Standing Into Danger: Love

Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts

Friday, June 12, 2026

One Hundred and One Years Ago: On Grief and Enduring Love

I started writing this post on June 12th last year,

but I ended up sobbing and unable to continue.

I was consumed by grief.

It would have been my mother's 100th birthday if she were alive.

But she died on Thursday, May 23rd in 2002, just shy of her 77th birthday.

A Favorite Photo of My Mother and Me

On My Grandmother MacDonald's Back Steps

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

Likely Summer 1951

I watched her take her last breath when she died

surrounded by Terry, my sister Barb, the palliative care nurse, and me.

In my heart I begged her, "Please take one more breath,

just one more breath, please."

But she didn't.

I loved my mother so much,

and my pain at her loss is just as sharp as it was 24 years ago.

I had the best mom!

My Mother, My Father, and I Soon After I Was Born

Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada

A Few Days After March 18, 1950

My mother was the anchor that held our family together through everything.

She met my father when the music stopped

during a Paul Jones dance at Acadia University in 1946 or 1947.

My father was handsome, brilliant, exquisitely sensitive, and flawed.

He struggled with mental illness throughout his life,

suffering with a complex condition of depression, anxiety, and alcoholism

that has darkened the Pratt branch of our family for generations.

But the music stopped in that dance and they fell in love.

Mom and Dad Dancing at Acadia ~ Not THE Dance Though

Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada

1946 or 1947

Through all the turmoil of their lives my mother and father never stopped loving each other.

Very late on a night or two before she died, while Terry and I were grabbing some sleep,

our mother asked my sister Barb if Barb thought she would see Daddy again.

That great mystery! That great desire: to be again with those we love!

Of course Barb supported her hope.

In my heart and soul I believe they are together surrounded by God's love and healing.

I feel their presence and love every day.

The Photo of My Mother That My father Carried in His Wallet Throughout His Life

Somewhere Near Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada

1946 or 1947

I don't mean for this to be a sad post.

I was so very, very fortunate to have the amazing mother that I did.

I have countless wonderful memories of her that warm my heart every day.

(And of my dad too!).

Life and love go on.

Our newest family member, our great niece Eliza Moe Mundry, was born on June 5th.

Gavin and Colleen with Baby Eliza

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

June 5, 2026

How Mom (and Dad) would have loved this great grandchild and the three adorable others!

Jackson and Elsie Taylor

Wallington, United Kingdom

December 25, 2025

Ella MacBeath with Her Parents Neil and Jeannie

Neil Looks So Much Like My Father That It Hurts!

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

December 25, 2025

I read these verses from 1 Corinthians 13 during Terry's and my wedding service.

They're some of my favorite verses in the Bible:

"Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails ...

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

New International Version (NIV)

Just Married, Terry and I

Parker, Colorado, Canada

September 1, 1984

Wishing you all love in your lives.

I'm linking to Gillena's Lunch Break, Nicole's Friday Face Off, Tom's Aloha Friday, and Debra's She Who Seeks.

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be IWSG Day

Friday June 19th. 🤞

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Friday, August 23, 2024

Good Love Is Hard to Find! I Got Lucky!

I've been going through the hundreds of photos I took in Nova Scotia

and remembering all the people I love and the fun we had.

I wish I could go back and do it all over again ~ right now!

I am so grateful for a noisy, opinionated, fun-loving, big-hearted family.

Hanging Out at Lazy Bear for Pizza, Beer, and Music on a Thursday Evening

Two Tables and More of Family

Lazy Bear, Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

July 25, 2024

I am also beyond grateful for my husband Terry.

We're coming up on our 40th Wedding Anniversary on September 1st.

Forty years married! How did it go so fast?

I've been given the incredible gift of abundant love in my life.

I got lucky.

Flying to Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Air Canada

We're Not Excited or Anything ~ LOL

Somewhere in Cloud Land

July 24, 2024

Approaching the Runway in Beautiful Nova Scotia

Outside Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

July 24, 2024

Home Again!

Halifax Stanfield International Airport

Goffs, a Rural Community in the Halifax Regional Municipality,

Nova Scotia, Canada

July 24, 2024

My mother's side of our family has been connected to the Smith's Cove,

Digby, and Digby Neck part of Nova Scotia for generations.

