Living the cottage life, Alaskan style!

Friday, February 15, 2013

Valentines Day

Yes, I know that Valentine's Day is over for another year but I've been giving it a lot of thought these past few weeks and it's still on my mind. 

My parents had a rough marriage.  They seemed so unhappy and miserable and you often wondered why they stayed married.  They fought something horrible and often times it was ugly. 

Yet, after they passed away and us kids were cleaning the estate, we stumbled upon the most astonishing sight.  Tucked away high up in the broom closet was a stash of old Valentine candy boxes.  Covered with dust and grime from being stored for so many years, they sat with untold love and promises. 

They were beautiful boxes.  With ribbon and flowers adorning the top of it.  Many boxes were covered with felt or satin.  Even in this old stage of their life, they were still beautiful boxes.  And my mom had kept them, through all the fights, all the ugliness that was their marriage.

Us kids went through the house and picked items we wanted to keep in the family but no one picked the Valentine boxes.  It greatly saddens me that us kids didn't see through all the fighting and our perceived opinion of their marriage, to recognize that there was love.  And lots of it.  My dad was a romantic.  My mom cherished his gifts.  I wish I had grabbed those dusty, dirty hearts and kept that part of their marriage alive rather than the memories of all their fighting. 

Later!
Nancy

Sunday, February 10, 2013

How many times have I stopped and started blogging again over the years....  I have to say, I miss it when I'm not posting. 

I've been writing most of my life.  When life was tough, I resorted to putting my thoughts down in a journal.  One journal led to two and then another and another.  Over the years, I had quite the accumulation of my thoughts on paper.  And a lot of them weren't anything I wanted to share with my kids so when they grew up, I tossed most of them.  I regretted doing it... as it was my life.... but so much of it was my married life of which wasn't good.  I didn't want my kids to read about it.

Then I found blogging and fell in love with it!  What I find interesting about it all is that I hate to talk.  I'm not much a talker.  I don't pick up the phone and call people.  I don't like groups of people.  I don't find myself amusing, interesting, or especially intelligent, yet I can usually find something interesting to blog about! I feel like I'm a totally different person when I blog as the words just flow out of me.  Go figure. 

I might try blogging again.  I have alot to report since my last post so very long ago.  I need an avenue to express myself and this fits.  Plus, it's a lot faster than keeping a written journal! 

I hope you come along for the ride and see what we're up to here in the Far North.  Maybe you'll find our lives amusing... maybe pathetic!  Maybe you'll have a good laugh or two over the antics of our babysitting career....  This is our life and I wouldn't change it. 

Later
Nancy