Picture day hair

 All this....to get one pic of his hair freshly out of the braids...LOL love this guy

#pictureday? #hairlove #afrolove #naturalhair

I just wanted to say..." you missed the good parts LOL 😉

 Good morning! This is a pic from our 3rd mountain hike/run trip in less than a year. Our first one was much further but flatter... this trip after running some crazy trails and learning skills from great runners...this was the first I had so many people telling us HOW to hike. One guy who was getting frustrated with me not "heeding" to his advice didn't see me help a lady, paralyzed in fear, find her way down out of a difficult spot an hour before. He didn't see me show my sons the way in which to come down (I gave them choices) that he was pointing at as better examples than me standing....and he didn't see me doing the same moments before. I was getting annoyed by his insistence....not because he didn't know, but because I decided to try coming down in a different way and he was in the way LOL.

We don't get to see the whole picture. I was getting my boys down to the tree line where they felt safe to run down. I did it last trip and it was awesome. They wanted to do it this trip and they did.

I appreciate the encouragement, love and compassion from strangers, because they don't know...the lady I helped was with us on the way up...we had made a connection and she knew I had helped a few times before already...

From all of that, I appreciated who I got to be out there...and I may do it again soon...including standoffs with strangers.

#thankyouGod #timetoheal #biggerpicture #wemadeit #sticktogether #oneanotherlove #Lovefirst #Sawubona

Turf truck wrap in Canmore

 LOL .... and that's a "wrap"

GIFTS of common ground to truly connect and build one another up

 The gift of common ground.

A gentleman came by to buy a bike... He asked me where I was from...originally. I answered, 'I am born and raised here.' Oddly enough, this is one of the ONLY times it was left at that. MOST times, people are digging into my parent's nationality, and deep down into my family ancestry and heritage to find an answer .... to what I don't know. But as I stood there, listening to understand the english speaking through the heavy accent without a flinch, I made sure to give present myself with the "heritage" of human kindness and understanding. I didn't want him stumbling for words as he examined the bike...even though he was, I let him know by how I answered that he was very well understood. I encouraged him that it was a good purchase and his child would enjoy the bike. And off he went.

So it made me think....how often do we stand firm in our differences like a badge of honour without seeing the person in front of us and relating to them on a level of common ground? We are ALL gifted with it. This interaction included parent to parent, minority to minority, and being an educated buyer.

Sometimes, it's even our stories that we have held on to for years. The ways that we stumble and struggle that bring us into the company of others. The ways in which we released ourselves from the "bondage" of "trauma" that helps to bring encouragement and brother/sisterhood with another. We GET to RELATE on so many levels....and we can easily use these tools, nuggets, gems, GIFTS of common ground to truly connect and build one another up.

This is a part of Sawubona (I see you) that I truly relish in each day. And when I look at my "tool box" FULL of relatable tools that cross a wide range of people and experiences, I truly enjoy the wealth of living I have been given.

Anyways, it was just a thought....I've got some laundry to continue "relating" to

#thankyouGod #giftsbeyondmeasure #WeareGreaterstill #divineunion #oneanotherlove #letsRelate #moreincommon