Many members of my family who don't live here have been returning

to Smith's Cove for part of their summers throughout their lives.

We all aim to overlap our visits on the first weekend in August.

Smith's Cove with Digby, Digby Gut, and Bear Island Beyond the Beach ~ Ferry's In

Like many generations before, clamdiggers are harvesting clams as the tide goes out.

Nova Scotia, Canada

July 28, 2024

Air Canada Back-of-the-Seat-Screen Fight Map

YYZ (Toronto) to YHZ (Halifax)

I added (clockwise) Smith's Cove, Digby, Digby Gut, Bay of Fundy, Annapolis Basin,

Bear River, Smith's Cove Lighthouse Park, Bear Island

Nova Scotia, Canada July 24, 2024

Whenever my brother, three sisters, and I are together, we take our We Five photo.

Our first We Five photo was taken in Margaretsville, Nova Scotia,

when our youngest sister Bertie came home from the hospital in 1959.

Decades later we are still posing together, a little worse for wear, but still deeply connected.

Donnie, Barbie, Me, Bertie, Gretchen (our dog), and Roy

Margaretsville, Nova Scotia, Canada

April 1959

Roy, Donnie, Me, Barb, and Bertie

Barb and Pat's House, Smith's Cove

August 1, 2024

My sister Barb saw my post last week and said,

"I thought for sure you'd show us playing cards.

So Barb, this is for you:

Barb

Roy Makes a Game-Winning Move

Sue, Barb, Terry, and Roy

Barb and Pat's House, Smith's Cove

July 30, 2024

Some asked if all the wood got stacked. Yes it did.

Thanks to wood-stacker extraordinaire, Barb's partner, Pat.

Five Cords of Wood

Wood-Stacker Extraordinaire, Pat!

Barb and Pat's House, Smith's Cove

July 28, 2024

Some asked if Josie ever got into Scotia's water. No, because cats rule! 🐾 🐈‍⬛

But Josie found a better source of water, so they both win. 🐕 🐾

"All Mine," says Scotia.

Barb and Pat's House, Smith's Cove

July 28, 2024

"All Mine," says Josie.

Barb and Pat's House, Smith's Cove

July 30, 2024

I have been lucky in all kinds of love.

And I'm really lucky to have a husband who joins in everything.

Terry Literally Surrounded by My Family and Friends

On Chad and Sisters Two

Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada

July 26, 2024

Terry Spots Me on the Upper Deck

And lucky to have a husband who's happy to go off on his own

and play pickleball with friends he's made in the village.

Off to Pickleball

Did "Good love is hard to find. I got lucky," remind you of anything?

It's almost the exact words from an old

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song "You Got Lucky."

I hadn't heard the song until this week, and it wasn't Petty singing it.

It was Blackberry Smoke, another amazing band out of Atlanta.

Where have you been all my life, Blackberry Smoke?

They're fabulous! Their cover of Petty's "You Got Lucky" is gorgeous.

I love Charlie Starr's voice, and Amanda Shires' violin is beautifully poignant.

Blackberry Smoke feat. Amanda Shires

You Tube

Well I can't do better than Terry and I'm not going anywhere.

"Good love is hard to find. ... You got lucky, Babe, when I found you."

I sure did!

Waiting to Fly to Nova Scotia

Denver, Colorado, USA

July 24, 2024

I'm linking to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date, Tom's Aloha Friday, Gillena's Lunch Break. and Nicole's Friday Face Off.

For Rain: Ship ~ Not quite ships, but models of beautiful sailing vessels.

Sailing Vessels

Smith's Cove Historical Society & Old Temperance Hall Museum

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

July 30, 2024

For Tom: The Spirit of Aloha

Grammie, Mom, and Me

On the Beach

Smith's Cove Summer 1951

For Gillena: Salad ~ Yummy!

Donnie Making Salad

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 3, 2024

For Nicole: Funny Face

My Cousin, Pat, the Life of the Party

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

July 27, 2024

Photo by Sara Heembrock

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be

Friday, August 30th 🤞

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Friday, February 18, 2022

Love, Romance, and What Really Counts!

Some guys are born romantics. They go all out.

