"The Whiner"

When I was younger my Aunt used to call me "sucky baby Shawna" because I would complain and pout if I didn't get my way or if I didn't like something.....fast forward to Grade 7 and our class had a sub for most of that year, our teacher broke his back.....His name was Mr Hutcheson. I know he liked me. So much so that he made the nickname "The Whiner" for me and constantly bugged me about my whining.

I'm still "The Whiner" to this day.

I bring this up because last night our camping plans changed. Originally we were going to camp where my boyfriends family goes every year. They have memories there, trees, a beautiful beach and lake. Plans changed. The camp was all booked so his family found a last minute place, MUCH closer to us which is nice. But I was stressing out about the lay of the land, the lack of trees and grass really bothered me. So much so that I whined and cried about it for a good chunk of the night.

I skyped one of my Aunts last night the one who called me "sucky baby Shawna", and texted with my boyfriends sister and they made me realize that yeah it sucks things changed but you still need to make the best of things and not give up on having a good time and making memories.

Later that night as I was getting ready for bed, I looked at the news. The news put into perspective what really matters most. Family, Friends, and love.

2016 has been a horrible year personally, but also world wide. There's been so many atrocities and so much hate. So many deaths, so many innocent lives lost because of hatred.

Last weekend in Calgary an amber alert went out for a little girl....5 years old. Her mother was murdered, and she was taken. I still had hope that this little girl would be found....she brought a suitcase with her so I thought hey maybe this person wouldn't hurt this beautiful child. I was wrong and sadly they discovered a body they presume to be Taliyah Marsman that little 5 year old girl. I even read an article this morning that stated she was probably dead before the search for her even began. So devastating.

Along with this close to home tragedy came the news of over 80 people killed in Nice, France on Bastille Day. From what I know about Bastille Day is that its a day to come together and celebrate the Unity of the French. So all of these people were united on the streets getting ready to watch Fireworks. CELEBRATING. And were caught off guard by a man speeding through the crowd shooting and driving over people in a van. 10 of these people that died...were only children. They were only beginning to live and start their lives. Those children were the future. And some lonely, angry man destroyed all that. On a day about Unity.

So when we whine about things like camping spots changing, or waking up early, or not getting paid enough. We need to remember that lives are being lost every day. People are losing loved ones. There hearts are becoming undone by other people's horrible decisions. We need to stay positive. We need to appreciate those around us. We need to find the BEST in everything. We need to live and live hard. You never know when your world could stop.