A Wonderful Roller Coaster Ride

Ok, I am squeezing in a blog entry mainly for a chance to regroup , process and wind down before I wind back up again. I have never liked roller coasters. I like watching my brother in law Ronnie on one, as it is possibly the most entertaining thing to hear him scream, but I stay clear of them. But in comparison to this past weekend a roller coaster ride seems fitting and I was usually at the very top. Meg came home on Thursday which I expected but unexpectedly Burton arranged for Emma and Paige to come as well. They walked in the living room as quiet as mice and surprised Monkey. The hugging and expressions of joy went on for quite some time. Burton had said he had a few surprises up his sleeve. The first one had been getting Tony to fix our outside light. That may seem trivial to some but not to me. Meg was coming back after dark as she was meeting friends in the city for supper and I was thrilled that there would be a light on the veranda waiting for her. I tear up just thinking about it which probably means I am over tired. So the girls were the next surprise. Seeing he was still so excited about his surprises I began to worry about what was coming next. I feared it involved him singing to the musical parts of my planned readings. I started Saturday with my first market day of the season. It was wonderful. I sold 23 books and got to talk to lots of people. In retrospect I may have been better off staying home and conserving my talking energy but I managed to keep the reserves full enough to make it to 1:00 in the morning. Next we welcomed about 40 friends and family members to a pot luck at our house at suppertime. Tons of delicious food, lots of laughs and beautiful kids running around.( a beautiful big brown pig meandering through the yard as well) She was a bit hit with most of the kids. We had the unveiling and dedication of a sign ( Skip's Route) by our dear friend Skip. That is a long and hilarious story for another entry. Then Burton dropped his next surprise. Emma, Lilah and Burton carried the large hemlock slab across the yard and presented it to me. This slab which will later be made into a bench was artfully designed by my dear friend Crystal. She carved the names of each family member along with a loving moniker for each one. It was astounding and will long be a family treasure. Then came the book launch. It was truly amazing. I will take the time to write about it in more detail later but I must just say that over one hundred people came to the Legion and it couldn't have gone better. I have so many people to thank and acknowledge. Burton did not pull off his final surprise which I will also elaborate on later. Then we celebrated our 40th anniversary and Ashlie's 26th birthday. I am getting ready to leave for Nova Scotia for a week of Hackmatack Children's Choice Award readings and celebration. Another roller coaster and so for now with my feet firmly planted on the ground I will get myself ready while revelling in my full heart and my abundance of blessing.