Like this romantic young man Terry and I spotted

while walking along Waikiki on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

He didn't just attract our interest.

He attracted a crowd as he carefully placed glow sticks not far above the lapping waves.

Well! He definitely had everyone cheering him on!

And females of all ages loved the romance and agonized over what the outcome would be.

A buddy of this romantic young man lured the, hopefully, bride-to-be

out of her hotel room, across the street, and onto the sand.

The young man proposed, the young woman accepted,

and the crowd cheered, hooted, whooped, clapped, and jumped for joy.

Then we all dispersed into our unknown futures.

I sometimes think about this young couple.

Are they still together and in love almost nine years later?

Are they in it for the long haul?

When you get married you have no clue what you are signing up for.

If you did, you might never have the courage to do it.

The excitement of new love, lust, and passion blinds you to the reality ahead of you.

If you are lucky, all these heady feelings transform into a deeper, stronger love

that carry you and your spouse through life and all its challenges.

(Or partners or significant others who commit to a life together without the licenses.)

It is not an easy road, but if you walk it together through the years, it is a rewarding one.

Terry at the Hideout at the Laylow

January 9, 2022

This year Terry and I will celebrate the fortieth anniversary of our first date

and the thirty-eighth anniversary of our wedding.

I don't know how we got here this fast, but here we are, and still in love!

Terry is a loving, gentle, calm, and intelligent man with a wacky sense of humor.

However, he is not a romantic guy.

I'll admit, he's had his romantic moments during the last forty years,

but he's not one for big gestures,

like giving me an overflowing bouquet of long-stemmed red roses on Valentine's day.

And he wouldn't be caught dead laying glow sticks out on Waikiki sands

and proposing to me with a mob of noisy strangers looking on.

No,

but he's the kind of guy who's there for you in the ways that really count:

The guy who

drove two of my sisters and me

around Newfoundland and Labrador for three weeks,

enduring pouring rain, hordes of biting black flies, a winter jacket, hat, and gloves in July,

downing Screech, kissing a cod, and slogging through a moose-littered bog

while surviving the moods and squabbles of three competitive, stubborn MacBeath sisters.

Terry, Me (Louise), Barb, and Bertie

Thawing Out After Chasing Ice Bergs

He's the guy who coaxed me out from under a weeping birch on a random lawn in Calgary

where I had sought refuge in the middle of an hysterical, sobbing fit,

because my mother lay dying of renal failure several houses away

and I couldn't bear it anymore.

He's the guy who stood by my side and soothed my thigh one night in an emergency room,

while a male nurse held me in a lock and another male nurse

threaded a tube through my nose, down my throat and esophagus,

and into my stomach because I was bleeding internally.

Then he helped me give sub plans to a teammate over the phone

as doctors and nurses came in and out

checking me as my stomach fluids were pumped out,

because obviously I wasn't going to teach the next morning.

He is my rock.

Together in Calgary Last December

The paragraphs that follow are a repeat of a post I published in 2013.

It's one of my favorite memories of so many ways

Terry shows me how much he loves me.

**********

Last Thursday morning I trudged groggily out to the kitchen to find some coffee

(stuffed to the gills with cold medicine and Tylenol).

I found a pile of socks on my kitchen counter.

Did I miss some of the socks when I was folding the laundry last night? I thought.

Last Thursday Morning

(January 3, 2013)

I put them away.

Sometime late Friday morning,

I trudged groggily out to the kitchen to find some coffee

(stuffed to the gills with cold medicine and Tylenol).

There was another pile of socks in the middle of the counter.

What?!

Last Friday Morning

(January 4, 2013)

I put them away.

Sometime even later Saturday morning,

I trudged groggily out to the kitchen to find some coffee

(stuffed to the gills with cold medicine and Tylenol).

No socks!

Whew!

Sometime late Sunday morning,

I trudged groggily out to the kitchen to find some coffee

(stuffed to the gills with cold medicine and Tylenol).

I had forgotten all about socks.

Sometime even later on Monday morning,

I trudged groggily out to the kitchen to find some coffee

(stuffed to the gills with cold medicine and Tylenol).

What?!

The socks were back!

Did Terry do laundry yesterday?

NOT! The football playoffs were on all day.

