EARLY MORNING EARLY THINKING

There is a pleasure in rising early with a good start to the day. Savouring that first coffee. Listening to the birds sing. Waiting for others to awake. Time to think. Read the paper. Do the sudoko. Start a puzzle. Start a load of laundry. Saturdays in the summer are joyous times. Long days to bask in the sun or sit in the shade. Afternoon naps by the pool, the lake or any favourite place.

Watching the sun rise in the east. Saying a little prayer of thanks for the day. What opportunities will the day bring for us?

A JULY SUMMER GARDEN 2015

I love these summer flowers. Grow tall! A nice contrast to the green in the garden. And the weeds are diminished. The summer garden needs lots of work. I found a great clear the path spray which has diminished the growth in most of my paths. With the rain today, I must wait for a warmer day so the spray does not get washed away. The vegetables are coming in leaps and bounds. Our oregano crop is plentiful. Two types of zucchini - the regular green and a yellow one.

The cone flowers are abundant too. So durable in all kinds of weather, a welcome addition to any Canadian garden. How is your garden? Are you enjoying it?

LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO BE IN A HURRY

Waiting in line to make my purchase at a children's store, the clerk was serving another customer. She looked at me and said I will be with you shortly. I replied without thinking, it's okay I am not in a hurry. Then I added- life is too short to be in a hurry all the time! It made me think that the best moments in life are not rushed. Taking our time to do activities brings more meaning. Mistakes are made when done quickly! Just relaxing and doing something methodically and with pleasure does bring more joy! I usually ask where is everyone rushing?

PAN AM SWIM EVENT IN SCARBOROUGH

Taking in some swimming at the Pan Am Aquatics Centre at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus July 14 was a fun day for me. Starting out at 0650 in the morning to go to the subway at Finch with my daughter to avoid one bus ride made it a long day. Wearing my red Canada games Tshirt as well as a white skirt and white blouse, I looked like I was going to an event with the early morning work crowd. I overheard two men in suits discussing what events they would be attending. Transferring at Bloor to take the Bloor/Danforth line out to the Kennedy Station to take the 198 rocket express to the campus was a memorable journey. I have not gone that far on that line for awhile. I actually had a Children's Aid job in Scarborough years ago so do remember the area and the roads. The Centre was about 30 minutes from the station.

About a 5 minute walk from the bus stop. I stopped near the front to help a family of 10 have a group picture. Knowing the photographer rarely gets in a picture, it is always a kind thing to do to let him get in it too. Chatted with them, they had come from Puerto Rico for the games.

Lots of signage and the usual security checks. No food, no drinks, small bags.

All the volunteers wear orange shirts and are always available to help. I spoke to one young volunteer about her experience. She was loving it! Good to hear!  Feeling a little hungry from the early start, I bought a Jamaican meat patty and a banana from one of the vendors supporting the event. The patty-$3.00. The banana-$2.00! Good thing I was alone or the food bill would have cost more than the tickets.

The swimmers were doing practice lengths when I arrived poolside 0900. The event started at 1000. The stands filled slowly but not full at any point. This was just a preliminary session with several heats for the various categories. The women and men's free style, women and men's butterfly, and the free style women and men's relay teams were the main events. One Canadian won his heat and is one of our better swimmers. Since I could only see the board on a slant, thought I should look up his name at a later time. He had a small contingent in the crowd who looked like the Mom, aunts and grandmother waving the Canadian flag wildly during his practice session as well as his win.

There were many Canadians in the crowd so it was great to see so much red in the stands. The Americans and Brazilians had some strong swimmers. There were a few South American flags in the audience too. Finishing at about 1120, it was time to head home. Catching the 198 it was busy with Pan Am people as well as students and others going to work. Since it was near lunch time at the Kennedy station, I bought some Swedish gummie berries and another patty. Ya Man patty that was supposed to be spicy but it was not. The subway took me back to the Yonge/University line which took me to Finch- the north end. Caught the express VIVA bus to Richmond Hill. To encourage people to use public transit, all the transit at any of the communities hosting the venues was free. So I did give a loonie at two different places to the musicians that are allowed to play their instruments as a kind of pan handling job. If I had to pay for transit it would have been close to $20.00 for the day. Parking would have been about the same. A long day, but there are times it is worth experiencing different parts of Toronto as a community person. Attending this event was city travel. So my walk to and from work is always more rewarding as I think of people taking transit every day. It was a part of my previous life to sit on buses and subway cars. Doing it occasionally is an adventure however and time for inner reflection and contemplation. Actually giving me some ideas and themes for future posts on my blog.

