Category Archives: love

Stories of Christmas

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Another Christmas has come and gone leaving us with more great memories for the scrapbooks in our minds.

My sister-in-law kidnapped my mom from her new home and Christmas Eve was spent standing in a sub-zero temperature to watch Santa Claus go by on the fire truck.  This has been a tradition in our family since we moved to our small town in 1976.  This year, however, was the first year that a Command Post vehicle followed behind the fire truck in case Santa became thermally challenged.  I’m sure somewhere in his mind the Ho-Ho-Ho evolved into Ho-Ho-Holy S*&t it’s cold up here.

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Once again we went, as a family, to church but this year there was no fear of having to don a Shepherd costume and stand in front of a crowd.  Roles had been pre-assigned and we were able to sit in our pews and enjoy the performance. The three Wise Men this year were comprised of an older gentleman, a seven-ish year old and a stand up comedian, turning their show into a couple of wise guys and a very confused child!  Hilarity ensued and our hearts were definitely light allowing us to forget the frigid temperature outside and the fact that the heating system inside the church couldn’t fight off the cold.

Christmas morning welcomed us with a beautiful sunrise and a temperature of -30C but nothing could slow the pace of gifts being exchanged and paper flying.  Although we had decided a few years ago not to exchange Christmas gifts, my brother surprised me with a CD of my grandfathers dialect stories that had been converted from a vinyl album.  It was an amazing gift and one that I will treasure.  My nephews ventured off in their own directions, one wearing his new blue tooth headphones and the other jumping into a new book and devouring the words.  My brother headed for the kitchen and, even after five cups of coffee, I still managed to squeeze in an hour and a half nap before enjoying the turkey dinner my brother and family created.

After pushing our chairs back to let the turkey settle, we listened to some of my grandfather’s stories as a family.  My youngest nephew had listened to the recording so many times he could recite bits of the stories and my oldest nephew punctuated the end of a conversation with one of the best endings to one of the stories – “so long, fat ass”.  His timing was impeccable and there may or may not have been some cheesecake remnants sprayed onto the tablecloth.

It was agreed that my mom would have another sleepover and, one by one, we began to assume something reminiscent of a reclining pose.  My 13-year old nephew was a sitting duck on the couch when the tickling began.  The musical sound of his laughter filled the living room and, after exhausting all my efforts, I finally heard the three words that every Aunt longs to hear – “Stop, I’m peeing.”

I hope you all had a Christmas celebration that will leave you with stories of your own to pass down over the years.  May our hearts continue to be light and may we feel this same Christmas spirit throughout 2014.

I Hear Only You

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Another poetic duet with my dear friend Sage Doyle.   Please click the link to his page and treat yourself to some of his other writing.

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Amidst the calling wind I turn

to find you there, bating

the imprints you left behind

as you found your voice

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I watched you follow that cry

churning in desperate circles

chasing the sound you had forgotten

remembering when your voice was strong

~

It was then that I began to fall

if only for the reaching, the sound

of my own echoes were of remorse

the recall of these discrepancies

~

I search for your hand

to steady me and  hold me as I fall

stronger than any voice in the dark

the errant sounds land heavily on my heart

~

It is this restitution which I embrace

in order to continue on, calling along the way

while you become the stronghold,

the stage of my convictions

~

I seek and hold the dulcet tones

those symbols of your existence in my reality

those things that hold me true to who I am

and that voice that draws me to you

Canadian passion

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If you’re in it just to succeed, you’re screwed.  If you’re in it because you have a burning need to express yourself, that does not allow you to compromise, you have a chance at making something truly exceptional.” ~ Bob Ezrin

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Because I have been excitedly blogging about my Christmas gift to myself,  you undoubtedly know that I went to see The Tenors in Toronto Monday night.  Let me preface this post by telling you I got much more than I bargained for.  One of my very best friends, Kenny Munshaw (who happens to be in the music industry as well and just co-wrote a song with The Tenors) graciously accepted my pleas to meet this group of talented guys and made my wish come true.

I have been a fan of this group for quite a while.  Not only do I appreciate their musical range and the impeccable harmony of their voices but I truly admire the depth of their characters as human beings and their passion for sharing their gifts and their warmth and honesty with the world.

Music affects us all.  It is a universal form of communication that can span any language barrier because it is spoken with emotion and not just strings of words woven together.

The Tenors sing because they love to sing.  You can feel it in every performance. You can see it in the way they watch each other on stage and embrace after each has performed a heartfelt solo.  They are not entertaining to make money, they are doing it to share their love of music – and THAT makes all the difference in the world.

