#RideForRefuge Well I Did It…Kinda

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Alberta, Calgary, community, compassion, Diana Schwenk, Fundraising, generosity, Gratitude, Hump Day Chronicles, laughter, Life's like that, living in the moment, Oxford House, passion, Purpose, recovery, Relationships, Ride for Refuge, thank you, world issues

Post registration, pre-ride photo.

WE HAD ANTICIPATED WARMER WEATHER, 19c/67f degrees to be exact, but in Calgary, it is hard to predict weather beyond 48 hours. On ride day, it seemed nice enough outside early in the morning, but it got quite windy and cold after the riders were sent out. And I swear, that no matter what direction the route took, the wind was blowing cold and full blast, into my face. Coupled with that, having gained at least 15 pounds since last year’s ride, I ended up having to dismount, a couple of times, part way up hills, and walk them.

I can laugh about it today, but another thing I did on ride day, was miss the 10km turn off, so I unwittingly rode about 5km more than I signed up for,(probably a good thing, seeing as I have gained weight), but I took two others with me! So you’d have to ask Earl and Kellie how they felt about me misleading them – sorry guys!

None of that is important when compared to the benefit that resulted through the compassionate efforts of the riders, walkers, donors and volunteers, who all played a role in raising over $20,000 for Oxford House. Practically speaking, this means that eight men or women in recovery, will have a home, and support in their recovery, for an entire year!

I personally want to thank those 20 people who supported my ride – together we raised $1,335! Also, I want to thank the 12 people who joined my team  who along with you, fundraised $5,460 in total for Oxford House.

My team, the Riders for Recovery

(L-R) Diana, Earl, Kellie, Tracey, Trish, Dean, Michael, Leanne, Ava and Pat. And missing from this photo are: Jaidyn, Ziyan, Karim and Donald

Who says you can’t goof around and work hard at the same time?

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

 

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Dear President Obama

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Barack Obama, building community, community, compassion, courage, democracy, doing the right thing, health care, hope, human rights, humanity, Hump Day Chronicles, integrity, kindness, laughter, leadership, life, Michelle Obama, passion, thank you, tolerance, USA, world issues

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama greet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau at the North Portico of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 10, 2016, for a state dinner. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Just a quick note to thank you and Michelle for being great examples of what leadership should look like.

I want to thank you both for all you did, and tried to do to make the United States and the world a more tolerant and safe and inclusive place. For ensuring that more folks had access to health care, for bringing hope to whole communities that had no hope before, for making tough choices, and patiently with humility, building solid relationships on the world stage.  And most of all, for doing it with the poise, dignity, passion, integrity, compassion and sense of humour that should be the norm for any person who occupies a position of power.

No single person is perfect, or always gets everything right, but I believe that you did the best you could within the choices you had, and I for one, felt that I could breathe a little easier, even from way over here in Canada.

I wish you and Michelle all the very best and I know that you will continue to make a significant mark in whatever challenge you take on next.

Well done and thanks again,

Diana Schwenk, Alberta, Canada

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

We Did It Together – Thank You!

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Alberta, Calgary, community, compassion, Diana Schwenk, Edmonton, Events, Fundraising, Hump Day Chronicles, Oxford House, recovery, Ride for Refuge, thank you

Here are all the people who rode and walked for Oxford House on Saturday, October 1, 2016. That’s me, second from the left!

It was a great day. It was raining and I was soaked to the bone, but they told me that last year there were some pretty strong winds which made the hills all the much harder.

Let’s ride!

Some of the hills were a challenge for me, but I pushed through one push of the pedal at a time. I just kept thinking about the residents we would be helping and those of you who supported my ride.

And at the eleventh hour, a final donation came in that helped me reach my personal goal of $2,000 which will provide 1 resident in recovery with a safe and supported home for an entire year – thanks to you and all the others who supported me!

At an organizational level, Oxford House raised in excess of $13,000 which will provide an entire house of 5 residents, and then some, a safe and sober home for an entire year!

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Thanks again to everybody who supported me and all the Oxford House riders and Walkers!

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Do Others Know You Are Grateful For Them?

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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

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

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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

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!

 

Excuse me please and thank you

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caring, Diana Schwenk, excuse me, growing up, happy, I'm sorry, integrity, kindness, life, peace, please, Relationships, thank you

When I was growing up my parents stressed the importance of saying I’m sorry, Excuse me, Please and Thank You.

And by stressed, I mean enforced it to the point that it became a natural part of who I am.

The other day, while on shift at my second job, my co-worker remarked, “Diana, people really warm up to you, you’re so polite!”

I’ve experienced similar comments over the years.

