Grattitude Jar 2024

This is the second year that I'm posting the contents of my grattitude jar.  Like last time, I've omitted confidential information. In 2023 I had 73 grattitudes, while this entry only has 53. The first one had things like "Living close to the Iron Horse Trail" which still holds true but I wouldn't bother repeating, so I don't think I'm less grateful this time around.

Since these were written on construction paper and thrown in haphazardly, I can't guarantee this is in chronological order. I did make an attempt to put them in "clumps" when they relate. 

Context occasionally given in brackets.

"Seeing what were probably bats on the Iron Horse Trail"

"Having two neurospicy coworkers" (I myself am neurospiced, which is why I'm mentioning this)

"Finding a good stick to use as a window jam" (Our window stopped working for a bit, so we needed to find something to jam it with. When winter came around, the regular lock started working again. Don't know why)

"Medical system progressing Lee-Anne's journey. Schedule for intracranial observation set"

"Being in a country with an accessible enough medical system to give this as an option for Lee-Anne"

"Living in a time where we can understand Lee-Anne's epilepsy"

"Lee-Anne's procedure is on Purple Shirt Day" (Purple Shirt Day is Epilepsy Awareness Day. Even her neurosurgeon said her procedure being set at that date was "auspicious". Some coworkers and members wore purple in her honour)

"Lee-Anne successfully getting through initial surgery for her epilepsy observation"

"Lee-Anne being supported to make a complaint after a bad experience with a nurse"

"Finding a 4 leaf clover token"

"Getting some time to myself to recuperate"

"Getting the salad bowl that was ordered for our wedding shower last year"

"Developing a strategy to keep workout routine engaging"

"Playing the new edition of Super Mario RPG"

"Having a good vet clinic" (One of our cats, Finn, had an emergency where he was urinating blood. We took him in. He was diagnosed as anxious with a delayed reaction from the Christmas season. We got him treated and he's been doing well)

"Finn feeling better"

"A workshop provider forcing some introspection on coworkers"

"The solar eclipse being cool and my boss bringing eclipse glasses"

"Running into the mother of someone I used to support and learning that he is doing well"

"Getting to experience Akira Toriyama's work" (The writer for the Dragon Ball series passed this year)

"QAM went well" (The audit system for where I work. I've been there for six years. Apparently they used to come in almost annually, but the pandemic backlogged them hard, so this was the first time I've experienced it) 

"Seeing a Via, Go, and Ion train all crossing the same spot at the same time"

"My mom & aunt made it to Kenabeek" (Where my grandparents live)

"My mom, brother, and their cats getting out of the fire alright" (When Mom was gone, there was a house fire that compromised their home. My mom, brother, and there two cats would have to live with us until they could find somewhere else)

"Family in Guelph having enough community to step in"

"Managed to get seeds to sprout sunflowers in each of the jiffy pots" (This is the only grattitude that aged poorly, as none of these sunflowers would survive. I grew three batches, but they were all eaten by pests)

"My mom and brother getting to try Graffiti Market and Thai Bistro"

"Getting the chance to show my mom and brother the Pokemon Go routes I've made" (Fringe benefit of them needing to live here is that I was able to show them some local attractions)

"Kieran & Finn and Castor & Pollux all warmed up to each other" (Our two cats and their two, learning to live with each other)

"My brother being supported by his partner in California" (My brother left to stay with his partner for a few months after the fire to collect himself)

"Finally doing Tie Dye" (When I couldn't find a purple shirt for Epilepsy Awareness Day, I remembered that I could use tie dye. I bought a kit, but also regular dye and wound up making a normal purple shirt. Eventually I made some tie-dye stuff)

"Went to the cherry festival for the first time and it was a lot bigger than I thought it could be"

"Harvested a lot of peas, got a tomato, and two cucumbers on the way"

"Hearing that an old teacher told one of our students that I have a beautiful soul"

"Being lent the complete works of J.R.R. Tolkien"

"Going to Central Art Walk and Frederick Art Walk"

"Running into some old coworkers and people I used to support at Frederick Art Walk"

"Getting new bookmarks, dryer balls, a sketchbook, and a calendar for 2025 at Frederick Art Walk"

"Getting to stay at St Jacob's for mine and Lee-Anne's first anniversary"