How many games did he watch yesterday anyway?

Monday Morning

(January 7, 2013)

I called Terry's office.

He didn't answer by the third ring.

I hung up.

He must be really busy! I thought.

I didn't feel like exchanging pleasantries with someone answering the phone for him.

I couldn't do much more than croak anyway.

I put the socks away.

Sometime even later on Tuesday morning,

I trudged groggily out to the kitchen to find some coffee

(stuffed to the gills with cold medicine and Tylenol).

You have got to be kidding me!

More socks!

What the hell is goin' on?!

I'm going to get to the bottom of this tonight!!!

I swore as I put the socks away.

Tuesday Morning

(January 8, 2013)

Tuesday evening was not a good evening.

I was completely out of it,

so Terry made me Chicken Soup for the Soul.

That's what he called it when he put the bowl in front of me and said, "Eat!"

Chicken Soup for the Soul

(January 8, 2013)

wikimedia

Terry had gone all out!

Not only had he heated up the can of chicken soup,

but he'd chopped up and added in a leftover cooked chicken breast

that he'd found in the back of the fridge!

Chicken soup never tasted so good!!

I ate it and trudged back to bed.

I didn't even remember the socks.

Sometime a little earlier on Wednesday morning,

I trudged groggily out to the kitchen to find some coffee

(stuffed to the gills with cold medicine and Tylenol).

Oh come on!

More fiddlesticks socks!!

What the hell is goin' on?!

Tonight I will get to the bottom of this!!!

I swore as I put the socks away.

Wednesday Morning

(Wednesday, January 9, 2013)

Terry came home after work.

I was much perkier.

It must have been the Chicken Soup for the Soul.

I pounced! The croaking phase had passed.

"What's with the socks?

Every morning I come out, and there's a new pile of socks on the kitchen counter!

The kitchen counter!!

It's driving me crazy!!!

I keep calling your office to ask about the damn socks!

But you're too busy to answer the phone!!

I keep putting the socks away, and every morning MORE socks show up!!!

What the hell is goin' on with the socks?!!!!"

I had worked myself up into quite a lather.

The Ever-Patient Terry put the mail down on the counter,

turned to me,

and very calmly and quietly said:

"Honey."

He paused.

"The reason there are socks on the counter every morning

is because I don't want to disturb you."

Pause.

"You've been having such a tough time getting to sleep and staying asleep

with your cold and all that coughing,

that I don't want to wake you up in the morning

by turning on the light to look for socks."

Pause.

This is a very long speech for Terry.

He went on to say calmly and quietly:

"I just grab a pile of socks out of the drawer,

go into the kitchen, put them on the counter, and find a pair to wear."

Is the E-P not just the sweetest hubby on the face of this Earth?!!

Sometime even a little earlier this morning,

I trudged groggily out to the kitchen to find some coffee

(not quite so stuffed with cold medicine and Tylenol).

And there was another pile of socks!

This Morning

(Thursday, January 10, 2013)

Just another love note from the greatest guy on Earth!

Hopefully, by tomorrow morning,

Terry won't have to leave socks on the kitchen counter.

**********

Happy Friday, Everyone! Have a relaxing weekend!

My next post will be on February 25th.

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

Books Read in 2026

"18 Days in Heaven" by Gale Poirot
"A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Hope, Love, and Overcoming" by Kerrie Rawson
"Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life" by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD.
"Is Math Real? How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics Deepest Truths" by Eugenia Cheng
"Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir
"Tell Me Everything" by Elizabeth Strout
"The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese
"The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" by David Graeber and David Wengrow
"The Life Impossible" by Matthew Haig
"The Lord go the Rings" by JRR Tolkien
"The Match" by Harlan Corben
"The Night the Path Disappeared" by Terri Bergen
"The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper" by Roland Allen
"Theo of Golden" by Allen Levi
"Think Twice" by Harlan Corben
"Why Christianity Must Change Or Die" by John Shelby Spong

Standing Into Danger

Pages

Friday, June 12, 2026

One Hundred and One Years Ago: On Grief and Enduring Love

Friday, August 23, 2024

Good Love Is Hard to Find! I Got Lucky!

Friday, February 18, 2022

Love, Romance, and What Really Counts!

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