The Incomplete Truth....

For those who think of Saskatchewan as flat....

Oh, I don't deny there are places within our province that you can, indeed, see your dog run away for days etc....  there are also places like this.

Sometimes, when you repeatedly think of something in a certain way, you tend to make assumptions. Then, over time, you simply begin to believe everything within those assumptions are true. But, when you take the time to dig a little deeper, look a little closer, most assumptions, although they may not be proven completely wrong, they, more often than not, prove to be incomplete.

From a distance, Hollywood looked like a shiny symbol of what a lot of people aspire to. In recent years, the curtain has been pulled back, revealing to us a more complete truth.

Bill Cosby- One of the most popular TV Dads of a generation.
Harvey Weinstein- A movie project dream granter/career maker.

From a distance, they looked shiny too, but when the curtain was pulled back, the masks pulled off, a more complete truth was revealed.

Predators, wielding power as weapons, manipulating people and situations for the sole purpose of hunting future survivors, feeding endlessly their gluttonous appetites, devouring the self-worth of countless innocent souls.

Unfortunately, the previous paragraph could be used to describe many, far beyond the reaches of tinsel town.

Predators hunt for different reasons, use different weapons, plan different outcomes for their prey.
They manipulate, intimidate, threaten, willing to anything to get what they want.

From a distance, and through a fear filter, stringent border security can look like safety, but when you peek behind the curtain, you find screaming children being stripped from the arms of their sobbing parents.

A glimpse into the rearview that frames a horrible history no one should ever want repeated. Prey of a different kind for a different sort of predator.

From a distance, it's easy to look at all of these predators being brought to light by the shining bravery of their survivors and see the world as a place infested by evil.

But if we look behind the curtain, we find random acts of kindness, people selflessly giving of themselves to make the lives of others better in whatever way they can.

In all cases, in every case, we can only hope justice is truly served. That karma feasts upon the bones of those who prey on the unprotected, and bestows every imaginable good fortune on those who live their days in the pursuit of gifting joy.


Without looking behind the curtain, every truth we get can be nothing other than incomplete.

***********************************************************


May you have the courage to look behind the curtain, to face the complete truth of what you find.
May you consider beliefs unencumbered by assumptions, stepping ahead with an open mind.

May you be willing to accept the complete truth, whether shrouded in darkness or bathed in light.
May you see that even though it may not be what you first perceived, the truth is always worth the fight.

************************************************************

When You Need Light, Look To The Littles........

As I sat down to write this, news of yet another school shooting came across the tv.

More souls stripped from this earth, more lives broken, more grieving to endure.

This is a habit of tragedy that is unique to the United States. 

I have no words left to express the senselessness of this. Since the beginning of 2018, you have had more children get shot and killed in schools than military people in combat. You are the only country in the world that continues to do nothing to protect its children from gun violence. Just fix it. Before the next time, please do something to ensure there won't be one.

From the outside looking in, it's getting harder and harder to convince ourselves that you care as much as your continuous thoughts and prayers would lead us to believe.


********************************************************

When the world shows its darkness we need to find light, and who shines more light than the little ones in our lives.

******************************************************

A six-year-old and his haircut...

So, this week I had the opportunity to take our little grandson for a haircut. For the summer, his mom usually just buzzes it off really short with a set of clippers. This time, being six and all, he decided that he would like a fancier, more grown-up haircut. A fade.

For those who don't know, a fade, in his words, is when it's almost bald all the way around the bottom but, at the top, there is more hair so you have to do it.

He sat so still as the hairstylist worked away. He has a LOT of hair, so it was a bit of a project. When she was done cutting, she gave him the full treatment, including a blow dry and hair product. He took it upon himself to find out what the product was, hair wax, and watched pretty closely as she applied it to his little head.

With that, we were off. It was a hot, windy day, yeah, this raised some concerns.

"Grandma, the sun is shining on my head and making it sweaty, I think it's gonna mess up my hair."

After assurances that it would all be ok, we went to the store to pick up a second after-school snack because his tummy was telling him he was hungry again. As I'm helping him get strapped in his seat in the car, "Grandma, I dig my haircut." Then, we were off to help Grandpa for a bit at the shop, then, were on our way home, dropping him off at his house along the way.

The first thing out of his mouth as we greeted Mom was "Mom, we need to get some hair wax!"

I know it doesn't seem like much, but to him, at that moment in time, this haircut was a dream come true. It lit him up. The dreams are bound to change and grow as he will, and it will become more difficult to help him turn those dreams into reality. I hope for many more opportunities to try.


***************************************************************

A four-year-old and her dead bird..........


Sayings become sayings for a reason, right? Case in point. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Meet the tree...

My youngest daughter, now, Mom to the children from both of these little stories, used to drag in every half-dead, or all dead creature she would find in hopes that we could make them better. Most of the time this was an unsuccessful venture. We held many little critter funerals in our backyard. Birds that fell from nests, or slammed themselves into windows, mice that had lost a game of chicken with a car, crickets that didn't enjoy being trained to create a cricket circus......I think you get the idea.

Now, the apple.....

Finds a dead bird outside, she knows it's dead because she poked it with a stick. She remembers she isn't supposed to touch it, so she picks it up with her hat, buries it, and puts the hat back on her head.

Now, keep in mind we have no idea at what stage of death this bird is in. It may have died ten minutes ago, or it could very well have been lying in the sun for days.

Oh well, nothing a shower with some disinfecting shampoo can't cure.


*********************************************************************

When you need to find light, look to the littles.


*******************************************************************

May you find some light when the world wants to throw nothing but shade.
May you embrace every little joy, every little dream, don't let the light fade.

