Why Even Short Get-a-ways Are Important

What I’ve been up too

So, it’s been a little while since I made a post, the past week just seemed to kinda escape me, I’m sure everyone can relate to that. A quick recap on my week goes like this, Tracy and I decided to take a quick two night impromptu trip up to Blue Mountains… more on that a little later. Spent some time outlining a new (updated) workout routine, trying to get distance running times down and keep that ticker working well. Of all the tests and scans I have had the cardiogram was by far the most positive one, showing no damage done to any parts of my heart, which can happen because of carcinoid syndrome linked to neuroendricrine cancer. So for me it’s a very important part of my life to keep my cardiovascular system performing as well as possible, as it should for everyone. To go along with that I’ve put some real time and practice into meditating… Yes it does take a lot of practice and so far it’s slowly working and the best book or for that matter any type of info about meditation I found has been “Meditation & Mindfulness” by Andy Puddicombe. A lot of my week was reading and taking notes in order to further my practice when it comes to this and it helps.

A Quick Getaway to Blue Mountain

If you’re unfamiliar with this spot in Ontario the Blue Mountains (resort, village) is about a 2 hour drive kind of northwest of Toronto, it’s a popular ski resort, along with many summer attractions as well. Golf being a big one along with lots of hiking spots available. We decided to stay in Barrie which is an hour away, the big difference is the price of a hotel room. We arrived late on Sunday, at the hotel, and decided to just have a nice dinner and rise early Monday to get up to Blue Mountain, now with all my years of living in Ontario I’ve never actually been to the Blue Mountain village/resort and it’s a little bigger then I imagined.

Finding our way to the scenic caves / hiking area was pretty easy, although there’s a lot of traffic in that area this time of year and it was Family Day. The hiking area, which we found out is Nordic skiing and snowshoeing during the winter was surprisingly not as busy as I thought it would be, we were quickly fitted for our snowshoes and on our way to the trails, the cost was only $105, not bad, includes rental and trail access. With map in hand we decided to go up to a lookout point is (zip line in the summer ) and from there head across the suspension bridge, that was a to do on Tracys check list. It took about 45 minutes give or take to get to the lookout and little did I know what my wife had in mind when we got there. Now we have been together a total of 27 years and I’m 48 now… so ya a long time, over the last couple years we’ve had our ups and downs, like everyone, both have had health scares and then throw in the fact of a cancer diagnosis I have, changed the way we live, watch as our son’s grow older and start their own lives and she has been my caregiver when I need it. Well… we set up our cameras, as we do a lot now when we’re out, to capture some content and memories (also have learned how important those are) when I walked back to where we wanted to start the video, when she asked me to stop, slightly puzzled I stopped when out of nowhere she got on one knee and asked me to re-marry her, along with some beautiful words (those are for me only). I have to admit I was shocked and overwhelmed with happiness all at once. Of course my answer was YES!

Well that set the tone for the rest of our little getaway and spent the next couple hours in great moods wondering the trails and taking in the sights. I’ve said before in past blogs about taking mental pictures and storing them away, well I have quite a few that I made room for that day. We made it to the suspension bridge and crossed it, while taking in the sights and capturing moments on film. All the while watching her cross that bridge in front of me with a smile on my face thinking “what a lucky guy I am to have someone so caring, loving and beautiful and now she wants to marry me again? She must be crazy!”

You know it’s been a good day and I’m in a great mood, if I don’t grumble too much about shopping, my least favourite thing in the world. After our snow shoeing trek we went into the village at Blue Mountain, it’s packed, but we had a nice dinner at Firehall Pizza and then wandered around a bit from shop to shop and stopped to get a few more pictures before the hour drive back to the hotel, which by the way I got for $65/night, not bad, eh? Sleep came easy that night after 5 hours of snow shoeing, even though I’m in descent shape that was still quite the work-out. The next morning came and we had plans to head back to Blue Mountain, but the rain had started and Tracy had planned for us to go skating, a no go for doing outside, so with freezing rain in the forecast we slept in a bit and then headed for home, not without a few shopping stops on the way back though… of course.

What I’ve Learned

I truly am I lucky guy and as I look at what I have just written there, it really makes me realize that even small outings, moments in time captured and locked away in my mind that I can look back on and know how great of a life I have. We don’t have much, material wise anymore, but what we do have is what really matters and it’s taken me a long time to understand it. We have love and understanding, we don’t always agree… but agree to listen. Our small family here, the four of us though not always together is always there for each other. We all need our time apart, it’s almost as important as our time together, in order to understand our own independence and also at the same time realize our dependance on each other as a family. I first hand have come to realize this now with the disease I have, I depend on others more now than I ever have, not so much physically yet, but emotionally more then anything is where I lean on those closest to me. I’m fortunate to have a great wife, two strong boys and a vast network of friends and family for that I’m forever grateful. Just a short outing can make you realize that, If you just stop and look hard enough.

A Short Conclusion

After a week of not writing it feels good to be back at it, now I have read a lot and been keeping up on my journaling. The main focus this week, after our trip was really trying to put some meditation into practice, after reading through the book mentioned above, I’m beginning to feel some results. It’s only really been 4 days of constantly sitting to meditate now, but I think I have noticed some results, small, but they are there. I’m starting to feel like I’m able to focus more on where I am in the moment and not constantly thinking about what else needs to get done or maybe somewhere else I’d rather be. Just accept where I am and be present in that moment, I’m starting to feel clearer, less cluttered with thoughts spinning out of control.

If your feeling that way give it a try, so far just 10 minutes a day. Everyone can spare 10 minutes! In this world now, how can you not?

I try not to be political wise in my posts, but I’ll just say one thing….Peace……Please!!!

I’ve never felt so fortunate.

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