My One Month Anniversary

Wow. 30 days. 40 posts. 926 page views. I'm floored and amazed and humbled.

When I started this a month ago, I had no idea what to expect. I figured it would just be a really good outlet for me. It turned out to be an amazing outlet. I can't even begin to describe how happy I feel when I write and I can't believe that I've been doing it every night for a month. Even when I'm dead tired and don't have a thought in my head, I still feel the urge and need to blog.

What surprised me the most is how cathartic this is. I know I'm notorious for keeping thing bottled up inside and I know how bad that is for me, but I never realised that letting it out could feel so good. My head is a much happier place without so many thoughts trapped inside. I can see things a little more clearly now and that's a very good thing.

Some nights I get very emotional when blogging and I sit here and cry. You should have seen me the night I wrote the blog about my parents. I was bawling so badly that I had to stop because I couldn't see the screen anymore. But those were happy tears. I doesn't really surprise me. I'm quite an emotional person. I'm just very good at keeping them in check, except when I'm writing.

When I write, I feel free. The emotions just pour out of me through my fingertips. Some nights I feel completely emotionally drained after writing. Other nights I just sit and smile or keep giggling because I've made myself laugh or I'm laughing at myself :)

Blogging from my parent's house was interesting. I'm not used to having people around when I'm writing. They kept asking me question: What are you doing? What are you writing about? My responses: Writing my blog. Stuff. LOL. I have no idea if either of them have read my blog.

I like looking at the location stats for my blog. It boggles my mind to see that people in other countries have read it. Apparently someone in Russia reads it a lot as there are nearly 20 page views from there along with ones from France, Germany, Japan and the USA.  I'm still amazed beyond belief that anyone reads this.

Moving ahead, I will try to keep up with my goal of blogging every night. The fall is coming. Even though it was hot and humid here today, you could smell fall on the wind this afternoon. I love the fall. It's my favourite season. It also scares me a bit because fall is when my inner demons tend to wake up a little bit more and my struggle to keep them under wraps begins anew. Perhaps the blog will help me keep those little bastards at bay. I guess I'll just have to keep writing and find out.

To all of you who have read my blog, I just want to say thank you very much. I'm glad I could share a little sliver of my world with you. And to whoever the person in Russia is that keeps reading, I'd really love it if you'd drop me a line and say hello!

I'm going to celebrate my One Month Anniversary by playing a few rounds of SongPop (my new addiction on FB) and then curling up with my book before bed.

Good Night!

Sarah

35 Years And Counting...

No. The title of this blog does not refer to my age. It's close, but not quite.

Tonight's blog title is the number of years that my parents have been married. They celebrated their 35th Wedding Anniversary today. I wasn't there to celebrate with them but I will be seeing them next week so I'm going to take them out for a nice lunch while we're in Stratford as a belated gift.

In a time when marriage really doesn't seem to mean much anymore, hitting 35 years together is rather impressive. But then again, so are my parents. Looking at them, they are so different but fit together so well. Perhaps it's the differences between them that has kept them together for so long? I definitely get my stubborn streak from my mother and I get my peace-making skills from my father. I get my creativity from my mom and my outgoing nature from my dad. I get my bumpy toe from my mom and my broad shoulders from my dad. I get my courage from my mom and my love of rock and roll from my dad and I get my inner strength from both of them.

My childhood was great. We didn't have the biggest house on the block or the newest toys, but I don't remember wanting for anything. We took a family vacation every summer. Sure, I never got to go to Disney World, but I got to explore the country and see amazing sites and visit family. Some of my most cherished memories are of the crazy things that happened while on family vacation. Like the time our dog skipper took a dump in the back of the station wagon a mere 3 minutes after we left the house. Or the time we had run out of water on the way home so we gave the dog Kool Aid to drink. There were multiple incidents involving my father and a raccoon, including the time one stole his blueberry pie and threw a bun at him. One year in New Brunswick I made the chewiest brownies ever...because I forgot to add the eggs. I swear, they came out more like taffy than brownies. I'm pretty sure that's the same trip where my brother and cousin ate an entire tin of molasses cookies one afternoon. I've got to tour several mines, pet a porcupine, stand on the top of a few mountains, travel on several different ferries, drive through the tail end of a hurricane, watch a meteorite shower, seen a Sleeping Giant, dug my own amethyst, got up in the middle of a storm in the middle of the night to rescue a row boat, mistaken a freight train for an alien spaceship and have collected thousands of memories that I wouldn't trade for all the money in the world......all thanks to my mom and dad.

Over the years, I've seen them fight, cry, laugh and love. No matter what I've done or where I've gone, they've always had my back. Through all the bad times, the good times, the hard times and the simpler times, they stuck together and pulled us all through. I am so incredibly blessed to have them as parents.

I want what they have. That's the kind of relationship I want to have with a mate. One that stands the test of time. One that two people are willing to invest the time and effort into making work. No quitting, no giving up when the going gets rough. Perhaps I need to stop looking for someone who's like me....perhaps I do need to be looking for an opposite. Like my parents. Their differences make them unique, but they still have a lot of common ground between them. And compromise. They're pros at it. I love watching them watch hockey. It consists of dad watching hockey while mom reads her book...until there's a fight, at which point mom looks up and then goes back to her book with the fight's done. And I'm not sure how it happened, but mom somehow managed to get dad hooked on the books she was reading.

They are my heroes. They are who inspire me. Their relationship is what I strive for and hold up and the model. Maybe relationships like theirs don't exist anymore. But I'm sure not going to give up on finding out anytime soon. What they have is worth it. It's worth waiting for. I'm so happy that they found each other and I can't begin to express how fortunate I am to have them in my life.

Happy 35th Wedding Anniversary Mom and Dad. I love you more than words can express. May you have many, many, many, many, many more years of happiness together ahead of you.

Good Night!

Sarah