Sunday Snap: Bath-time Bliss
“I think a lot of contemplation happens in bathtubs. It does for me. Nothing like a hot bath to ease the tension and think about what’s going to happen next.” ~ Sarah McLachlan
Photo: Perry’s Point, May 2, 2016
Happy 2018!
With the start of January, many bloggers like to share a statistical overview of their blog’s traffic and engagement for the previous year. I’ve chosen not to bore you with share my numbers, because personally, I value the quality of blogger/ follower interaction over the quantity of views, likes, follows and comments.
In the spirit of that, I’d like to throw out a bouquet to all of you who consistently stopped by and liked my articles, updates and photos throughout the year, but particularly I wish to thank my most frequent commenters of 2017. You know who you are, and I hope you also know how much I value your visits and our conversations! 🙂
December 31, 2017 marked my sixth blogging anniversary.
How long I will continue to blog? I suppose I’m still getting something out of showing up here, so I haven’t the faintest idea, really!
I’ve seen other bloggers come and go over these six years, and some of them I truly miss. And as recently as this past week, two of my favourites have decided to close their blogs, one dealing with grief over the loss of her spouse, and the other citing lack of time due to her job and her art. Both of them have been here on WordPress at least as long as I have, so naturally, their absence will be deeply felt.
How long have you been blogging, and how long will you continue?
What do you like the most – or the least – about it?
Have you lost some of your own go-to bloggers?
Please share your thoughts with me.
❤ ❤ ❤
I’m guest-posting on A Writer’s Path today, sharing my experiences as a novelist.
Come on over for a visit and check it out!
“It doesn’t matter who we are, what we are doing and what our station in life is, we all have the ability to contribute to something beyond ourselves and (to find) purpose in doing so.” – Emily Esfahani Smith, author of The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters.
According to Smith’s research, it isn’t happiness that makes life worth living – it is meaning. It is rising each day with a purpose. As simple and as uncomplicated as that sounds, I wonder how many of us have been chasing the wrong thing.
Is developing a “meaning mindset” the only true answer to achieving fulfillment?
Living on auto-pilot, or chasing mostly what brings you pleasure, or working long and crazy hours, driving yourself to exhaustion to conform to someone else’s definition of success – do any of these pursuits sound like happiness to you?
Or have you already figured this out?
Have you found your meaning?
Alright, I admit it.
I am clearly the more introverted feline in this two-cat family.
Often the loner – the diametric opposite of my sister Vivian –
you will usually find me shying away from the spotlight.
Yes, I am a lap cat, and an affectionate one at that…
…but Vivian is the more “in your face” sister,
and the more photogenic one,
so naturally she gets the lion’s share of attention.
I’m the quiet and cautious girl who moves with stealth,
who wonders why Vivian is so annoyingly vocal.
And even though I might seem timid,
I’m actually more “alpha” than Viv.
I guess that’s why Jennifer says I’m the glue that holds us all together.
Do you live in a multi-cat or multi-pet household?
Do you sometimes feel overshadowed by your sibling? 
Before I started blogging, I wondered what the point would be in it. I used to liken it to shouting into a void, and where was the fun in that? And at first, that’s exactly what it was. With only a handful of followers, getting a like or two – or, wow, is that a comment??? – was all the encouragement I needed to post another photo, or a poem, or a thought about something.Have you ever looked at your children when they are teenagers – or beyond – and wished you could go back in time to enjoy a day when they were little? I certainly have.
Children grow up so incredibly fast! It’s almost like you blink and they are grown. All the way through childhood they are making firsts: Their first word, their first steps, their first day of school. There is so much to relish and celebrate about these milestones that you almost forget about the time whizzing past.
Kids need a solid grounding and good examples to learn from, therefore conscientious parents want their kids to remember their childhood fondly, and with love. Their formative years are important because they’re going to remember certain things forever, so if you do fun things together as a family, they will remember these events fondly for the rest of their days. Here are some ideas on how to make memories that will last a lifetime.
Play with paint
It’s a great idea to teach a child creativity from a very young age. If they learn not to be afraid of a blank page, they will probably go on to create great things. (As a writer, I have faced that blank page many times.) One of the most imaginative and artistic things you can do with your children is to create and paint together. Let them go wild with crayons, colouring pencils, acrylic and water paint, and glue. They will feel proud of their results in the moment, and it will be fun to look back on their creations together in the future.
