Love From Maria

Today I was out walking the paths in our neighbourhood and noticed some kids skating down on one of the frozen ponds. Then to my right I heard a motor, and a man - whom I can only assume to be their father - came strutting out of their backyard with a snowblower, powered on, blowing snow everywhere. I really wish I had taken a video or at least a photo. He walked straight out of their yard, across the pathway and down the little hill to the pond - obviously headed to clear the frozen waters of the fresh snowfall. Not only did I LOVE his tenacity for the snowblower but even more so, I loved seeing this whole family outside, being active and enjoying the community together. Where we live and how our communities are designed is something that I feel is essential to leading an active lifestyle. Trust, there will be more posts covering my passion for how we need to strategically and intentionally design our communities with healthier generations in mind - but I digress.  I

In 2014 it was on trend, and I chose, to select one word for the year. That year I chose "devotion" - and outlined what that meant for me  - 2014 sort of just snowballed into 2015, with a three month old and an almost two year old. It seems devotion, by default, became my word for 2015 as well. This year I've graduated from the one word selection and am choosing a whole phrase for my year. Yesterday my sister, who also happens to be my best friend, sent me a photo: *photo from the ever so sweet, Lace Brick Design  She said to me, "it's so simple and maybe a little cliché, but this is exactly what you need to do." With my boys growing older and their independence increasing I am choosing 2016 as the year I start to do more things that make me happy. I, as I am sure we all do, can be so busy helping everyone else, preparing everyone else, that I forget to make and take time for me. I'm not complaining, and I'm still relatively new to th