i dare you...

I wasn't really paying attention, when the driver started to slowdown. I noticed that other cars were slowing down too. What is going on? what has happened? Is there an accident? Is someone hurt? Is there a flea circus that we should stop at, and I just missed the sings? Are there people standing in the middle of the road, with their car door wide open (also taking up precious driving lane space), looking at bears on the side of the road? What is going on?

Then I saw it.; it was huge! No wonder everyone was slowing down. I have not seen anything like it, so close, and with such a rack! It took my breath away, for a moment. That elk was huge! As we opened our window, as any good local does, he called out. It was just as if we were on a National Geographic special, "When elk meet the road, and the reaction to man".

The elk slowly strutted down the middle of the highway; even if you weren't going to stop, you had to. Oh, wait, maybe not. That car looks like it is going to keep... nope it stopped too. A little too close to the elk (I named him Brad). Brad leaned away from the car then took one step in towards the car. He lowered his head, which contains a serious set of antlers, and threatened the car. It was way cool; mostly because it wasn't my car being challenged! It looked like Brad would have left his mark on that car, more so puncture holes in the hood of the vehicle. The car backed up a bit. Brad stood up. Held his head high. Slowly going about HIS business, at HIS pace, as HE pleased. He casually, and very in control of each movement he made, walked across the road and into the trees. By Brad...

During the rut bull elk are not in a good mood, as the small car quickly found out. They have something to prove, to the other males and all of the females, and is doing things his way, as the presence of people does not effect Brad's behaviour any more- if it ever did.

One sentence sums up Brad's (and all other bull elk in the fall) attitude...

"I dare you..."

I recommend that you don't take him up on this dare... but what ever floats your boat... good luck!

going home

Tonight reality hit me; I'm going home!

Ok, I am not going crazy. I know you are thinking, "Jody, you are at home". True. But not, at the same time.

I am a Lower mainland transplant from the world's largest hamlet, Sherwood Park, Alberta. My name is Jody and I am an Albertan. "Hi Jody"... :)

I have now claimed the beauty of BC as the place I want to stay, but there is just something special about the town you grew up in, if you liked it that is, and I did!

I miss the snow, the refinery pollution blowing over my community, the leg. grounds, skating outdoors- on ponds, skiing down hills that take more time to ride the T-bar back up then it did to fly down the hill, the traffic circles (not roundabouts), and people watching at WEM. I treasure the memories, and facebook allows me to reconnect with friends from the past, so I get to go back via computer transactions. It is not the same and that is not what I am talking about.

I am going home twice in the next 30 days! One trip is to hear a world renowned speaker, John Maxwell. I will also be reconnecting with old friends! The second trip is a road trip through Alberta, 7 days in length! Plenty of time to see the nephews, brother, in-laws, friends, and my old stompin' grounds. But the best part of the second trip is the fact that I get to sing with the Black-gospel Choir I used to sing with!! We are the whitest "black" choir you have ever seen! (I will post videos when I get home... we are good too!) We are having a reunion weekend; it was 10 years ago that we last performed together. Singing with the choir was one of my favorite memories from when I was in high school. It was so much fun! I made great friends, and I was part of an amazing piece of history!

I have known about this weekend for about a year, but now it sunk in, I'm going home to sing! I was stoked when I heard about it too, but now it is only a few weeks away!

I truly hope you have the same fondness for pieces of your past; people, places, smells, views that get you stoked about revisiting; there is nothing like it!

I would love to hear about your home town. What made it so great?!

(PS- no I don't have asthma! :)

time passes

Have you ever had a day in your life that altered how you thought about life? How you cherish the gift of life? How you chose to live your life?

This day five years ago I started to see life differently; I was at a friend's place having dinner and talking about a children's program when the phone rang. I didn't pay attention to the conversation, as I pretended to not eavesdrop. Then he hung-up the phone, and my heart broke. I had just chatted with him on MSN a few days previously. Only two weeks before that we said good-bye and had talked about adventures we were going to take. My best friend was gone, killed in a car accident the night before. My world all of a sudden stopped; it would never be the same; there was a brand-new hole in my heart.

Our friends are not supposed to die! I was only 25! It is not how life is supposed to happen!

It took time to lessen the hurt. It took time for me to learn that life can change at a moment's notice, any time. It took time to feel like I could breathe again.

But that was then, and this is now. This evening I sit in my apartment, with my lap-top, with a life that has moved on, and not as it was five years ago; with a life that is changed because of this day five years ago, the day my friend took his last breath and felt his last heart beat.

I now am a business owner, and a success! I have amazing friends, a great peer-group, amazing relationship with my parents, and most of all I have grown up.

I challenge you, when you realize that time has passed you too, to look back with peace in your heart, no matter what the past is; God's peace will set you free. Breathe. Remember the good times and the lessons learned, it is the memories that we can take with us, that mould us and in turn determine how we live our life...

It is not the breaths we take, but rather the moments that take our breaths away!

Live life with passion, with conviction, with pizzaz! It is way too short to miss one moment!