48hrs! ...givertake a few

well....in 48hrs givertake a few....our beachboy will arrive home for a week!! Its March Break here again, and we are all very excited to have our boy, home again after a long time away!

But also this week was the 48hrs givertake a few that we were disconnected, standing, praying and willing our fangdangled machine to turn back on. It didn't...it died! So there we were, facing the reality that despite the fact we only started our online adventure xmas 2006, we were now junkies....to the poker tables, the flickr, the friends. But even more....we had come to rely on the fangdangled machine for much more! Our business, our family, in some way or another were tied to the damn machine.

So, now, here I sit, adjusting to a new keyboard, staring into the screen before me, wondering....how long will it take for me to discover....the webcam, the ins and outs, the new fangdangled machine...the hp notebook. (i will be googling it later!)

But it also occurred to me during those 48hrs givertake a few...what about my blog? I was just gearing up for a few new posts, filling my mind with blog'n trying to fill in the space filled with legal terms, and the rule of law. So today sorta two blogs in one....

Small Towns in Canada

When I was a child heading up hwy10 heading towards the 'city' of Brampton, a weekend ritual where we would spend the weekends at my Aunt's watching movies, and hanging out, I would know when we hit the hill, and I would see the lights...I would know one day..I would go to the lights, I would hit the big city, leaving the small one street town behind...and never look back. I did leave the small town for a while, finding the lights, the city, the life I thought I was looking for, spending a decade wondering thru the lights, different cities, different towns, still returning to the small town I grew up in, thankful it was there.

Now many moons later....I really could care less if I ever saw those lights again. I have returned to the small town life, and replaced those city lights, with a sky lit up with stars..the bright lights that make me smile, the clear skies that let the light shine thru.

I have come to appreciate the small towns even more now! Appreciate the community that will turn to help out, will stop to ask if you R ok, that will rally around those in need...I am proud to say...I am a small town girl.

This past weekend, back in my home town a benefit was thrown, by the local volunteer fire department for one of their own. A family man, I also call my cousin...Jimmy. At forty years old, Jimmy has been diagnosed with ALS. A father to three boys, and a Carpenter by trade, he now faces the reality that he will not be there pitching the football to his boys in highschool, he will soon be unable to jump in the big red truck with his fellow volunteers to battle a blaze, or rescue someone from a car. Instead he and his family prepare for their future, new medicines, unable to work, and the fact that one day this disease may in fact debilitate Jimmy completely. The fire department saw one of their own in need, one of their own dealing with this terrible diagnosis, but also the red tape and various hoops the hardworking family man was forced to jump thru, to get the compensation, or the assistance his family needs to survive. Saturday night my cousin Jimmy was overwhelmed by the support, the smiles, the friends that turned up. The event sold out and a great success...providing this family with a little comfort, in their time in need. I was unable to make the event in person, but in spirit I was there standing with my family, with my cousin Jimmy...with that hometown pride that said...we are here for you! I love that!

Yup in the small towns.....

can you spin your tires in the winter strugging to make it up a hill, only to get there to see the big ass truck that passed you along the way is at the top, waiting, making sure your little car with the crapsucking tires made it up the hill.

can you be down to your last ten bucks, without money for the damn machine charges, or bank charges, only to be told be the local liquor store lady..."just buy a .99 bag here...and I can cash back the rest...no extra charge"

when your fangdangled machine dies....your neighbours phone around, track down what they can...and offer you their own machine for use if need be

small town life has its ups and downs, like everything else in the world today, but this is one Loony Mama that couldn't imagine living anywhere else!