Clipart.com Blog

Scrolling through Facebook the other day, I happened upon a video, its message a simple but often overlooked truth. "No matter how poor you think you are, if you have a family, you have everything." In a time when long marriages are few and far between, I'm happy to say that I've had the joy and pleasure of sharing my life for almost four decades with my best buddy, my greatest love, my warrior, my champion.  Together we have raised four incredible kids, and been blessed with six amazing grandchildren. But our family doesn't begin and end there. From siblings and in-laws to nieces, nephews and cousins, we have been supported by a crazy, loving brood of uniquely interesting people.  An opportunity to celebrate these bonds seems perfect, particularly in the funk of winter. This weekend or next, depending on where they live in Canada, people will be enjoying the first long weekend of the year — a time to gather with the folks who know them best and love them

"Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope."  — Maya Angelou I don't know about all of that leaping and hurdling, but love is certainly an active condition. There's really nothing about romance that's static.  Hearts beat, lovers cuddle, cupid strikes. Even gazing into someone's eyes requires a certain amount of eyelash batting. When you think about it, the emotions themselves are ever moving. There is an ebb and flow to love. At times it is as gentle as the soft ripple of a lake on a still morning, at others it hits with all the force of a tsunami. We all remember the intensity of love's first blush. Just hearing your beloved's voice could set your stomach aflutter. A glimpse across a crowded room took your breath away. A gentle touch and your heart skipped a beat.  It's a state of being that can stay with you. Not, perhaps with the same heat as in the beginning,