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talktodiana

~ Igniting the power and passion in others…

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Tag Archives: grateful

It’s Not What You Do, It’s How You Do It

11 Sunday Jun 2017

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion, My Stories

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

200 words, Alberta, Calgary, Conviction, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, embarassment, good work ethic, grateful, growing up, Guilt, hard work, humility, integrity, joy, kindness, life, memories, passion, pride

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’

Martin Luther King Jr.

When I moved to Calgary in 1990, I accepted a housekeeping job at a hospital.

I was so embarrassed by this job, when people asked what I did, I said I was an environmental engineer, which is what they called my position, and then quickly changed the subject before they could ask what that was.

I hated working there, so I cut corners and consistently scored low when my employer did surprise quality control checks.

But I started to feel guilty. So I decided to be grateful that I had a job, many did not, and I cleaned each room as if the next patient was Jesus.

A funny thing happened.

I began to take pride in my work.

I did little extras for patients.

I consistently scored 100% when my employer did surprise quality control checks.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

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Thanksgiving in Rosalind

12 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, My Stories, Out and About

≈ 28 Comments

Tags

Alberta, Calgary, Camrose Alberta, Canada, children, daughter, Diana Schwenk, driving, family, friends, fun, generosity, grateful, growing up, laughter, living in the moment, love, parents, Relationships, Rosalind, thankful, Thanksgiving, turkey

010309_0800_3739_nsls

Just how great was Thanksgiving in Rosalind, Alberta?

Glad you asked!

I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about driving to Rosalind by myself on Saturday because many of the roads I needed to travel on are so barren and have no cell service. But in spite of the cold, fog with iffy visibility and snow, it was a rather pleasant drive.

Seeing as this was my first visit there, Michaela met me at the Rosalind School parking lot so I could follow her on the gravel secondary highway eight-hundred-and-something to hers and Werner’s long driveway about 1 kilometer from the school.

We turned the corner on the driveway at around 4:30PM revealing the cutest little farm-house and property. It really is too bad that it got cold and snowed so early this year, I would have loved to have walked around the property a bit. But it was that wet kind of cold, you know? The kind that chills you to the bone in just minutes.

Anyway, after settling in, enjoying a nice cup of coffee and playing a few rounds of Macke Been, Werner drove us to the Brew House in Camrose for dinner. After dinner, we headed back to the farm-house, played a few more games, chatted about this and that and turned in early. I slept like a baby!

The next morning, Michaela made us a wonderful breakfast before starting all the food prep and cooking for the Thanksgiving dinner. We all helped out here and there, but for the most part, Michaela had it all under control. There would be five for dinner. Me, Michaela, Werner and his mom and dad, Claudia and Manfred, who I would be meeting for the first time.

It was fun.

Lots of laughter, lots of story-sharing and playful banter.

And what a feast it was, especially since this was the very first dinner party, Michaela had ever hosted!

So just how great was Thanksgiving in Rosalind, Alberta?

it was so great that I forgot to take pictures!

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

And how did you spend Thanksgiving? And what did you non-Canadians do this past weekend?

Happy Thanksgiving From The Middle of Nowhere!

09 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

Alberta, attitude, blessings, Canada, daughter, disappointments, family, farming, food, grateful, Gratitude, Happy Thanksgiving, harvest, Relationships, Rosalind, thankful, values

bp1

If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would all be much happier.

~ John Wooden

Well…not exactly nowhere. But when you’re an urbanite like me, driving on a handful of secondary highways to get to Rosalind, Alberta feels a lot like the middle of nowhere.

me-and-michaela-red-deer

Me and Michaela Sept. 2016

I gladly drive those lonely highways though, to spend Thanksgiving with my daughter, her boyfriend Werner and his family.

That’s right. Here in Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October. My guess is, we pushed it up to line up with harvest time north of the 49th.

Speaking of harvest, that’s what my daughter, Werner and his parents have been up to on their family farm the last few weeks.

What’s more Thanksgiving than that?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I’m going to practice magnifying my blessings instead of blowing up my disappointments into massive proportions, how about you?

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Have you hugged a farmer today?

This post has been scheduled to publish on Sunday. When you read this, I will already be in the middle of nowhere cherishing wonderful people. I hope you are also with those whom you love. ❤

Diana xo

Celebrating Josee

07 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, My Stories

≈ 26 Comments

Tags

Alberta, British Columbia, Calgary, Canada, celebrate, Chateauguay, courage, death, Diana Schwenk, friends, grateful, grief, growing up, Hump Day Chronicles, Josee Bull, laughter, life, Life's like that, living in the moment, loss, love, memories, Quebec, Relationships, stories

20160903_170733

I remember one summer day in the early 90’s when Josee picked me up from my apartment in Calgary with the Sporty featured on the above photo.

My friendship with Josee started long before then though. We met in the mid 70s and spent a lot of time in the basement of her house on Maple Crescent beside the park in Chateauguay, Quebec.

