marriage – Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie

August 16 – More Wedding Prep

August 16, 2021August 16, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in gratitude - August 2021

It is days away from my son’s wedding and I am getting ready for the drive and the big day. There is not that much I had to do – hotel reservations, haircut, outfit to wear, gift, that sort of thing. Husband Dan will get the Jeep ready. Son Dan and Amanda have their arrangements all made so there is little to be done for them.

Now, my biggest challenge is getting myself ready. Son Dan is a good man and we are delighted that we are able to go to celebrate his marriage to Amanda. Amanda is an amazing partner for him. She is funny and intelligent and caring and bursting with the energy necessary to keep up with Dan and their three children plus run her own small business! Most of all she is always saying that she is grateful for Dan, as we know he is for her. That is so huge for both of them and their relationship. Many couples focus on the faults of their partners. It is heartwarming to see a couple who constantly focus on each other’s strengths.

So, we are happy for them and we look forward to seeing them and celebrating with them. But, all is not roses. There are a couple of challenges going into this weekend.

The first being that we will be spending a weekend with my ex and his wife. To be honest, I do not have an issue with my ex being there. He is the father of my son (and his siblings). We have been divorced longer than we were married. Quite frankly the last few years of our marriage were so bad that I never wanted either of us to hold any lingering animosity or the such once it ended. I do have issues with his wife. For the past twenty years she has been on some mission to rewrite our history, discredit me, victimize my ex, and basically (with the help of my ex’s family) brainwash my sons into believing her version of our past.

The second challenge is that our Prime Minister called a federal election yesterday. This should hardly be a cause for alarm at a wedding party for a loving couple and their beautiful blended family. Except, this party is being held at a Saskatchewan/Alberta border city. Chances are, this will get ugly. I do not care that I do not agree with the politics of most of the people who will be there. I seldom, if ever bother to argue politics with others. But, there is a time a place and I would easily get upset if anyone decided that this would be a good time or place to start a political rant.

So…. I have my work cut out for me this week! I am digging way deep to fill my heart and soul with enough peace and love and happiness to get through this weekend with a positive mindset. I want to add to the joy of this weekend for Dan, Amanda and their family. I want to have a good weekend away with my husband Dan. I want to enjoy this very special weekend! 💞

I just finished a nice meditation, which I enjoyed in my little space under our big tree. I am feeling good and feeling surrounded by an energy of peace and contentment. Now I just have to build on these feelings and I will be the ‘Mother of the Groom‘ that I truly wish to be. 👍

Please wish me luck, and keep me in your thoughts and prayers. All will be truly appreciated! I don’t know how many can relate. This is one of those situations that may sound rediculous but that can be totally challenging to find oneself in. 🙄

**I have little Dom here this week to help me attain the right mindset.** **He definitely has the ‘peace’ vibe going right now.** 🥱

Take care, have a great day and see you tomorrow! 💞

Karma

April 15, 2021April 15, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in life

I have often wondered about Karma – “what goes around comes around?”. It generally seems that Karma is more a hit than a miss. I do something I think is super special and …. nothing. Not a thank-you, not a thumbs up from the universe, Nada! Then someone does something totally nasty to me and …. the universe beams down on them. All the while, Karma is nowhere to be found.

Then there are the other times – those times when I am just trucking along, totally oblivious to Karma. I am not trying to bargain with her or pressure her or sneak anything past her, and there she is!

In the past few days, Karma has just been there! It started off in such a simple manner that it hardly seemed ‘Karma‘ worthy.

Before we received our recent heavy dump of fresh snow, Kat and I had resumed our daily walk. Dan had been joining us. After a few days, the walks started to bother him – a lot! Dan is a big man. He has been working in a steel plant, walking miles and miles, on cement floors, wearing heavy steel toed and steel plate metguard work boots for decades. His feet have taken a beating. Since he has been off of work for a few months now, the feeling seems to be coming back to them, making things even worse than usual.

I knew Dan had foot issues. I knew he had a number of thick callouses and problems with his nails. It is one thing to know it and another to really know it. One day Dan was saying how much his feet always bother him and it just hit me how much discomfort he was in. I started wondering if I could do anything to help.

The next day we went shopping and I looked around for foot care products. We came home with some Dr. Teal’s Epson salts. At home, I found a rubber basin and some foot lotion. That night, I brought everything out and asked Dan if we could try soaking his feet. He was more than willing. Now, this has become a thing we do. Every night I fix a warm basin of water with Epsom salts, he soaks his feet, one at a time, and as they come out I dry them and massage them with foot cream.

Our evening ritual takes less than an hour from start to finish. Dan’s feet started looking and feeling better by the third night in. It was amazing.

What was even more amazing, was the unexpected arrival of Karma. As Dan’s feet have been healing, I have found it pleasant and relaxing to work our way through our evening routine. It is like our own little spa date every night. As a bonus, my hands are smoother and softer than they have been for years, the achy stiffness has been melting away, and my dexterity is improving daily. Thank you, Karma!

Keep safe and have a nice day. 💞

Beauty 2021

September 28, 2020September 28, 2020 by annemariedemyen, posted in family

Every year I choose one special focus for the year – something I want to strive for. I have been doing this for several years now and have worked my way through love, happiness, and peace to name a few.

I find positive affirmations that are relevant to my focus for the year and I copy them into a journal every morning. Throughout the day, during the ups and downs, I try to stay on ‘focus’. At night, when I go to bed, I try to relax and keep my focus in mind as I drift off to sleep. (That doesn’t always work for me – I am usually asleep before I hit the pillow.🙄)

Typically, I pick a focus for the upcoming year later in the current year and I generally have to spend some time contemplating my choices before I decide on THE one. Last week, it just came to me. 💡 I decided that for 2021 my focus would be on BEAUTY. I knew that would make the perfect focus for next year. As a bonus, I thought it would be especially fun to find moments of beauty to share on my blog.

Yesterday, as luck would have it, my son Dan called. Apparently, we will be kicking off 2021 with the perfect event to celebrate beauty.

On December 31st, we will be celebrating the long awaited marriage of Dan and Amanda. It will no doubt be a beautiful ceremony – which Gabby, Lucas and Cason are naturally to be a part of.

It has been four years since Dan and his daughter Gabby and Amanda and her son Lucas joined forces to become one family. Two years later, they were blessed by the arrival of Cason. It has been a long wait for them to be able to make it official but their time has finally arrived!

There could not be a better way to end 2020 and begin 2021, year of BEAUTY, than by celebrating this beautiful occasion.