May you allow every day to show you the beauty it has in store.
May you let it in, every day you do, the next day will only bring more.

May you seize each day you are privileged to greet with open eyes.
May you see that celebrating your blessings makes you not just happy, but wise.


*******************************************************************

www.margyreidbooks.com

Happy Mommy Day!

Hi!

To my kids,


As they laid you upon my chest, I knew I had become what I had always been meant to be.

When your smile began to include your eyes, the first hints of your personality began to make themselves known. You were so sweet and funny, and just mischievous enough to make life interesting.

You were on the verge of taking your first steps when you became a big sister for the first time.

As they laid you upon my chest, I knew I had become what I had always been meant to be.

When you were no bigger than a minute, the fierce, yet somehow quiet independence that would one day become your secret superpower, was unmistakable. You shared your sister's mischievous nature, each coming up with new and wonderful ways to find adventure every single day.

You were on the verge of graduating from diapers when you became a big sister for the first time.

As they laid you upon my chest, I knew I had become what I had always been meant to be.

When you were not yet even able to utter a single word, you were already beginning to develop and put to good use, your powers of persuasion. Your sisters would bring you toys, laying them within your reach at the first sign of a discontented squeak.

You had just taken your first steps when you became a big sister.

As they laid you upon my chest, I knew I had become what I had always been meant to be.

When you were so small, often surrounded by toddler filled chaos, your calm, content nature and willingness to be entertained by the busy beautiful noise was an awesome gift. You loved to giggle at your sisters' antics, listening and learning in a state constant observation.

You were the last to be laid upon my chest.

As the years have sped by, I've been in awe of all of you. Your strength, your resilience, your character, the fundamental kindness with which you approach the world astounds me. The four of you were why I was put on this earth. I know that with everything I am, and would not change one crazy second.

As they laid you upon my daughter's chest,  I knew I had become what I had always been meant to be....


*********************************************************

For the Moms...

May your day be filled with breakfast in bed, observed closely by the excited eyes of sticky-fingered, tiny chefs of questionable skill.
May you absorb the sheer joy as you receive the macaroni jewelry, plaster of Paris handprints, and glittery cards covered in frill.

May your day include some time alone, with not one bang on the door as you rediscover what it's like to soak in a tub.
May your hands get a break from all chores, your mind relief from answering questions, your feet a deep and soothing rub.

May you, even when it all seems too much, remember this is the best thing you can ever hope to do.
May you, even when it all seems too much, remember this is the best thing you can ever hope to do.


www.margyreidbooks.com 

From Down Below And From Up Above

Hi!

Some days we find ourselves flying high above the fray, some days we find ourselves deep in the mud beneath it, some days, we hover somewhere in between.

For some, it can take a lifetime to experience the full spectrum of highs and lows, for others it can happen through the course of a day.

For a rare few, circumstance happens by chance. For most of us, we get to where we are as a result of our choices.

Sometimes, the results brought on by our choices happen almost immediately, sometimes they take a while.

There are times when our choices turn around and bite us in the butt, then, there are times they feed us an embarrassment of riches.

With Graduation season soon upon us, I would like to aim my words, this week, in the general direction of the bright-eyed young people about to step out and conquer the world.


As parents, we often speak about the different phases of our children's childhoods.
The newborn, the baby, the toddler, the little kid, the pre-teen, the tween, the teen...

All phases have their challenges, for child and parent alike. Out of all of them, I believe the one that is the most tricky to maneuver through is the one that doesn't really have a name. The phase that begins at the end of your teens, where you can see, smell and taste adulthood but, find it's just beyond your grasp.

It's the phase that leads you to the conclusion that the adulthood you've been pining for, comes at a price. The freedom and independence you've been craving come laced with both responsibility and the realization that your parents aren't as dumb as you thought.

It comes with the harsh and sudden awareness of just how much milk, cereal, toilet paper, and tampons cost.

It's the phase in which the word 'adult' becomes a verb.

This is a time when decision making is tricky. You are expected to make monumental decisions about education, career, roommates, relationships, where you live, how you live, all without any real practice. There is no warm-up. Please do yourself the favour of seeking out the advice of, and then listening to, your parents, or whoever are those people for you.

Although these decisions can be daunting, just know this. Very few decisions come without do-overs.

Very few, but there are some. Keep that in mind, and take care.


Now, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. You know that feeling of "adulthood", that feeling of being sure of your direction, that assuredness that you know what you're doing?  It isn't something you earn or attain, or accomplish. It's a feeling that is fleeting, and if you are very lucky, will experience from time to time throughout your life. The truth is, we are all just figuring crap out as we go along. Those of us who have been on the planet longer just have more experience and practice than you do, that is the only difference.

I have yet to meet anyone, at any age, who actually has everything all figured out. Some like to pretend they do, but that, in my experience, is generally an abundance of fear, not a wealth of wisdom. The wisest people I have ever come across are the ones who are well aware of just how little they really do know.

I am so excited for you, and the newness of your journey, all of the undiscovered adventures that lay before you, the untravelled paths that will be uniquely yours.

Try to make choices that will fly you high above the fray, if you are thrown into the mud, try to make it a brief stay, when in between, breathe.



********************************************************

May you make your way through life with kindness, building an existence that's uniquely you.
May you create a path that brings you joy, lets you shine, to your soul, be consistently true.

May you learn to roll with whatever life brings, for it rarely goes as planned.
May you, when knocked down, be resilient, for on the other side of struggle lay something grand.

May you find true success, far beyond anything money can buy.
May you find true fulfillment and happiness, your only limit, the sky.


*****************************************************

www.margyreidbooks.com