Ahh that basement. It was like an episode of ‘That 70s Show.’ It was there that we graduated from drinking tea to playing darts, smoking cigarettes, drinking beer and talking about our relationships with the opposite sex. Thinking back, I feel bad for Josee’s mom who had to put up with us. But then again, she always seemed to be happy to see us.

Josee and I didn’t really stay in touch much after I left Chateauguay, but every decade or so we would manage to get together over a meal and catch up on each others’ lives. I was surprised and shocked when I heard the news of Josee’s passing a few weeks back.

This past Saturday, we celebrated Josee’s life at her daughter’s place. That’s the way Josee wanted it. She didn’t want people crying, she wanted us to enjoy hamburgers and chili, two of her favourite menu choices, and to reminisce about all the fun times we had. There were a lot of people there, family and friends, for this celebration hosted by Melodie and her husband Jordan.

Lots of stories were shared, but one of my favourites was told by Melodie. It seems that when Melodie was about 15 years old she was upset and in tears about a fight she’d had with her then boyfriend and current husband Jordan. Josee took the matter into her own hands by hopping on her Harley and riding it to Jordan’s workplace.

I could see it in my mind as Melodie shared the story – Josee, a petite yet formidable woman, pulling up to Jordan’s work place, taking off her helmet and shaking out that long dark hair, her jaw set in determination. Then spotting Jordan and walking toward him to give him hell. Man, he must have been shaking in his boots when she told him that if he cared about Melodie he should make it right and if he didn’t he should just get lost. I’m telling you, we were all laughing by the end of that story!

I also learned through her partner Sean how much she loved to travel. Often she went alone to bike through Europe for example, or visit places like Africa and Thailand. And I learned that she’d been a business owner for some years and then later she and Sean decided to sell the business and manage a resort in British Columbia so that they could travel together during the off-season.

Listening to all the stories, I couldn’t help but wish that I’d made more of an effort to stay in touch with Josee so that I could have known firsthand the person she had become. But maybe life plays out the way it’s supposed to. And maybe because it played out the way it did, it brings those of us who remain together to share our little part of her story, and in doing so we can see the bigger picture of Josee’s story together.

At one point on Saturday, I could not stop looking at Josee’s Sportster. In many ways the staging of Josee’s bike with her jacket laid across the seat at Melodie’s acreage, seemed the perfect tribute to her.

It spoke of her free-spirit, her courage, and her ability to reach her goals.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Josee, You will be missed. Your courage and determination in life, and in facing death, are a great inspiration to us. Rest in Peace my friend.

Trust

31 Wednesday Aug 2016

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, My Stories

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

Diana Schwenk, grateful, Hump Day Chronicles, inspiration, integrity, loyalty, peace, self-awareness, trust

mechanic

You know that feeling you get when you are able to trust a person or business; that sense of calm and ‘all is well in the world-ness’ that washes over you?

I’ve never been big on trust. For most of my life I thought I was – you know as in, “everyone starts with a clean slate and I take them at face value until they prove otherwise.”

It’s funny how you can be so wrong about yourself. It took a friend, a few years back to point out that I actually make people work, so to speak, to earn my trust. I’m not demanding about it or anything, but I do stand back and cautiously observe a person or service provider before I fully place my trust in them.

But once I trust, like my father before me, I am fiercely loyal to the person or business in which I place my trust.

A visit to my mechanic yesterday is what prompted me to write about trust today. I’ve heard many stories of women being taken advantage of when it comes to car maintenance; being charged for things they don’t really need, for example.

Over the years, the place I go to deal with my car woes has proven to me that they have integrity by the service they provide and their honesty in regards to what is needed and what is not. And that gives me peace, for which I am so grateful.

People and businesses that are trustworthy inspire me to be trustworthy as well, to work to earn the trust of the people I care about and do business with.

Because trust is so foundational in any relationship, isn’t it?

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Do you trust easily or do you make people work to earn it? When you do trust, are you a loyal customer?

Do Others Know You Are Grateful For Them?

10 Sunday Apr 2016

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

200 words, believe, caring, community, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, encourage, family, friends, generosity, grateful, Gratitude, growing up, happy, joy, kindness, laughter, life, living in the moment, Relationships, thank you, thankful

two-children-hugging

Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone

Gladys Stern

I think we all pretty much agree that when we are grateful for the things and beautiful people we do have in our lives, we feel richer.

I grew up learning that life is not always fair and it may be one of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned. Each time I’ve come face to face with an injustice, I had the important choice of remaining in a state of despair or being grateful for the resources available to me to work through it.

When we are intentional about turning our thoughts away from what we do not have toward what we do have, we are given the strength to endure and overcome our struggles.

Recognizing this truth is a blessing to those who embrace it.

Yet if we just recognize it without speaking our gratitude to those who give us strength, we miss a wonderful opportunity to bring joy to others.

So when someone lightens our load, do we express our thanks to them? When we hear someone say something good about another, do we tell them?

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Is there somebody you should thank today?

The Red Dress

13 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, My Stories

≈ 64 Comments

Tags

A moment in time, Dad, Diana Schwenk, family, fate, grateful, grief, Hump Day Chronicles, laughter, life, Life's like that, living in the moment, loss, memories, parents, Relationships, Stuff my parents used to say and do, thank you

red dress

L-R Arno, Dad, me, Mom

“Your Uncle Arno is coming to Canada at the beginning of September, so I want you to come at the same time,” said Dad on the phone late in the summer of 2015.

