Jilly Brandon

Tossing about on my clean white cotton sheets, atop my 4 postered bed has me feeling thankful for the scent of softness under my nose.

Beds that don’t need to be blown up before sleeping on them are marvelous.

My belongings were moved back in my house yesterday. Yahoo….

I know this does not sound like a monumental happening, but for this girl, it is.

For the last little while, I have been sleeping on a blow up mattress on the floor, that deflated periodically throughout the night, and needed re inflating at 3 am. Rolling my body out into the floor, and searching for the device to blow up my inner tube/mattress in the wee hours of the night was not fun. There may, or may not have been a string of colorful words uttered from my lips during these adventures. True story.

Laying on my bed is delicious and delightful, and yes I’m wearing a pink camouflage onesie… don’t judge

It’s Thanksgiving in Canada this weekend, and there are buckets of blessings to be thankful for.

Where even to begin…

Camping can be fun, but when it’s in your own house, the concept loses its luster a tad bit.  I am all in for clamping, but I have my limitations.

If I can locate my coffee maker, and coffee in the morning, I may just go into orbit with delight.

I’m  obsessed with finding it.. now which of the 20 or 30 boxes is it in? The company that packed my boxes labeled them all with the contents, which was brilliant. I don’t even want to unpack them it’s so organized. There may be hope of locating the elusive coffee pot yet.

It’s been a weird year, not that other years have not also been this way, but this year will be seared in my mindful some time to come.

This time last year, I was packing up my stuff in Colorado to move to Ontario, and there was water damage to my storage unit there so I had to throw out some linens, pillows, and damaged furniture.

Then I moved here to Constance Bay, Ontario and there was a flood where I was living , causing water damage to my belongings here, some of which were destroyed. What’s with all the water? I have been researching this topic. It’s quite fascinating. Water is life. It is necessary to live, and yet it can be destructive.

It is ” a colorless, transparent, odorless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain, and is the basis of the fluids for living organisms.” ( internet)

“Water refers to a chemical substance consisting of two hydrogen atoms bound to the central oxygen atom via a covalent bond. This configuration results in a molecule that is polar. The transient hydrogen bonds between water molecules form a transparent , colorless, odorless, and tasteless liquid.”(dictionary… or rather internet )

I’ve been purging. Not really by choice necessarily, but it’s happening. As the men were moving boxes upon boxes back into my house, I thought,

“Girl.. you have a lot of stuff….still…. and this is the left over items.. ”

It looks like I needed the flood, and the water to help me downsize.

At the time, I did not welcome this onslaught of water, but it has taught me much this last year. There was so many things I didn’t know before that now I do.. that’s pretty cool.  Glass half  empty baby is my song.

Yes I do think/speak out loud to myself often. This has been happening most of my life. I even invented imaginary friends, which I named ” Walkers and Mummers,” when I was a little girl.  I should probably be in continuous therapy, more than I already am.

Spending time at my brother’s house last week, I saw some similarities between us. He outward processes like I do. I talk to myself, and decide what’s next out loud, and he does too. This was such a comfort to me… I’m not alone. He is weird too… and I like him.

I drop food on my shirt front daily, and he often does the same.

I love to cook, and I make a scattered mess when I do, but that’s the joy.  Turns out he likes to do this too. His wife, comes around behind me, and cleans up.  That right there is just good team work.

I had my own suite on the lower level at my brother’s house where I was comfortable  and cozy. There was the incident where I fell down the stairs, well not all the way down, and twisted my ankle, but that’s a tale for another day. Grace is not my middle name. I have all ready broken that right ankle, and shin bone, so I should probably lay off that leg for a spell.

My brother’s house is for sale, and my house is for sale. It is the season of change. I find that you get in a very different mind set when you are hoping to sell your home. Lots of emotions, as well as lots of stuff needs to be reassigned.. Some is trashed, while others is donated, or sold. It feels good to let things go..

We were cleaning, and purging my Mother’s house last week. It was quite the undertaking, and the task was not for the faint of heart. So many memories, and the accumulation of items in the 50 plus years that she has lived there. It was overwhelming. We laughed, and cried, shared meals together and reminisced over photos, and furniture. This was the home where we grew up. This was our life .

My brothers found sunglasses that belonged to my Dad, so of course they needed to sport them. I think they wear them quite well.. They are looking more like twins than ever now.

I am so thankful to have the home that I did. I felt loved and cherished, protected, and nurtured. It wasn’t perfect, but I’m not either.

Many prayers have gone up, and I’m thankful for the miracles that I’ve witnessed from them. I can’t even imagine what my life would be like without Jesus in it. He keeps me centered when I haven’t a clue what comes next. He really does hold my future, and when I keep a firm grip on his hand, life is good.

Being able to pray for my family, my kids, my friends, and friends not even yet met, has been such a blessing.

There have been days when I could not have made it through, and couldn’t even pray, I was so low.. but those times, I knew others were praying, and I was carried.

Being held like that is extraordinary. I can’t even put into words what a priceless gift that is.

Watching the brilliant red leaves fall one by one to the earth, fluttering gently as they go, is just beautiful. They seem to dance as they go, perhaps their last waltz.

As they dry up on the lawn, they then become work to rake up, and it feels like a nuisance, and yet it is a therapeutic practice.  The days when you raked them, and kids jumped in them, has past… and yes.. it did go by quickly, just like my Mother said it would.  I guess she was right about some things after all.

Speaking of my Mother, she got her new spiffy walker this week. She has been feeling unsteady on her feet, and walks much better with the assistance of this walking device.

There’s room up front for her purse, Kleenex box, toothpicks, and her shopping. She’s ready to take on the mall again . Thankful for the new walker, and for mobility. Mum is getting used to the brakes, and likes that there is a spot to park her hind end, should she need to sit for a spell. She wouldn’t like me calling it her “hind end,” so don’t tell her, she will roll her eyes at you.

It was such a treat to have my niece, Sydney come for a visit while here on business. Seeing her with her Grandma was wonderful to witness.

The precious interactions between Grandmother and granddaughter is monumental.

Thankful for the gift of today.