always look on the bright side of life...

Does anyone else out there cringe at the thought of filling out forms?

We are in our seventh year of post-secondary school and each year has been filled with forms...

school forms
government forms

and don't even get me started on filling out forms for moving between provinces...

I am signing up for another semester of school (one day I WILL finish this degree). I filled out all the forms for both the school and for the necessary evil of student loans...all done!

And then comes an email from my school with a minor glitch that of course requires me to fill out all of the forms AGAIN! WAH!!!

I am trying to maintain my new optimistic attitude. I am trying to not eat the entire batch of yummy gingersnaps sitting in my kitchen and I am trying not to throw anything as I run out of printer paper with two sheets left to print.

No, I am going to take the high road. I am looking on the bright side...

I am fortunate enough to have a supportive family which allows me to work on my degree...

Because we may be moving (again!) this summer I need to take classes without exams (to avoid any complications with ordering exams to be invigilated) and so I get to take two creative writing classes
(which I LOVE.) ...I can just picture myself sitting on the beach pen and notebook in hand...(I will not imagine all the distractions I will have with four children surrounding me kicking sand on said notebook).

This HAS to be the last time I need to fill out these forms so I can FINALLY get back to classes (did I mention this was the fourth time...and that I was supposed to start in October 2010 but it is now pushed back to June 2011!)...breathing...deeply...

I am really excited about getting back to classes and working on my degree. I am determined to finish it before I turn forty. I have 2 1/2 years...and five semesters to go...which still allows me time to do it.

I did not see this...

like I do on so many days when I tried to access the internet...the internet is working for me today...

And if all else fails to cheer me up....

I do have that yummy batch of warm gingersnaps cooling in the kitchen that I can nibble on while filling out the forms again. They should make the process a little less painful!

failure and success

I have been thinking a lot this week about failure and my previous attitude towards it (see 25 Jan posting for some background).

This week I have finally realized that failure is necessary to experience success. I have intellectually known this for a long time but it is just sinking in.

Failure is the true path to success...without failing we can not succeed.

Simple.

Why it took so long for me to figure this out I will never know. So this year I am going to try and embrace failure because that is the only way I am going to improve and become better. And don't we all want to be better?

this is me enjoying one of my many failures...I am trying to conquer the bunnyhill!

I did make it down without falling and I did graduate from the kiddie run

to the bunny hill...so I am going to view this hill as part of my road to success instead of

evidence of my failure. Maybe next week I will learn how to turn...

following my own path

Can you believe it is almost two weeks into the New Year?

I've been thinking a lot this year (so far) about where I want to go and what I want to do.

I think it is important to keep re-evaluating to make sure that the path I am on is heading in the direction that I want to go.

I really want to keep learning and going forward. I read a quote once (unfortunately I can't remember who said it) that went something like this...if we keep doing what we have always done we'll keep getting what we have always gotten. Something like that anyway. If I want to see new results I have to keep trying to do new things.

I am really excited about all the possibilities and opportunities this year holds for me and my family.

Over the past decade, most years I have had no idea where I would be at the end of the year which I think is kind of odd for somebody my age. The excitement and wonder of discovery is something that is often experienced during the late teens and early twenties.


I bought my first house just after my 22nd birthday and worked for most of my twenties at a good job with benefits. I didn't explore much...I focused on "responsibility". It's not that I am not responsible now; in fact, I am sure that I am much more responsible and cautious on a day to day basis than I used to be. But, I am much more open to experiences and trying new things. I am less afraid to try and less embarrassed by failure.

 I want to live my life...not a life that others have imagined for me. My life may not be conventional in many ways but I am enjoying the adventure. Although it may look at times like I am failing at what I am attempting to do I do experience more successes than failures and I know if I continue on my path I will arrive at the destination that I have envisioned.

 I agree with Thomas Edison. "Many of life's failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up". I think that this is an important quote to remember. Keep going....success may be just around the corner.

finding joy

Yesterday morning my family and I took a walk down to the creek. My sons had been the day before with my hubby and they were eager to show me how "cool" the ice was.

My oldest son was fascinated with all the different forms the ice took. All the boys were very excited about the holes in the ice where you could look down and see the water flowing underneath.

Walking with them gave me the opportunity to explore more extreme close-ups with my camera and also another opportunity to once again learn from my boys to enjoy the little things in life.

Things that would have once seemed boring are now interesting to me as I see the world through their eyes.

We were able to lie on the ice and get VERY close to the different forms the ice took on. I was able to place the camera through the holes in the ice so we could see what it looked like underneath.

Why is it that as adults we tend to loose the fascination and excitement that we once held as children?

I have found that my happiest moments have been when I tag along and try to experience life like a child with curiosity, surprise, and a constant search for discovery. As an adult I seem to be able to grasp those (although I have a little harder time getting rid of the worry and fear that they seem to lack).

I did have a small fear of slipping and falling or breaking through the ice which I need to get rid of. What I would like to do this year is to live life more like a child.

I want to lose my fear of the unknown and just enjoy what I can see. When I really start paying attention and focusing on what is in front of me I realize that I can see a lot more than I initially thought.

I want to learn something new every day and to appreciate all the small beauties that I have around me.

As I watch my boys I try to recall being this way as a child and I can't. I remember being asked how old I felt when I was about 19 and I answered 35. I think I was born 35. When I turned 35 I suddenly felt old and realized that I had missed out on something.

It was a little depressing until I read a quote by Pablo Picasso. He said,

"It takes a long time to become young".

And for me I think this is true. As I thought of some of my goals for this year I realized that this is what I really want to do this year...I want to work on becoming young.

Maybe there is eternal youth after all...maybe it is a state of mind...joy.