Marriage & Love

First of all, before I get into the topic of the day, I'd just like to say that I'm so excited that my boy Bieksa scored the winning goal in double overtime to send the Canucks to the Stanley Cup finals! What an intense game! I was so nervous the whole time! And then for Kesler to score with 13.something seconds on the clock in regulation time to keep us going...OMG. So stoked!

And, congrats to Olivia for winning the Biggest Loser season 11! All girl final, which was awesome, but I pegged Olivia to win early on, and she did! What a transformation of those 3 girls! So great! So great! Yay for purple! (I'm wearing purple today in honour of them!)

Ok, now to the topic of discussion. It's not about my marriage, which is pretty damn fine, despite me not working and money becoming a small issue.

No, this is about a phone call I got from an old friend yesterday. It actually has been on my mind quite a bit.

Here's a little background on this friend. I've known her since elementary school, making her my oldest friend (since I only talk to 1 or 2 people from elementary school) - she's practically family. She's very religious, which is part of the problem here. She's devout to her religion like no other friend I know, but she's made mistakes too, which I know she struggles with. This is probably the hardest part for her. She's been married for 5 years to a really great guy (even she admits how great he is - I figured it out within seconds of meeting him).

So, what's the issue? She has discovered that she is madly in love with another man that she's known all her life, and this guy is madly in love with her, and wants to marry her and have kids. And she is so torn. She's fighting her feelings and her religion. She loves her husband, but she loves this other guy. She knows that if she gets a divorce, she will be effectively shunned from her church and some of her family may never speak to her again.

So, of course, the biggest question is: what should she do?

And of course, she asked me that question. And I have no answer. We talked and talked and talked. I just have no answer for her. Absolutely no answer for her. I asked if they've thought to see a counsellor, and I think she wants to, but her husband isn't necessarily being supportive of it. I think he hopes that she will figure it out on her own, and in the meantime he's doing everything he can to remind her of how great of a husband he is, which is only making her feel more guilty.

I can only hope that talking it out with me has helped her. I don't think I had much advice for her, but I let her talk it out, and hopefully it helped.

I had another chat with a friend yesterday morning, and I seemed to help her out without knowing it, so that's good too. Maybe without knowing it, I helped my friend with her marriage woes.

The chat I had with my other friend, well, it was quite different. I won't get into it, but it's complicated. Love between women always is, I think. But we talked it out, and she talked to the other woman, and they worked things out. I feel pretty good that I was able to help, at least a little bit. I think I just made my friend see who she is through the other woman's eyes, and that helped.

At least I helped someone...

Nice To Know...

...that your husband misses you when you're gone. Makes you feel appreciated. John said that he missed my pampering while I was in Golden. Not having someone to make you dinner and lunch sure makes a difference. It makes me feel good to know that he appreciates what I do and that he misses it while I'm gone.

While I was in Golden I got a chance to visit with one of my cousins. She's lost like 19 pounds. Looks awesome! It's hard to believe that she's done so well. She and her husband have been on The 17 Day Diet. So, after talking to her, I've decided to go on it as well. And John too, mostly. My mom and I bought the book and she read a bit yesterday, and I'm going to start it today. I think, if I feel like the diet is something we can do, John and I will start it Monday at the same time as mom. John didn't want to start it so soon because he has his drunken hockey tournament next weekend, and Easter is coming up, but it's all good. He'll just miss out on the one weekend, and we'll have a diet Easter dinner. It's just going to be us and John's mom, Heather, so it's not like it's a huge deal. Heather'll be game.

Anyway, I'm going to grab my book and run a nice hot bath!

Golden - Day 3

Today was another good day. Grandpa seems to be doing well, and everyone else is great. We got a chance to visit with my auntie Karen and her mom. I can't believe her mom is going to be 86. NUTS. Here are some photos:

Auntie Karen & Gramma Helen

Auntie Karen & Mom

Me and Auntie Karen

Looks like we're going to try to head home tomorrow. I want to. I just do not want to do the whole trip in one day. We have my truck, and honestly, I don't like my mom driving it. She isn't used to it and it freaks me out. Unfortunately, we're supposed to get snow tomorrow through the Banff/Jasper Parks, and I am a bit nervous. Not like a little bit of snow, like a lot of snow. 30cm in Calgary. Yikes. We'll see what happens.

I think I'm about ready for bed now. Night all!

Golden - Day 2

So, the first full day in Golden is over.

Grandpa seems ok. He's moving much slower than normal, but that's to be expected with a stroke. I'm hoping he'll get back to normal soon.

I signed my Grandma up for Facebook. My uncle thinks it's a sign of the apocalypse.

I went shopping in Golden. If you know what Golden is like you'll know how hilarious it is. Clothing stores are ridiculous here. $40 for a pair of yoga pants for a kid. Yikes. I went to Moon River and spent too much money, which is the same as every time I ever went in there. I also checked out the wool at McLoeds and there is a better selection there than at WalMart. So strange. But so expensive!

I had an awesome visit with my cousin Nicole. It's been a long, long time since we've had that good of a visit. It was really nice.

And now, after talking with my hubby and bestie, it's time to read and then hit the hay. Night all!

Golden - Day 1

So, we made it to Golden. What a trip. We left at 6AM and got here at 4PM. We made awesome time, but it was a long, long, long trip. No wonder I always make John drive!

Grandpa seems to be doing ok. I'm sure things are still trying to get themselves righted with him, but he seems well.

I'll try to post again tomorrow. I'm on the grandparent's computer because I can't get mine to work with their internet, so we'll see. My phone's dead too, so I can't even email in. It'll be charged tomorrow though! Hopefully I'll have some good photos to share once I'm home!