Helluva Happy Life

Cold and flu season…sigh…

Everyone around me seems to be sniffling and I’m doing my best to stay healthy. I was thinking about how it isn’t my turn to be sick as I had a terrible cold 6 weeks ago when I remembered a tiny, wonderful thing that my son did for me. I was laying in bed having a pity party for one (I’d asked everyone to stay the h**l away from me) when I heard someone clear their throat from the hallway.

This is what I saw:

Made. My. Day.

Small gestures have huge results, don’t they?

xo

D

Halloween is right around the corner and I am very excited! I’ve got my costume – a scary skeleton wearing completely black. I am trick or treating with all the neighborhood kids. Mom told me to enjoy it – it’s my last year of trick or treating. Apparently, I’m getting too old (Sad Face).

It’s going to be awesome!

Every year at my old house I got so much candy, I ended up throwing out half of the candy (or my mom did). Then a couple years ago we thought of the food bank. At Christmas we sponsor a family, why can’t we do something for Halloween and make it a new tradition? Now we get to keep a ziplock of our favorite candies but we donate the rest to the food bank. Mom says that people using the bank get the essentials so I’m sure they like to get treats.

Part II of my plan…

My mom buys us new toothbrushes every Halloween. This year I got a great idea! I talked to my family and we are each going to pitch in $5 towards toothbrushes to go with our candy donation. That’s $25 worth of toothbrushes!

I hope that this Halloween I will put a smile on many people’s faces (except in my costume – then I hope I scare people hee hee). We can all make a difference in our community. Join me in supporting to food bank with your extra treats, or toothbrushes and stuff, or food of course!

Later Gators!

Kobe – 12

I seem to get painted as a candy villain in this post lol. Kobe’s right, I give them a large ziploc with no limitations. I honestly don’t care if they make themselves sick and eat it all in one night, or stretch it out for the week.  Its a once a year deal after all. But I don’t want large amounts of candy hanging out for the long term. Obviously, its unhealthy. And I don’t want the dental bills. But mostly – I will eat it if its there!

I loved the toothbrush idea when Kobe pitched it to me. And I love that he is looking for new ways to bring generosity and community spirit to our everyday lives. Its wonderful and creative. Happy Halloween everyone!

One of my most favorite things is helping out my grandfather on his farm. There is always a lot of work to do and he is one of those people who thinks he cannot do enough. But Grandpa loves his job.

Farmers help the community by giving us food. It stocks the very stores we shop at. Our eggs, our meat, our dairy products and our grains are thanks to our hard working farmers. It also creates jobs in stores, bakeries, and all sorts of stuff. They also support each other with food for livestock and shared resources to get their crops off.  I can’t help but like being a part of it.

 I love going to the farm to help drive truck and tractor. Or even wash his quad or truck. I’ve moved bales, mowed lawn, done fencing. Sometimes I’m so tired at the end of the day I feel like I could sleep forever. My mom says I definitely got the farmer gene.

I help him deliver farm equipment (that is his other job). I like these trips because we get to talk. We talk about when he was a kid and hunting and all sorts of stuff. He teaches me about work and skills I can use later on in life. He listens to me. He and I have a strong relationship.

My grandpa makes sure he takes extra time off so we can do some fun stuff, even when he has to do more work the next time. We go quadding in the bush and then have a wiener roast. We go fishing and watch movies. We take long drives and visit neighbours. My grandma always says that Grandpa and I are good for each other.

The farm is special to me. I always feel that’s where I belong.

Everybody spends time with their family for different reasons. Maybe they feel like they have to, maybe they have to contribute to the work, or maybe they are like me and do it because they love the visit and want to feel closer to their loved ones.

I know that my help is appreciated at the farm and I will always offer it. But it doesn’t even feel like work. The time I spend there makes me a better person. I love it. And I think Grandma and Grandpa love it too.

Stay Sweet!

Conner

sniff sniff…I’m so happy for my son’s relationship with my dad. We are close with all of our family members. At 13 years old, its pretty amazing he still values family and recognises the importance of his contribution to his community like he does. Hope this doesn’t fade as the teens take over.

xo

D