Blessings in Disguise

(clockwise from far left)

EPIC NIGHT “This is my five-year-year old son, Ronan, getting ready for Halloween last year. He said that this pic was ‘epic!’ I hope he looks back and remembers fondly the time his mother made his costume,” says Sandra Harvey of Tiverton, Ont.

FUTURE FIREFIGHTER “My grandson, Reed, loves coming to visit and spending an hour or two at our local volunteer fire station,” shares Linda Swance of Burlington, Ont. “Becoming a firefighter is surely in Reed’s future as his papa and uncle are both firefighters, as well as having another uncle who is a volunteer. Reed knows, even at his tender age, that firefighters are heroes.”

DRESSED TO IMPRESS! “This is my middle son, Malcolm, enjoying cotton candy while waiting for fireworks to begin on Canada Day at the Beaverton Fair Grounds,” explains Rachel Bullock of Beaverton, Ont. “Malcolm is wearing a Star Wars Wookie jacket from the Disney store—we’re giant nerds, so we love that type of clothing!”

CAUGHT RUBBER-HANDED

I never usually get dressed first thing in the morning. I’ve gotten into the habit of doing some chores around the house in my night clothes and then showering and getting dressed for the day. In our basement, we used to have a huge chest freezer. One winter morning, I decided it was time to defrost and clean it out. I placed all the frozen foods into boxes and covered them with blankets, so they wouldn’t thaw. I poured large pots of boiling water into the freezer to help the defrosting process along and shut the lid.

While this was happening, I went to the kitchen and decided to cut up some cucumbers and onions in order to make some pickles. The cucumbers were no problem, but the recipe called for five pounds of onions. Well, while I was chopping and crying my eyes out, I happened to notice my daughter’s swimming goggles and I had the brilliant idea of grabbing them o the counter and snapping them across my eyes to help protect myself from the onions.

After I had the pickles soaking in the brine, I returned to the basement to finish my job there. The freezer was so big and deep, I had to climb right inside to clean it up, still with my nightgown on. By that time, the freezer’s ice had all melted so before going in, I decided to put on my brand new pair of bright-blue rubber boots and a pair of yellow rubber gloves. The gloves were to help keep my hands from getting cold, while I used old towels to wipe the inside clean.

Just when I decided the job was done and I was ready to climb out, the doorbell rang. Friends who are like family to me walked into the house and called out looking for me. Seeing the basement lights on, they proceeded to come downstairs just in time to catch me crawling out of the deep freezer wearing a soggy flannel nightgown, bright-blue rubber boots, sun-yellow rubber gloves and swimming goggles! What could I say? I just smiled and said, “Hi, Margaret and Sheldon!”