You say thank you a lot! You were so polite with that server! That person totally relaxed their shoulders when you apologized!

This catches me somewhat off guard. When did being polite become the exception to the rule? When did saying thank you or please or excuse me or I’m sorry become something that stands out from the norm?

I spend a lot of time writing about saying thank you and being grateful here and at The Other Bottom Line. Even in my professional life it is a point I find myself stressing over and over!

Good job Mom – the lesson stuck!

Have we become so busy that there is no time to be polite? Do we really need reminders about minding our Ps and Qs? Why does it surprise people when they encounter good manners?

Yesterday as I was leaving Kalamata, not the city, the store, I came face-to-face with a man through the glass door.

I stopped in my tracks.

The gentleman grabbed the handle and pulled the door open for me.

I said, I’m sorry – thank you!

And he responded with ‘No worries, my pleasure.’

Much to my surprise, his kind gesture and polite demeanour stood out to me as different from the norm.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

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200 words, Canada, daughter, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, family, friends, Gratitude, happy, Oma, parents, Relationships, thank you, thankful, Thanksgiving

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.”
― Meister Eckhart

This weekend Canada is celebrating Thanksgiving.

What better day than today to talk about thankfulness?

And what better way to do that than list off some of the things that I am thankful for?

I am thankful for my parents who immigrated to Canada and worked hard their whole lives to build a better life for our family.

I am thankful for my daughter, my future son-in-law and his beautiful 3-month old daughter – I’m an Oma!

I am thankful for my brother who is also my friend and for a while in my early teens, my only friend. I am also grateful for my sister-in-law and my amazing nephew.

I am thankful for my life-long friends who are like family to me.

I am thankful for all the opportunities I have had and continue to have in this beautiful country.

And I am thankful for you, my beautiful readers and writers. ❤

It’s not happy people who are thankful, it’s thankful people who are happy

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

What are you thankful for?

Related article: 10 Reasons Why Gratitude is Healthy

My One Year Anniversary on WordPress – Wow!

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community, Diana Schwenk, One Year of Blogging, stories, thank you, WordPress, writing

WordPress notified me this morning that I’ve been blogging for a year!

And I am feeling grateful today.

Random Photo: Doing my part to bring sexy back to ATVing clothing…

Grateful that I have this site to unleash my words upon.

Grateful that I have met so many awesome people around the world.

Grateful for my faithful readers (YOU).

You have taught me so much in your thoughtful comments and provocative posts.

One year. Wow! Where did the time go?

In the beginning…

Originally I was posting every day. And one day a friend told me I would run out of things to say every day and I did!

Right after she said that!

It’s funny how that happens.

So I cut myself a break and decided to post only on Sundays (Diana’s Enormous Book of Quotes) and Wednesdays (Hump Day Chronicles)

Shortly after that, after having received several nominations for awards and feeling incredibly overwhelmed by all the work it is to accept these awards, I started up my Friday Pick as a way to highlight one post I had enjoyed that past week.

Statistics

My most read post has been: What are you doing to build community? with 1,143 views.

The top 3 countries to view my posts have been USA 6,474, Canada 4,781 and Australia 1,123 and there have been hundreds of people from other countries, some I’d never heard of, who have stopped by to visit!

My top 3 commenters are: Artsifrtsy at the eff stop, Wyrd Smythe at Logos con carne and billgncs at bwthoughts and they, along with all my other blogging friends, have become such a wonderful blessing to me.

Thank you

I just want to say a great big Thank You to all of you who have shared my journey and yours with me and have made me laugh, have encouraged me when I felt vulnerable, and who have changed my perspective on the world through sharing your beautiful stories and insights with me.

Thank you to WordPress for this awesome blogging site. I was looking for a place to share my thoughts. I found that here. But I found much more – I found a wonderful online community of beautiful people.

Saying thank you

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Charity, Diana Schwenk, generosity, Gratitude, Melody Beattie, thank you

 Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow ~Melody Beattie

The other day at work I got to do one of my favourite things.

I sat down at my desk with a list of 10 names.

Each had made a recent donation to the non-profit organization I work for.

These 10 people contributed to the bottom line.

But I know the deeper story.

About a week or two before the list hit my desk;

10 people in the privacy of their homes thought about my organization.

They thought about the work that is done;

how it makes the world a better place;

they thought about their loved ones who receive quality care from our passionate and dedicated staff;

and then each one in his/her own home sat down and wrote a cheque.

That just blows my mind. It fills me with gratitude.

Armed with my list I had the privilege of calling each one to tell them that:

they made my day

we couldn’t do it without them

and thank you.

Turns out I made their day too.

Two simple yet powerful words.

When’s the last time you said thank you?