Just write

These are words that I have heard my husband say to me, and I am glad that he has said them more than once. Just write means giving myself the permission to sit and do something that I love doing and not letting other things get in the way like I normally do. Being able to accept that me sitting and writing is important has helped me continue to enjoy the writing process.

Just writing means that I can write whatever I am feeling and not care what others think about the outcome, unless I want someone to see what I have been writing about. There are days when I wish I could just sit and write, but other things get in the way. When I have the opportunity to sit and write, I have learned to take them and value them. Sometimes the sitting and writing because I need to write means something else doesn’t get done right away, but it does get done later.

Writing is one of my methods of dealing with a lot of my emotions and things that are going on in my life. Hopefully being able to write about the various things will make it a lot better for me and I don’t have to deal with the emotional roller coaster that I have sometimes dealt with in the past.

Being able to write for the joy of it is important. I know that I don’t have to be perfect when I do this writing because I can later go over my thoughts and make sure they are clearer. Of course, there are times when I can just enjoy the writing and that makes me happy and then there are the times when I can sit and review my writing and that is a different mindset.

Having the ability to just sit and write and let the ideas flow is wonderful, and knowing that you can make the actual thought clearer later on is great. Sometimes thoughts flow, and they make sense and then there are the times that after looking at them, they are just a mixture of feelings and there isn’t any way to possibly make sense of that so someone else can read it, but that is ok as well because at least the thoughts have been put down and that helps in so many ways.

For me, I write some each day and that is important and quite a bit of what I write is never seen by anyone else and that is fine as well. I know that each bit of writing that I do have a purpose and just write is my way of getting so many different thoughts out of my head so that I can then focus on some of the other things that do need my attention. So, next time someone says to you “just write” do it and see how you feel. You will probably be happy they told you to do it.

Don't be afraid of being you

Something that we all must do is make sure that we are true to who we are. Sure, there are times when we must show a bit of a different side of us, but in general, we must show who we are to the rest of the world. Of course, I am not saying that we have to yell and scream the look at me idea, but we need to ensure that people see who the true you is.

It is important that we also make sure that we love what we are doing for our job. It can be a challenge to find a job that suits you perfectly, but making sure that you can at least have some aspects that you enjoy is good. There are things that we don’t enjoy in every job but making sure that between work and home you are able to do the things that you love doing. If you are a person that loves talking to others, it’s important that you can do that in some form.

If you have a goofy side, you need to show it sometimes. I don’t mean show it during an important meeting, but people that you spend time with need to see that you do have a sense of humour. Quite a while ago, I surprised someone with a little fun voice that I would sometimes use. The person was shocked, but very happy that I had that side of me that I hadn’t shown them before. Being able to enjoy things is important, and knowing you can show a goofy side to others is important.

One thing that I make sure that I do is to dress to who I am. I am not a person that you will see in dresses or skirts most of the time. For me, I am comfortable in either jeans or casual pants and t-shirts, golf shirts or simple tops. I also make a point of making sure that I do have my favourite colour as part of my wardrobe, so don’t be surprised if you see me wearing something teal.

If people don’t like you for who you are, then they aren’t worth the friendship. You can’t try and please everyone because if you are doing that there is a chance you aren’t pleasing yourself and is that friendship worth it. We need to accept that each person is different and make sure that we accept each other for who we are.

Being able to be you is extremely important, and it is what makes you happen when you get up in the morning and when you are around people. Sure there are going to be people that don’t like some of what you say or do but remember making sure you are happy with who is are is important. You need to be able to look in the mirror and say, “I am being who I am, and I am happy with that person.”

I miss the coffee shops

Something that has changed, at least for us, is the number of coffee shops that are available where you can sit and do a bit of work during the day. Prior to the pandemic, there were so many different coffee shops where you could either grab your computer or a notebook or tablet, and you could sit and get some work done. Being able to sit and work on things was so nice, and it is something that I have missed because so many of the locations that we went to have now closed, which is very disappointing.

