Gratitude and Glimmers #100

Holy moly! One hundred gratitude posts (brain emoji). My first one is here, written on _____ I like, no I love that I have done this for so long. I keep thinking that each year I should print the twelve posts I write and put them into a booklet... There, I've put it in writing, so I will investigate!

A grateful heart

is a magnet for miracles.

--Unkown

Welcome to my post of glimmers (of joy and wonder) and gratitude for the month of October. You can find links to more posts like this one at LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color.

1a. I've been often in the "I hate humans" mode because of Gaza, of world leaders' NOT doing their job, of the rampant destruction of our planet, because of greed, and of the pervasive negativity... However, our recent Maritimes trip had me several times thinking how much I love humans, and how no matter what province we are from, we have common ground on many levels.

Cavendish Beach PE

At one charging station in Quebec, we couldn't get our Chargepoint user card to work in the Circuit Éléctrique charger. These Quebec chargers do not accept credit cards either, something that we think needs to change, as other networks do this as well. A gentleman came up to us and asked, "Y a-ti-il un problème?" to which I responded, "Notre carte ne marche pas; la machine ne l'accepte pas." and then he continued in English and when he couldn't get it to accept our card, he said, "I can do something else..." He did something on his phone, held it to the card reader, and voilà! Charging started. When we realized he had prepaid for a charge, I said I had cash and turned to the car to get it but he stopped me, saying no it's just fine, not to worry, and off he went! It got us to 75%. MacGyver figured out that the balance on the Chargepoint card, which is a prepaid system, had gone below $5 and he hadn't realized it to reload it. All went well after that learning moment. But what a kind human.

1b. Another ‘good humans exist’ moment: I like those truckers, this latest, a heavy equipment hauler, as was my dad, who move over if they're able, when they see me walking into town on the shoulder of Seacliff Drive, which is a busy road. When I raised my hand in thanks one day this month, I had a glimmer of connection when the guy raised his hand back! Which leads to another glimmer:

2.

3. I love this strip of land that includes a creek which empties into Lake Erie. It’s on one of my walking routes. I love going in here, being surrounded by nothing but green goodness that appeals to all five of my senses and even my sixth. I recently learned that the former owner of the farmland of which this used to be a part allocated this strip to be left as is, untouched. That gave me a deep glimmer indeed. 

Forest-bathing perfection

4. I like this article which contains a couple of links, one to a three-minute Youtube that explains the study, and the other to Tom Power's podcast, Q, an interview with Renée Fleming, soprano, made my heart sing. Pun not originally intended, but it's perfect. Music has been major part of my life since I was a child; I've played instruments, been a part of the school band and choir, church choir, teachers ensemble who sang a piece from Handel's Messiah, taught piano for many years, and music in grades K-6 for part of a school year when I was just getting back into teaching after staying home with my girls for a few years. I could go on. I've seen films and documentaries where the power of music has been shown; just this week I attended WIFF, the Windsor International Film Festival, to see The Choral, with Ralph Fiennes, highly recommend.

5. I love this white ash tree at the end of my street.

The leaf on the road caught my eye, and then I looked up...waaayyy up (à la Friendly Giant's voice, which both dates and situates me in Canada).

I am not really an orange fan, but with burgundy and yellow/gold...ahh!

6. I love this glimmer:

This was in the Halifax Public Gardens. I felt something go in th hood of my hoodie, and took it off. There was a beautiful red maple leaf. In my Canada hoodie!😁

7. I love the sun rising effect on the clouds one morning this month. Just last night we had a similar sky effect with the setting sun.

8. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll have seen the photo and videos of a monarch having her fill of nectar from the orange milkweed flowers. This seems later than I've seen them, though I saw a couple more after this, one of which was floating around in the yard just a few days ago! These plants are in one of the raised beds where I mixed vegetable and milkweed seeds and just did a broadcast-sowing. The milkweed are still going strong despite a light frost this week, so I hope they will still form seedpods as they did last year so I can plant them again next year.

October 20!

9. I loved having breakfast on the weekend with two very dear, longtime friends, Tammy and Anna. They were students in my grade 10 French class who babysat my girls from time to time. We've kept in touch for (gulp) 40 years. I was 25 when I was their teacher, and they were 15. One is a teacher and the other a director at Children's Aid in Windsor. Both are at the 'I am ready to retire' stage, though thinking they will work for another one to three years. It has impressed upon all three of us how age is malleable, that apparent chasms between age groups are not fixed, and morph constantly depending on multiple factors.

10. I just started this quarter's book for my University of Alberta Alumni book club, A Pair of Wings by Carole Hopson. It's about Bessie Coleman, a Black woman pilot who lived in the first quarter of the 20th century, who had to go to France to get her pilot's license because no one in the US would give her lessons. It's written by a Black woman pilot, and just nine pages in, I am totally captivated.

11. We started watching a new show on CBC, Locals Welcome, with Suresh Doss. We especially enjoyed the first two episodes, one on the Nigerian food scene in Toronto, and the second on South Asian food venues around Pearson International Airport. The glimmer here for me is that immigration is a good thing, enriching one's community in multiple ways, food being just one, but a big one. Think of all they add to our economy as well, not to mention skills and culture. Those who would blame and put down immigrants for issues such as housing and spots in post-secondary schools need look to the government, not the immigrants, and then try finding out a couple of immigration stories. Not a one is an easy or free ride. Most come with next to nothing: one restaurant owner arrived as a refugee from Nigeria, a young single mother with 10 cents to her name who now owns a couple of restaurants. That's not inherited, that's grit, determination and vision. North Americans, dare I say white people in general, do not have a clue about suffering. The Hadhads who own Peace by Chocolate, are another shining example of this spirit. And they give back in spades. I find most immigrants' stories show this, not in an ostentatious way, but humbly, often showing us, not telling us of ways they give back.