"Running into an old WALES member at St Jacob's Market"

"Running into my old boss and his wife at Stanley Park Mall"

"Seeing a fox outside Hospice Waterloo Region" (Not because anyone was dying. I was job shadowing someone, and when we left there was a fox)

"My mom and brother got accepted into an apartment right across the street, rent controlled with dishwasher"

"Pollux & Castor moved to the new apartment" (They didn't go right away, we waited until the place was filled out a bit)

"My mom and brother were given an armchair and couch from Lee-Anne's grandma's old place" 

"A coworker gave my mom and brother a coffee table and dining room table"

"Family friend helped us move the Guelph stuff out of storage"

"Finally getting that citrus painting from Lee Angold, which we first saw at the Central Art Walk" (Mentioning her name because she is a public fiure)

"Finally going back to Kenabeek, seeing it in Fall for the first time" (A place that was central to my childhood, but I hadn't managed to visit in recent years)

"Finding my old clubhouse in Kenabeek still intact"

"Reading my old childhood books in Kenabeek and showing Lee-Anne"

"Granddad got to be with his wife and daughters when he passed" (My granddad with dementia, not from the Kenabeek branch)

"Granddad passed while listening to his favourite symphony: Mahler #2"

Granddad's Memorial Service

Here is Granddad's obituary, mostly written by my Aunt with input from Mom:

https://obituaries.thestar.com/obituary/dr-barent-landstreet-jr-1092502209

His Memorial Service was held on January 2nd at the retirement community that he'd been living in with Oma. They have a lobby downstairs that is large enough to accomodate a gathering. It was held here because they wanted to make sure that family could make it, as well as friends and neighbours that were local to the community.

 It was a Quaker ceremony. I knew that we had some ancestry, but honestly didn't know it was immediate enough to count as our nearest faith system, at least on that side of the family. I liked it though. Quakers don't plan speaches, so they celebrate in silence, allowing anyone that feels compelled to talk to briefly say what's on their mind.

There was a very slight irony that the person explaining the format read the bit about not having planned speaches from a piece of paper.

I didn't quite have it in me to talk. I'm comforted a little by the sentiment that we were able to support with our silence. I wonder if my quietness comes from my Quaker roots.

I'll share a few of the thoughts I had while I was reflecting on my relationship with Granddad during the service. Nothing too profound.

I remembered waving to each other all the way until he was out of eyesight after his visits to Guelph.

I remembered that, during a road trip to see my Great Grandmother in Philedelphia, he was playing an audio biography of Beethoven. As an adult, it wasn't too sad, but it had some melancholy beats. I asked him and my mom why they would listen to something they knew would make them feel bad. The answer I got was that it was "sad in a good way" and when I said that didn't make sense, I was told that "I'd understand when I grew up". Well, I'm grown up now and I do know. I think this was the first time I considered that there was merit to life outside of happiness.

He was the reason I used to listen to classical music when I was trying to sleep as a child. I had insomnia and it helped.

I remembered that when things were hard when I was in high school, and our households were not speaking. We'd email each other and rendezvous somewhere for a meal and to catch up.

He's probably the only reason I had any real familiarity with restaurants before I became an adult. 

Here is a display in his honour set up at the service.

After the ceremony, we took his ashes to High Park. He used to run there regularly, as it was in his neighbourhood previous to retirement. I used to go on hikes with him there. My aunt gave the family 20 jars and invited us to either scatter them or take them home. After some thought, I figured that I didn't know which was a better way to honour him. So I chose a tree to scatter my bottle under, and Lee-Anne kept hers.

I thought that, because he was sociable I should put it somewhere that he could see people moving by. I found a spot near a walking trail and river, overlooked by this tree.

 

I also took note of a memorial bench nearby, just because those are always distinct and unlikely to be moved. A way to make sure I could find my way back.

He neighbours Marjorie and Stan Collinson. There's an engraved quote that says "Memories are precious, life goes along, fill it with caring and love"

Maybe not hyper-specific to our family, but it fits and it's a nice sentiment.

Mom thought similarly and split the difference with the ashes she was given, scattering some and taking some home. She says she wants to spread some near where they're currently living, and some near mine and Lee-Anne's place.