What we had the habit of doing is taking our computers a couple of times a month and going to a coffee shop and buying some coffee (normally more than one cup each) and sitting and working on the various things that needed our attention. Being at a coffee shop also meant that we were sitting together and were able to discuss things, which also was nice. When you work in a home office, there are quite often hours that you don’t see the other person as we are both working on our separate things.

Something that has helped me get over the lack of coffee shops is figuring out the different spots at home where I can get some writing done. I sometimes will either grab my tablet or my journal book and go into a different spot at home and try and do the writing there. It does help some, and something else we do is we grab our laptops and sit together for a few hours and work on the things that we want to discuss. We also just sit in the same area and work on our own tasks, but at least we are close together when we need to discuss something.

Sure, being able to just work at home is great because the cost of the coffee is a lot cheaper, but it also means that you don’t have the different environment and for someone that does a lot of writing, the change in scenery can make a big different to how much writing I can get done. Being able to find a different location to sit and write every now and again does help a lot. I do know that when we take our car in for an oil change, I can be found sitting and writing at one of the tables there.

Yes, the number of coffee shops have decreased but making sure that you can find the different places to sit and get work done is important. Of course, if you are going to be using a food court as a location to get some work done, make sure that you are also considerate when it gets busy and maybe that is the time to take that break and let someone else use the table.

Fireworks

Here are the rules for Fireworks in Toronto

The Fireworks Bylaw regulates the use and sale of fireworks in Toronto.

Fireworks are only permitted on your private property on Victoria Day and Canada Day until 11 p.m.  A permit is required to set off fireworks on all other days.

Fireworks are banned in City parks and on beaches. Do not set off fireworks in a street, a parking lot, on balconies or any private property that is not your own.

Contact 311 to report the use of fireworks in a City park or beach, illegal sale and possible misuse of fireworks.

You are only allowed to use consumer fireworks on your private property two days a year. Consumer fireworks include low hazard fireworks for recreation, such as fireworks showers, fountains, golden rain, lawn lights, pinwheels, Roman candles, volcanoes, sparklers, and other similar devices.

You can set off consumer fireworks on your own private property until 11 p.m. on:

• Victoria Day
• Canada Day (July 1)

 

Here is what really happens, at least around where we live, and I can imagine it happens in a lot of other areas as well. Fireworks are set off in parks, parking lots, on the street and even off balconies, and they are set off at all times of day and night and from noon until anytime in the middle of the night, like 3am or 5am fireworks are being set off. The fireworks are also set off not just on those two specific days as they are set off on New Year’s Eve, and any other day that someone thinks fireworks are needed.

The bylaw clearly starts that fireworks must be set in a bucket with sand, but that doesn’t happen, at least around us. People simply place the fireworks on the ground and light them, and if they fall over, it doesn’t seem to matter to the people setting them off. Also, in some cases people are actually holding the fireworks in their hand and setting them off, which is extremely dangerous.

The City of Brampton has now passed a bylaw that you can no longer set off or sell fireworks in the City of Brampton. It is going to be interesting to see how that works, but it would be nice to have it here in Toronto as well.

An idea to help control fireworks

• To purchase any fireworks, you must provide proof of owning the property, photo identification.
• No cash sales, (debit or credit only)
• If you are caught selling to minors, there is a big fine.
• You must live within the area of where you are buying the fireworks and own the property.
• Sellers must display regional approval to sell fireworks, so better control on who actually sells the items, not just something in a truck on the side of the road.
• If you don’t see a permit, call the local bylaw enforcement to question if this business is allowed to sell fireworks.
• Sales of fireworks should only be sold the day of and the seven days immediately before the specified allowed dates.

Fireworks are nice to see, but it is very important that they are set off properly and are complying with the bylaws of the area that you are in. So, when it’s time to see some fireworks, why not make it easy on yourself and just go to a place where they are being set off by professionals and enjoy them. Fireworks are nice to see, but being woken up in the middle of the night isn’t fun, and not everyone enjoys hearing them.