“Well, actually Dad I was thinking of coming in October or maybe Christmas.”

“No. Arno and I discussed it. And we agree. You should come at the beginning of September.”

That’s odd, I thought to myself. Dad has never been one to assume I would be able to fly back east and visit. He’s more of a hey-it’s-been-a-while-when-do-you-think-you’ll-be-able-to-visit-again kinda guy. So I was somewhat taken aback at his directness.

Still, Dad never asked for much, and it seemed important to him, so I agreed to fly back east to visit them for a week and booked a flight for September 1.

It was still like summer in Calgary on that first day of September so I wore sandals and the red dress I’d bought in the Dominican when Mom and I had vacationed there a few years back and waited for the cab to take me to the airport.

Uncle Arno picked me up at the Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport in Montreal and after visiting with my brother and his family on the west island, we headed out to my parents place in East Hawkesbury.

Dad was lying on the couch when I got there. He’d been suffering with severe back pain for some time and the only relief he had was when he laid down.

I went into the living room to say hi. I talked about this and that and all the while he had this goofy smile on his face. “What?” I finally said.

“You’re wearing a dress. You hardly ever wear a dress. You look beautiful.”

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Dad was taken by ambulance to the hospital on October 28th.  I flew out and visited with him on November 6th. Before we left his room, we made plans to go see him again the next day, but he passed away that same night. Dad thank you for insisting that I attend the September family reunion!

related post: It was like a Schwenkonsortium!

 

Celebrate Joy and Grow Through Sorrow

21 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

≈ 39 Comments

Tags

200 words, change, choice, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, dreams, encourage, faith, Fear, gift, grateful, growing up, journey, joy, learning, life, living in the moment, love, meaningful, mistakes, Purpose, Relationships, sorrow

When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate, when life is bitter, say thank you and grow. ~ unknown

alone-black-and-white-girl-photography-Favim_com-319313What an amazing journey we’re on!

Life is a gift.

Its ebbs and flows.

Its highs and lows.

The connections we make and break.

The joys and sorrows we experience.

Each one of our paths; unique

a combination of choice and circumstance.

Sometimes courageously following our dreams. Inspiring and encouraging others to follow theirs. Take hold of ‘moments of joy’ – treasure them in your heart. They will carry you through the hard times.

Other times we are paralyzed by fear. Making us empathetic and patient with others who are afraid. Embrace every part of who you are.

Rippling effects that change the course of our path, that teach us if we let them. Or haunt us until we are teachable.

Life is a gift.

A beautiful and precious gift.

Don’t squander it.

Don’t take it for granted.

Be grateful for every opportunity given.

Even our mistakes have meaning when viewing our lives in this way.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate, when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.

Love Your Life!

09 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

≈ 41 Comments

Tags

200 words, blessed, caring, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, family, friends, grateful, growth, hard work, judging, learning, life, love, making a difference, opportunities, passion, Purpose, shadows, understanding

Fall truly, madly and deeply in love with your life; all of it, even the shadows, and never stop falling! ~ unknown

Fall madly in love with your life...

Fall madly in love with your life…

I read this quote the other day and thought to myself, “I want to be that person.”

In many ways, I already am. I consider myself quite blessed.

I love my family, my friends, this beautiful country I live in and the wonderful opportunities I’ve had, and still have, to make a difference in this world.

But what about the shadows?

For the most part, I love them too…

…love might not be the right word. I’m grateful for them.

But there are times, when I feel like I’m not measuring up

I’m not doing enough; working hard enough.

There are times when I feel like I haven’t been treated fairly

I haven’t been heard or understood

I’m being judged harshly.

These are things that I must accept as part of my life as well. Things that I must embrace and hold dear. After all, I learn from them. I grow. And isn’t that what love is all about anyway?

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Happy Thanksgiving – Gratefulness

13 Sunday Oct 2013

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

≈ 31 Comments

Tags

200 words, community, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, diversity, gifts, grateful, Gratitude, living in the moment, love, memories, Relationships, Thanksgiving

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”  ~ Epictetus

Gratefulness makes us happy – it’s scientifically proven!

If being grateful makes me happy, I want to be grateful every day – not just on Thanksgiving.

Below are just some of the things that fill me with gratitude:

At some German restaurant outside Montreal in 2009

With my family at some German restaurant outside Montreal in 2009

  • The odds of conception are 15% – 25%. I was born. I am alive and well. Life is a gift I cherish.
  • I am loved by family and friends. No matter what comes my way, I am not alone.
  • I have the necessities of Life. Food in my stomach. A roof over my head.
  • The teachers and mentors who have taught me important life-lessons and encouraged me in my journey.
  • The opportunities I have had to help others along in their journey.
  • I live in this beautiful country of freedoms and rights.
  • I belong to a community of diverse people with unique gifts that can build a better world than we were born into.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

What are you grateful for?

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