lane down by the water along the rocky shore and up across the cliffs overlooking the sea. Good thing it is just me and non-human onlookers like fox, birds, bugs. Heehee. The fresh coolness of the breeze, crazy windy at times, with the sun’s rays coming through the fluffy white clouds puts a cheery smile on my face in the warmth of late spring bloom. It’s been sunny lately. NOT COMPLAINING Mother Nature at all. The sun and its bright cheery greeting has been a plentiful. It puts a burst of joyful energy into my walk, and me wanting to embrace its radiant warmth spilling over me and my little world. And to top it off, my favourite wild lupins abound like a natural aisle, garnishing both sides of the road with a palette of spring colour fare. Love it.
And don’t you just love taking a walk through the woods and the sunlight filters through the trees giving a wondrous glow to nature. It touches the earth basking its glow and sharing its warmth as you sit on a log from a fallen tree. The little flits and spurts of creation. Yes, try to ignore the bugs and oops, yes be careful of poison ivy or oak. And you sit there in wonder or maybe walk in the awe, to the sights and sounds made possible from the brightness of the day. It is cheery. No I am going to say it cheers you inside I think. It touches things in different ways unlike the darkness falling which has its own special qualities and gifts to give. But light reveals the world to shine before you.
I notice that my shadow, no I am not Wiarton Willy or Punxsutawney Phil from Pennsylvannia, grows longer on the fields or rocks as I walk lately. Come follow me, it says. Hahaha. But the way the sun just captures things, bringing to life the world around you. The colours. Oh the colours. Can you imagine a world without colour? Everywhere I look, homes adorn beautifully coiffed gardens and yes I cannot wait for my sunflowers to come up too. But the green and greenery weaved with the deep red soil of the islands character….oh my that is a colour combination that I love. Earthy and rich looking. I really cannot get over the patone swatch of greens. And the sunlight brings out the hues and shades, making you wonder how? How can green be look so differently beautiful. Now I have to qualify that because bright lime green and the muddy sludgy green on the olive green spectrum….not so much.
Here on the island there is no way that colour would not be part of the conversation as you travel around. Someone aptly described it as one has used a ‘jelly bean’ paintbrush. Not really a warm fuzzy descriptor but honestly the colours the islanders decide on…charming and bold, especially colour choices on buildings and homes. Just like in a box of jelly beans, you never know what you are going to find coming out. What prompted this cultural tradition I do not know but its certainly evokes the homey and inviting feelings. I have gone down to many local harbours at dawn or dusk to experience the sun as it brushes its light; there is a rich and lavishness in the swath of the rainbow before you.
I do have to chuckle though. The sun also brings other things to the forefront. Reminders of sun and its affects. No laughing matter but I am anyway. My youngest daughter calls me two days ago to tell me she went camping and now is laid up a bit. So here is mama nag in me….you got it. Sunburn. Very little movement for her. Not being mean but the harps are playing here little one. How many times do I need to tell her? But she was not complaining, merely seeking an ear. Yep that is something to be cheery about. LOL. And this too shall pass. Speaking of, I better check the date on my sunscreen bottle. My middle daughter checked my stock and informed me, quite readily I might add, that “mom, this expired in 2019”. Oops. Well let me just say the sunlight does not help my eyesight. For goodness sake the embedded print is so small, my glasses even have a hard time letting me see the date.
What is there to cheer about? A plenty. And hopefully soon even more so as the pandemic’s gap closes a bit more. Enough said. But I did get good news as my oldest will be coming to the island to visit. Yes parameters and protocols aside, woo to the hoo, she is coming around the mountain. And I am going to hug the life out of her and grandbaby (I mean hug her so lovingly). And one day I hope sooner than later I will get to hug my mom (and dad at his home) in the not to distant future. And my youngest daughter too….leaving the nest. Oops, I was the one that moved. My bad. But thank you island Family Connection and permission granted…she can come. So what to be cheerful about….that right there. So many stories from others not being able to see their family…I do not take it for granted.
What else? Well no one peed in my soup. Just kidding. But I am toilet training my granddaughter right now when she is with me and she did have a little accident on my carpet. Could not do the dodo on the wood part of the floor? No of course not. As far as gardening, the seeds are growing for my sunflowers. They are not weeds. Well I almost sort of almost certainly positive. And my brother in law, bless his heart, is creating a homey feel to my deck as he uses live edge wood (does anyone know what that means? Im not telling) to redo the benches along the outside deck. Looks good. Rustic. Then he will be working on changing the steps with live edge and have them be more gradual in slope. Can’t wait.
And so to be cheery. Oh one has to look. Yes. But not too far. I mean think of it. The roads on the island are being worked on so I am happy when the construction worker holding the stop sign turns sign to Slow and I do not have to wait. Yep. Finding that five or ten or even twenty dollar bill that you tucked away in your summer wind jacket last year. Yep. Getting to the cash register and finding out that the gulp kind of feeling you have in buying an item turns out to be on sale. Yep. When you think it is Thursday when it is Friday (probably not often). Yep. Someone has paid for your coffee or whatever in the Tim’s line up. Yep. You actually went down to the water, took shoes off, and dipped toes in water. You did not yelp. Yep. Someone called you up and said, hey lets go out. Yep. Get a text from an old friend who you have not heard from in a coons age. Yep. Actually pick up an organic fruit in the grocery store and smell it. It actually smells like the fruit. Yep. Go get some ice cream. NOW. (Hey I know I do not care for ice cream because lets face it working in an Ice Cream shack and having to sample….bone chilling) But I actually had vanlilla soft icecream from Dairy Bar in Kensington. Quite good. And also I even tried Cows Ice Cream apple pie flavour…well colour me happy. Delicious. Yep. And honestly take a tech break. Like I am going to do after blogging today. Yep.
So remember this banana wants to make you happy, look at it, it is smiling for you. I found this Irish quote “Here’s to you and here’s to me, I pray that friends will always b, but if by chance we disagree, the heck with you and here’s to me. ” Blessings this day.
Let us pray for those whom are in need of our prayers and in need of cheering up this day. Amen.
Karenpondering 