Unexpected gifts

One night a couple of weeks ago when I arrived home from work there was a letter from my Grandpa on the kitchen counter. This struck me as a little odd, as Grandpa is not what one would call a prolific letter writer (that was always Grandma's department, and, oh, what letters she wrote!), but given the events of the last month it is not inconceivable that Grandpa would have a reason to contact me. But when I opened the envelope and a cheque fell out, I was not prepared for the result. It turns out my Grandma left me a substantial amount of money. Money that she had quietly been setting aside for years with the intention of leaving it for her grandchildren after she was gone. It's not enough to quit my job and spend the next fifty years travelling, but it is enough that I can make some real and noticeable changes in my life, and put some aside for future changes. I have mapped out a basic plan that involves some investing so that there will be something there for future "life events," some immediate reduction of debt left over from my student days, and some "play." Sure, I'd rather have my Grandma back, but with this final very generous gift I will be able to honour her and have her continue to be part of my life for some time to come.

The most interesting part of that little story is that my Grandpa mailed cheques to all three grandchildren on a Wednesday afternoon. All three of us received them the next day. Someone was watching over the mail that night and making sure nothing went astray.

Other moments of light recently:

This morning on the bus not one but two men offered me their seats. Now, I don't for a minute expect to be offered a seat because I'm a woman or out of some outdated sense of chivalry or whatever. I am ablebodied and healthy and I can stand, and I am thankful for that, and I don't get offended if I am not offered a seat. In fact, I have much more often offered my seat to someone else than I have been offered a seat, and that's as it should be. But I have to say that this morning it was nice to see more than one person offering to do something nice for someone else, especially when that someone else was me! ;-)

Had a lovely, albeit brief, visit to Hometown this weekend. My dad and some friends were giving their third annual "Songs in the Key of Love" Valentine's concert and we were able to get down to enjoy it. Also had a great visit with both my and Serdic's families, which is always a treat.

We are now on our third day in a row of sunshine! I had almost forgotten what sunshine feels and looks like. It's amazing the way the spirit lifts when the sun is shining. Now, we've also plunged into a deep freeze that would have even polar bears saying "Wtf?", but I'm not focusing on that because ... hey! Pretty sunshine!

Dug out the old Playstation this weekend and have spent several happy hours playing Tomb Raider over the last couple of days. Don't ask me why I got it in my head to do that, I just did. I'm not a huge video game girl, but for some reason Tomb Raider has always been a favourite. There is a lengthy story about the SingerFamily and various versions of TR and a few Christmases spent sitting around the living room watching each other play and heckling yelling encouragement. Just seeing the Playstation is enough to bring up those memories and make me laugh. Good times.

Happy Valentine's Day. Take a minute to tell the people you love that you love them, not just on Thursday but every day.