If you have not listened to them, I urge you to follow the link above to their website and prepare yourself to go on a musical journey.  It is a passionate soul and a true entertainer that can make us forget the time and place in which we exist and become transported to a place of magic.

Thank you Remi, Victor, Fraser, Clifton, Kenny, Jeffrey, Max and Darryn “Neville” for an evening I will cherish.

100 Word Song – Happy

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Within my fleeting moments of angst and strain,

when I have to look deep within myself,

I draw from a pool of joy that can only originate from one place.

I open the photo album in my memory

and search for the one face that can pull me from under those dark covers.

I seek out the look that shows me love in its purest form.

I find my happiness in that unwavering sense of devotion,

that loyalty that can bond friends forever.

The angst and strain melt away knowing this face will greet me.

She is my happy place.

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Written for the 100 Word Song Challenge over at My Blog Can Beat Up Your Blog.

Dream a little dream of me

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heart

While your eyes feast on the dancing lights

shimmering upon your tree,

I hope you take the time to remember

and dream a little dream of me.

Though worlds apart, I cannot dismiss

the memory of  your smile.

Knowing that you hold me close to your heart

only makes the longing worthwhile.

Moments spent suspended in your gaze

seem like a lifetime ago.

But those emotions bubble under my skin,

the seed just waiting to grow.

While visions of you dance in my head

and your laughter hangs in the air,

I long for the day I can look in your eyes

and the feelings we have can be shared.

The vast chasm of our realities

hold you so far out of touch.

My one wish for Christmas this year

is that I didn’t want you so much.

~~

Written for Romantic Monday

Did you hear what I hear?

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So, the beginning of the subject line is a slight deviation from a Christmas song…but it is appropriate on more than one level.  For those of you who love Romantic Mondays as much as I do, I am channeling my inner high school geek and perpetuating a rumor that has piqued my curiosity.

Romantic Monday will breathe life once again this coming Monday, December 16th, or so I have heard and am hoping.  For those of you acquainted with this special day, I hope the holiday romantic in you will join me in making sure this rumor comes to life!  Be sure to stalk Edward Hotspur and let’s make this rumor a reality.

Merry Romancemas!!

Unspoken words

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The way your eyes look into mine is unfair.

You hold me in your gaze.

You see me.  You see into me.

Your eyes travel the contour of my face and rest on my smile.

Your eyes know every wrinkle around my eyes.

Your eyes know the emotion in every facial expression I have.

Your eyes know me.

But it isn’t fair.

Your eyes will never be able to look outward with mine,

they will never be able to look towards a future together.

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For as much as we are drawn together,

the vision in your reality keeps us apart.

But your eyes continue to speak to me,

volumes of implied feelings are expressed with each blink.

My eyes read those thoughts and answer back.

The emotion in our unspoken words is palpable.

Hold me in your gaze for a while longer.

Hold me there forever.

~~

(image credit: michellealva.com)

100 Word Song – I nearly lost you

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You left so quickly.  I didn’t have time to say goodbye and, in my misery and grief, I nearly lost you.  But your voice permeates my dreams.  The sound of your laughter echoes in my memory.  Those idiosyncracies that used to wear thin are now the moments I cherish the most.

A rider may have fallen, but the ghost of you still navigates those winding curves in my memory.  You will never cease to exist and, although I may have thought you were gone, you will always live on because I choose to remember you.

I hear your distant cry.

~

Written for the 100 Word Song Challenge – one of my new favorite challenges.  If you haven’t tried this yet, I thoroughly recommend it!!

The Quest for Love

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I wish, oh, I wish

that I could open up your heart.

I want to get to know you

but that’s the hardest part.

I know you from the outside,

your voice I recognize.

But the real you I’m looking for

is always in disguise.

Sometimes looking into your eyes

I can read what’s on your mind.

But then you turn and look away,

afraid of what I’ll find.

I want to know what makes you tick,

what makes you run away.

I’d like to understand you,

there just seems no easy way.

If I could find a way beyond the wall

I know you’re waiting there.

Searching just like I am.

The quest for love is never fair.

Our Eyes – Trifextra Challenge

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Your eyes take me

deep inside your soul.

When you gaze into my eyes

I feel I am whole.

When our eyes are locked

I see the piece of my heart you stole.

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(image credit – current.org)

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Written for the weekend Trifextra Challenge: And now your Trifextra prompt. This weekend, writers, it’s up to you. We want you to choose a word and use it three times in your 33 words. However, it must be either a verb, noun or adjective and the form of the word cannot change, it must appear exactly the same three times. Please highlight your chosen word in your piece before linking up below. Happy writing! – See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.lBfgSjro.dpuf