Beth's Toiletries

Beth and I shared a room for a year - we shared a bunk bed in fact. And we got along quite well in that little space - we lived our parallel lives with a "goodnight Beth" and "goodnight Mary" to end off each day.

A funny thing happened this weekend - I think our time spent together impacted us in ways we don't even realize. I was at Beth's place and used her washroom, and when I glanced inside her bathtub it was like a mirror image of my own bathtub - the same Aveeno face wash, Dove shampoo and Fructis conditioner. How did that happen? Just a reminder of how glad I am to have shared that time in our wee room together.

Recommended Reading

Ben and I were chatting last night about books. Ben used to stay up late reading with a flashlight under his blanket. My Dad regularly asks me, "What are you reading?"

Here are some of my recent faves:

I just finished The Shack by William P. Young. Clear, joyful, beautiful insights into who God is. I felt blessed to read this one at the same time as my Dad. He summarized it well - "it's a reminder of our need for love and understanding, our need to love and understand, and our need to forgive and be forgiven."

Secondly, last spring I enjoyed reading The 100-Mile Diet by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon. It's inspiring - changing the way we eat and think about food can change the world. It made me realize how much I value growing up with an "egg lady" and a half cow in our freezer each year -helping Dad plant his garden, picking apples in our yard for apple pies, and going to the farmer's market on Saturdays.

My family shared a local thanksgiving together this year - even Jay (who we highly underestimate) brought his mashed potatoes and Dad woke up bright and early to collect his turkey named Zeke.

Good times.

-Mary