Happy heart

I have a happy heart tonight. It's late, and I should be sleeping, but the kids are gone for a sleepover (thanks to ccap and her boy for taking them!), we just got home from date night, and my head and heart and stomach are full and happy. We went for dinner at a nice restaurant, and then went to see The Interpreter at the cheap theatres (great movie). It's nice that, after twelve years of marriage, we still enjoy each other's company. I hope to say the same in another twelve years, and then twelve years after that, and so on, and so on.

There are lots of other reasons for the sappy headline. Nothing earth-shattering, just lots of warm fuzzies that make life satisfying and fulfilling.

I'm just wrapping up two weeks of holidays. On the way back from Alberta last weekend, we camped in the Qu'Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan. It's lovely countryside. We had fun tenting with the kids, eating our picnic supper, giggling around the picnic table, and cuddling up on air mattresses in the tent. Yeah, now and then I miss the camper (we haven't sold it yet, but we're not using it because we can't pull it with the car), but I really enjoy being back in a tent again. There's something so cozy about it. And simple.

When we got back, we set to work around the house. I got most of the painting done (the trim on the outside of the house) and Marcel got the brick sidewalk built beside the house. I also spent some time cleaning the house - not as much as I'd hoped, but enough to feel like it's a decent start on all this clutter.

Yesterday, we drove up to Riverton (about an hour and half from the city) to visit my brother Dwight, s-i-l Lorna, and their two boys. It was a delightful day. We had a weiner roast for lunch, hung around their yard all afternoon, watched the kids play on the trampouline (sometimes with the sprinkler going underneath), then went next door for pizza. "Next door" are Lorna's brother and s-i-l, who run an organic bakery, and they have a big outdoor brick wood-burning oven. On the weekends in the summer, they sell the most amazing pizza on the face of the earth. You can watch them bake it in the oven. We go there at least once a summer for pizza night, and usually invite a bunch of friends from church to join us. This year was no exception - a whole gang of them showed up to hang out with us and eat pizza. Yum, yum.

And this afternoon, I had fun hanging out with Nikki and Julie. We went shopping, but thankfully not to a mall. This was the kind of shopping I can handle - Ten Thousand Villages (a very cool store full of fair trade arts and crafts from all over the world) and Value Village (second-hand heaven). To my delight, I actually came home with a pair of pants from Value Village for $5.99 that FIT AND FEEL GOOD! I HATE buying pants (my body just seems too lumpy for the style of most pants), so when I find a pair that I like, it feels like cause for celebration. The amazing thing was, I didn't even try these on in the store - just decided to take a chance.

So there you have it - my holidays. Nothing momentous, just lots of good moments strung together. As I reflect upon it, I realize that what made the time off so good was that it was full of relationship moments. We didn't spend much money, didn't see any amazing sites or come home with any new possessions, but we had a great time connecting with alot of people that we care about. We spent time with all of the members of my family, hooked up with several friends (including some, like Julie and Bruce, that we don't see often), and most of all, hung out with our girls and enjoyed their company.

I guess that's what life is all about - finding people to connect with along the way. I think seeing the movie the Interpreter brought that home to me tonight. At the end of the movie, you've seen how much pain and despair people have to bear, but you still feel hopeful, because once in awhile, along the way, they (and you) find someone to connect with. And that makes it worth taking the next step. Even when you lose someone you really love, you realize the pain was worth it, because at least you knew love.

D'ya think I should write for Hallmark? ;-)