One last comment on the Aquatics is that the facility will be used for future competitions and training. As much of the money to host the games added a legacy feature to it. One never knows perhaps a grandchild could become a swimmer!

STAYCATIONS ARE FUN-TAKING IN PAN AM EVENTS

Summer has so many opportunities to enjoy local activities. Yes I would love to be on some tour in Europe or Australia. Just not happening. So enjoying the Pan Am fun which is here in the GTA-Greater Toronto Area has filled a need. The Equestrian Events are being held at the Centre in Palgrave- a small community on Highway 50 which is north-west of Toronto. About an hour or more for Torontonians depending where they originate their journey and about a 40 minute drive from Richmond Hill for this writer.

It was a good review of my French and Spanish as all the announcements are in three languages!  The literature in all the brochures has the languages as well.

The morning crowds were slowly building as the Dressage Event lasted until 6 pm. Needing to be bussed from the Albion Hills Conservation Area north of Bolton meant a good early start. Picked up my granddaughter and friend by 0730 to get to the park for spectator parking by 0800 then bussed to  the event by 0820. Time to look at the event vendors- horsey stuff, use the johnny on the spot and buy some water and goodies. Security does not allow any food or drinks. So sucked up the over inflated price for the food and drinks even though water was available for free if one brought their empty container! There was a booth to buy some PAN AM memorabilia so bought some more pins, stickers and a program. Adolph and I already had two tshirts courtesy of my daughter.  The two little 10 year old girls go to Horse Camp each year so Nana felt the event would be interesting for them. Well it was! Lots of red and white in the crowd. The Brazilians were noisy and fun! Venezuela will give the Canadian team a run for their money! Since the bus ride back to our car was in the middle of the day, we had it to ourselves. The girls sat at the back and giggled loudly at every bump! I chatted with the bus driver.

Overall, I found the horses and riders to be wonderful to watch doing their routine. Lots of applause from every country from the crowd could be heard. The volunteers dressed in orange were very helpful. Especially Derek, a supervisor who helped us find our way back to the bus. A change from work as it was with people out to enjoy themselves. A pleasure to be with my granddaughter and friend was relaxing in itself. The country drive along the King side road to Bolton was very soothing. The girls commented that we were the only car on the road for most of the trip. As a polite Canadian, I thanked many of the volunteers for well- volunteering for the games!

PAN AM GAMES BEGIN IN THE GTA-WELCOME BIENVENUE BIENVIENIDO

Organizing the Canadian flags for the events to be attended by various family members including myself is fun. I was teasing Adolph- no Italian flags this time. Sonya was at a store for games merchandize and a group from Brazil had bought a bunch of stuff- yeah Brazil! Hopefully the people of the GTA and Ontario will give our visitors a warm welcome in the spirit of sport! I will be attending 4 events in different venues so hope to have a small feel of the activities. Art and entertainment is happening throughout the city so there is lots for the visitors and the locals! Yes, I know- Adolph says there is better coverage on TV but where is the fun in that! Welcome! Bienvenue! Bienvenido! The languages of many participants and all the literature includes these 3 languages. So hello to our side of the world and the people from it! I'll be the enthusiastic Canadian with my little flag!

PATIENCE CAN BE LEARNED

Patience is one of those virtues that requires well patience. In our fast paced society wanting instant results but taking a step back and waiting for results can be more rewarding. Good things do come to those who wait. Think about a discussion that is heated. Jumping in too soon can bring angry words. Looking for the right job. Looking for the house in the location you want. Can patience be learned? Yes it can. Many counselling, management and conflict resolution courses use the many concepts of patience. Thinking and calculating how to respond to a situation. Walking away from a difficult situation so your emotional intelligence allows you to assess the situation better. Listening and truly listening to what others are saying. Fighting the big battles but not the little skirmishes. Children try our patience. Bad drivers try our patience. Huffing and puffing people waiting in lines try our patience. How to stop and not react takes incredible patience. I often visualize in a situation of planting my two feet on the floor and just stopping and not reacting. Deflating another person's over reaction helps diffuse situations. Oh yes I  have had my moments of angry outbursts that are regretted later so learning from them has taught me about patience. Patience also teaches us to stay away from angry, toxic people! Finding quiet moments to recharge your quiet energy! Oh patience! What a virtue!