Happy Things Friday: 6 March

OH MY WORD, FRIENDS. THIS IS MY LAST DAY IN CANADA.

(I know some people dislike all caps, but I have a feeling I’m going to be leaning on this technique heavily in today’s post.)

IT IS GO TIME. (Almost.)

I’m… mostly ready. All the dithering about what to take, all the strategizing to use up the odds and ends of this and that, all the prioritizing of chores, all the setting and attending of appointments has led to this moment. The suitcases are packed. The fridge, freezer, and cupboards are essentially empty. The sheets are washed. Teeth have been checked by dentists, hair has been cut. And we have hours—not days—before we set off on our big trip.

Eeks.

TAXES/BOOKWORK

To be clear, the Happy Thing isn’t taxes… although, because of instalment payments, we’re supposed to be getting a refund both personally and corporately, which is nice. Mostly I’m just relieved corporate taxes are done.

Our long-time accountant had a medical emergency before Christmas and I had to shift everything to a brand new accounting firm! It felt daunting at first, but things have gone remarkably smoothly.

Personal taxes are next. I’m still waiting on one final document (I stepped down from my university gig—after 16+ years—last August, which means I’m no longer an employee and can’t access my T4 digitally anymore… so I’m waiting for that to be mailed out).

Anyhoo. Things are moving.

I did some of the monthly bookwork for our company through July. I can set up pre-payments for certain things I usually handle monthly, so that’s done and off my list. It added pressure to my plate now, BUT it means I literally won’t have to think about some backend tasks until we get back to Canada.

JOHN, PACKING GURU

John is an incredible husband and father for many reasons, but today I would be remiss to not highlight his near-magical packing abilities.

To be fair, he sometimes travels 100+ days in a year, so he knows how to prep a suitcase efficiently.

He helped me finalize what clothes to take and then HE PACKED MY LUGGAGE FOR ME.

It is a work of art, my friends. A work of folded cotton and polyester art.

BELLE’S BIRTHDAY PARTY

Lots of Happy Things lumped together here.

• I always quasi-dread (in the little years, I outright dreaded them, no quasi about it) birthday parties. There is pressure and there are logistics. Even though it’s worlds easier now (Belle managed all the invites and everyone RSVP’d to her, not me), there were still things to think through. And it’s done! And it was a big success! Hooray.
• She has so many friends. She had nine girls over and could have invited another dozen. I had… two friends at her age?? It’s so fun to hear them talking and laughing, and I try not to take my kids’ friendships for granted.

• We bought most of the food pre-fab. I cut up veggies and fruit (she specifically asked for strawberries, and they happened to be on an amazing sale!), but we ordered pizza and a cake and I bought two bottles of pop (also on sale). Done.

HOT SHOWERS

I was feeling stressed and tired and ALL THE THINGS, and a few long, hot showers did wonders for my muscles and mental health.

HEARTFELT GOODBYES

I felt so loved this week. I lost track of the number of people who messaged me to wish us well on our trip. We’re going to miss people, and we’re going to be missed. The latter is a very special feeling/realization.

A friend texted me a picture from our church’s midweek youth group when the pastor was praying for our family. My heart swelled. THESE ARE MY PEOPLE. I am going to miss our church—which truly feels like an extension of home—so much. But what a blessing to have something that wonderful to miss, right?!!

EAGLES

Another thing I often take for granted? How many bald eagles I get to see! I would say it’s extremely rare for me to go more than a few days without seeing an eagle. They really are majestic birds. Many days I see them multiple times… if I remember to look up.

I’ve been making a mental note of how frequently I spot eagles and each time I do I reflect on Isaiah 40:31 (NET) — But those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired.

Thinking about that verse WHILE ACTUALLY WATCHING AN EAGLE SOAR ABOVE ME is an awe-inspiring experience.

BONUS HAPPY THINGS

• Sunshine!
• FIG collection (officially, at least) is over. I still track gratitude almost every day, but it feels good to have wrapped up a “challenge” that was a bit more formal.
• A well-timed nap. See above re: stress.
• Time with Joy. I was determined to fit in lots of visits with her this week, and we did just that. In true friend form, she came to my house to help me with chores.

• Snail mail. A Valentine’s card from an aunt and a postcard from Nicole!
• My Instant Pot. It has come in clutch lately. I made pulled pork and honey garlic chicken this week, which conveniently used up A LOT of things in my fridge and freezer.

• Indy has been bitten by the chess bug. When there’s no one around to play with him… he plays by himself!
• Can I say sunshine again??? It makes such a difference in my mood.
• Checking things off my to-do list. We’ve had so many items to deal with ahead of leaving, and it is deeply satisfying to be down to the last few tasks.

• Watching Indy with his bestie. They’ve spent a lot of time together lately (this friend was away for all of January!). They’ve been chums since preschool! Indy had to finish a writing project early (so he can submit it before our trip), and his friend read the handwritten draft Indy needed to type up for his final submission. They worked SO hard together—tweaking sentence structure and comma placement. It was the sweetest thing.
• Increased daylight. Coming out of a store while running errands at 6:30 and seeing a beautiful sunset is another thing I could easily take for granted.

• One last trip to the ski hill.

That’s a wrap for today. I’ll be popping in and out of the blog with regular updates, and I’ll continue to post over at Patreon every Tuesday and Thursday while I’m away.

Happy weekending! I’ll “see you” in Europe.

Your turn:

• Tell me a few Happy Things from your week!
• What’s your dream birthday cake: flavour, decoration, etc.
• Who was your childhood best friend and where did you meet each other?