Pose for a picture
The wonderful thing about smartphones is that you have a camera almost always at hand. This give you the chance to capture as many candid photos of your children as possible. And don’t forget taking videos of them. If you would like something a bit more professional, a photographer can give you great results. A professional family photo is something that everyone loves to look back on because it perfectly captures a moment in time you can cherish forever. Not only will you have the physical photos, but you’ll have great memories of the actual day as well.
Read stories together
My girl’s favourite: The Owl & The Pussycat
This was a big one for me when I raised my kids. When your children are little, it’s a great idea to get into the habit of reading them a book every evening. This not only calms them before they sleep, but it also helps them learn. The stories that you first read them will probably stay with them forever. Almost everyone can remember the first book that they loved to have read to them. It’s a child’s way of really using their imagination to form the pictures in their mind. Keep a couple of their favorite books for you to show them when they are grown up.
Cook together
If you can teach your children a family recipe that has been passed down through the ages, they’ll remember it forever. A cherished recipe can be pulled out and enjoyed again and again, and it will strengthen the memory for your child of when you first made it together.
Our boy making muffins!
Notice the recurring theme here? Creative endeavors seem to be the best way to make memories for you and your family!
What do you and your children do to make memories that will last a lifetime?
To give us perspective. Of note, Karen’s words from the comment section: “I think when there is a shock, we need time to absorb the news and if we can spend sometime in nature … it does ground us and calm us.”
That often works for me when I need to let go of anxiety.
For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction. – Cynthia Ocelli
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In September, I blogged about how excited I was to have tickets to a local showing in concert of Come From Away, a musical that is heading to Broadway in the new year. You can read that post here.
We attended the Gander show on Saturday afternoon, and it was INCREDIBLE!
Flawlessly executed.
Overflowing with energy, talent, and professionalism.
And generating such love and pride for the citizens of Gander and surrounding communities – who most certainly deserved it – it was truly a moving experience.
“The Come From Away musical was written to show the compassionate response by Newfoundlanders when air space closed over North America after the Twin Towers fell —diverting dozens of planes to Gander. The community took in more than 6,000 passengers for several days while planes were grounded.” – Local CBC story on Come From Away
Can you imagine if the population of your town had nearly doubled on 9/11?
The show tells the tale through the eyes of local mayors, residents, a pilot, and stranded passengers, 100 minutes of heartfelt musical numbers that show how Newfoundlanders went above and beyond with their own special brand of hospitality.
To paraphrase Canadian playwright Irene Sankoff, cowriter of the musical:
“Not only did the {citizens of Gander} let people off of the planes who were {strangers} to them, but they let them into their community buildings. They canceled school for the entire time that “the plane people” were there, devoting all of their energy to taking care of them.
They put them up in their schools and community buildings, and then began inviting people home for dinner, inviting them to stay the night, cleaning their clothes, and giving them anything that they could ask for over the time that they were stranded.“
Countless times during the show, we laughed out loud. And many other times we wiped away our tears. And boy, did we ever applaud! I had chills several times, and it had nothing to do with the fact we were in a hockey arena.
I could go on and on about it, but just let me say, if you have the opportunity to see the show in Toronto or New York, you should. I know I’m biased, being a Newfoundlander and all, but I think anyone would enjoy such a positive showing of humanity in the face of crisis and disaster. With all the negativity in the media these days, it was a welcome change.
The cherry on top? All proceeds from the Gander shows were donated to local charities.
I think our little province and its people made quite an impression on those affected that week. To illustrate, near the end of the show, one of the “plane people” from the U.S. told her new Gander friend that Newfoundlanders can’t tell knock-knock jokes.
“Why not?” her friend asked.
“Okay, I’ll be the Newfoundlander,” said the American. “You say knock knock.”
“Knock knock.”
“Come on in – the door is open!”
This is a shining example of Newfoundland hospitality and our way of life being brought to the Broadway stage. Did I mention I was proud?
For more info, here is the Official Come From Away Website.
Photo from: 
Google Image
Jennifer's Journal 