Just a thought… Words are free. It’s how you use them that may cost you. [KushandWizdom]

Welcome to a brand new, shortened week as we embark on the second half of October! It’s hard to believe that we’ll soon be seeing poppies and wreaths, enjoying Christmas decorations and hearing ads with bells in the background.

This year seems to be just steamrolling by, but I guess that’ll happen when you spend six weeks of your summer in a treatment centre in what was probably the most productive and meaningful period of time I have ever spent on myself.

So, did you and yours have a turkey dinner? We did – sort of! Still just hovering above our lives before we head east again – fitting in appointments, trying to stay on top of things – we accepted our friends’ offer to have “Thanksgiving lite” and ordered pizzas with a theme to fit the day! Here’s the ad from a very creative shop not far from us…

Cool, huh? Talk about thinking “out of the box” – literally – I mean, this place has a pulled pork and bacon pizza called the Notorious P.I.G.! Then there’s the P.I.G. Mac (which combines the Notorious P.I.G. with mac ‘n’ cheese). I’d pass on the latter, but I just love their creativity alone. Thankfully, their food is pretty darned good, too.

A pizza with turkey, gravy sauce on its thick crust, local veggies and a bit of stuffing in there is surprisingly good; to my taste buds, it was similar to a turkey sandwich, only warm and with a nice layer of cheese (without the herb sprig seen in the picture; perhaps they ran out). Nothing replaces a good ol’ fashioned turkey dinner with all of the traditional side dishes, but paired with that super creamy squash soup and a salad, it made for a really neat meal. 

I have to admit that Rob and I were feeling a little proud of ourselves for having our suitcases unpacked (although his is open in another bedroom awaiting next week’s trip) and three loads of laundry done before 24 hours had passed since our landing at YYJ. It’s the small victories, right?

Our suitcases, however, are showing the strain of travel. One has a severe punt in the corner; the other’s expansion zipper is broken – the pull tab broke off somewhere between here and there. We found out from WestJet that you have to report the damage within 7 days (it had happened on our way east) so we’re out of luck. Just a word to the wise.

Oh, and I also had a fairly new NAOT shoe blow out its side seams halfway through the trip. It’s irreparable. Is the universe telling me to stay put? Maybe. Molly seems pretty nonchalant about the whole travel thing; she loves staying home with our friend and just runs the house as usual. 

Our time in Collingwood, where I emceed and then wrapped up a gathering of the Ontario Association of Cemetery and Funeral Professionals with my “Reclaiming Joy” keynote speech, was beyond wonderful.

I learned from, laughed and connected with hundreds of people and, while I found myself completely spent by the time we pointed our rental car towards YYZ, it made me realize that the path Rob and I are on of sharing our message of hope and how to deal with grief is the right one.

In just over a week we board another plane to Ontario for a number of charity events (and a few paid ones to make the trip fiscally possible) from Rotary International to Markham Stouffville Hospital, from The Lighthouse for Grieving Children to Heart House Hospice – with more stops in between – and I hope that if you’re interested, you’ll be able to attend one of the open talks. (See the What’s Up section on my home page if you want more information on how we can meet up.)

So here we are, you and I, ready to go for another week. What will it bring? I can guarantee you one thing: I will resume my promise not to comment on anything political in social media.

On Friday, I cavalierly commented on a post by a favourite cousin pertaining to a situation in her home province. When my intentions were misconstrued, I simmered and stewed all weekend fearing she was angry with me. Rob and I don’t have much family and I don’t want to alienate those people we love and who love us, so it hurt my heart to think that we had, however inadvertently. 

So the lesson to me as we get closer to next week’s election is just to keep my mouth shut (and fingers still) and remember, to paraphrase the words of the “Serenity Prayer,” to accept the things I cannot change, have the courage to change the things I can and seek the wisdom to know the difference.

I’ll make my voice heard by voting, as should we all. But my gosh, aren’t we lucky our federal campaigns run for weeks and not years? How much can anyone take?

Have a gentle few days and I’ll return here on Thursday with a short video Mike Cooper and I shot. It’s filled with laughter – something I think we can all use.