{"id":363,"date":"2013-01-16T03:34:21","date_gmt":"2013-01-16T03:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/blog\/?p=363"},"modified":"2013-01-16T03:34:21","modified_gmt":"2013-01-16T03:34:21","slug":"make-time-to-celebrate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/","title":{"rendered":"Make Time to Celebrate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cShould we go ? We\u2019ve got so much work to do on this farm .\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWe got an invitation to the wedding, but I didn\u2019t know I was expected at the bridal shower.\u201d \u201cOur daughter was always sorry her dad couldn\u2019t leave the field for a day to attend her graduation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celebrations abound in the summer. Graduations, weddings, anniversaries, family re-unions, campfires, baptisms and birthdays. The excuses for not attending may seem valid if the farm work is overwhelming, but 10 years from now will you regret not showing up ?<\/p>\n

Dr. Nikki Gerrard\u2019s 12 year study of farm families called \u201cWhat doesn\u2019t kill you makes you stronger\u201d showed that rural folks who took time to celebrate and connect with community were far more resilient to the storms and bumps of life.<\/p>\n

Strong families celebrate.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t have to be elaborate or expensive. It\u2019s the act of connecting with friends and family to share stories, laughter, and even struggles.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you, but we don\u2019t nearly have the parties that we used to,\u00a0 and I miss that. When we celebrated our 25th<\/sup> anniversary on July 4th<\/sup> (yes , we got married on Independence Day !) we cleaned out the new shed, invited folks for a barbequed hamburger, watermelon and ice cream . The drinks were pop served on a silver platter by \u201cWittman\u201d our white-gloved butler, \u00a0an old high school friend in a very convincing costume. We wanted to celebrate our marriage and cherish our connections to friends. Steve Bell gave a concert on our flatbed trailer in the shed and our son\u2019s rock band was the warm up act. It was a lot of fun . In years gone by 25th<\/sup> Anniversaries were formal events replete with corsages and silver trays, but today folks seem to slip off to a private holiday , and don\u2019t want to draw attention to milestone events. We were honoured to a 75th<\/sup> anniversary which was an unforgettable experience, and a great encouragement to stay committed.<\/p>\n

Family picnics are an inexpensive way to draw the clan together for volleyball, potluck goodies, and a campfire to cement family stories into the minds of the next generation. My Aunt Lois is the driver for our family picnics, the glue that keeps the cousins connecting. When you lose a parent, or both parents, are you going to be the one in your family that ensures you celebrate together?<\/p>\n

Social graces have changed over the past three decades. Wedding showers used to be a community event for the entire town to show support for the new couple. RSVP still means \u201crespondez s\u2019il vous plait\u201d , ie. please tell us if you are coming to the wedding, but unfortunately some folks haven\u2019t learned this etiquette. Weddings and funerals are important rituals that have similar elements, just different timelines for planning.<\/p>\n

There seems to be a trend towards avoiding the funeral service, and I think that is unfortunate. The \u201clife celebration\u201d is not for the deceased, it\u2019s really about helping the grieving process for the friends and family left behind. The cost of the funeral can be decreased when the community contributes food and practical support. People remember the folks who took the time to \u201cbe present\u201d. If you\u2019ve been thinking something to give your adult kids who have everything, give them your funeral plans ( see my website article \u201cIs Your Funeral Planned ?\u201d at www.elainefroese.com<\/a> )<\/p>\n

Making time to celebrate the beginning of life at baby showers, the joining of life at weddings and the end of life at funerals is the rhythm of life we need to respect and engage.<\/p>\n

I have a Facebook page, but I don\u2019t spend hours every day on it. I feel silly learning more about my nieces and nephews on Facebook, than in real life since we don\u2019t connect on a regular basis. A phone call on your cell or Skype with video is a better connection option than just words on the computer.<\/p>\n

Not all family members want to connect . I receive calls prior to the major holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, \u201cwhen the kids are supposed to be coming back to the farm.\u201d Widows want to know when it is safe to talk about transition of the business. I suggest enjoying the celebration day as a family fun day, and leave the business talk for Monday morning. Book the flight out for Tuesday.<\/p>\n

At some point in life we realize that \u201cexpectations can be a shortcut to discontent\u201d. Are you expecting too much at your party ? \u00a0If you can chat about your intent to have fun and just enjoy being together, things may be smoother.\u00a0 My brother was kind enough to bring along his girlfriend to our 25th<\/sup>, and she just happened to have a whack of catering experience. It was the start of a great friendship ! I didn\u2019t have great expectations of perfection, the menu was kept simple, and everyone had a good time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to invite you over for supper Elaine, but my carpet and drapes don\u2019t match.\u201d<\/p>\n

I am not kidding, I was the \u201cdistrict home economist\u201d at the time. People can come up will all sorts of reasons why celebrating or connecting with you doesn\u2019t work for them. Let those folks go their own way and find the herd that is happy to holler with you.\u00a0 We\u2019ve adopted some young families with children who need \u201cadopted\u201d aunties and uncles. It\u2019s been a delight to share campfires with them for birthday parties, and have them over for soup and buns.<\/p>\n

So what is stopping your family from having more fun this summer?<\/p>\n

1. \u201cWork is never done.\u201d Okay. Leave the workaholics behind and go on your own.<\/p>\n

2. \u201cWe can\u2019t afford to party.\u201d Potluck works well for birthdays and camping suppers. You\u2019ll save a lot with Judy\u2019s Ice Tea. : Steep 4 Red Rose Tea bags in 120 oz of hot tap water. Remove the bags and stir in a can of frozen lemonade. Chill. Enjoy. A large restaurant pickle jar is 120 oz., just up to where the jar starts to curve in.<\/p>\n

3.\u201dI don\u2019t know what to wear.\u201d These days casual seems to work for everything. I was taught to be dressed-up, and I have a game of re-arranging my closet to find something \u201cnew to me.\u201d Someone once said, you are not totally dressed until you are wearing a smile. I am sure that people who are your genuine friends really just want you to show up, and they won\u2019t be judging your attire.<\/p>\n

4. \u201cI can\u2019t plan ahead that far.\u201d\u00a0 Right. Being intentional about what you need for fun in your life is your choice. Have a\u00a0 flexible plan. Sometimes a phone call will be plan B, but other times you won\u2019t regret making the actual effort to be there in person. Folks say that your \u201cactions speak louder than words.\u201d They feel appreciated when you chose to celebrate with them. Remember , we rural folks need all the resilience we can get.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cShould we go ? We\u2019ve got so much work to do on this farm .\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWe got an invitation to the wedding, but I didn\u2019t know I was expected at the bridal shower.\u201d \u201cOur daughter was always sorry her dad couldn\u2019t leave the field for a day to attend her graduation.\u201d Celebrations abound in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[112,365,367],"class_list":["post-363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-family","tag-healthy-living","tag-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nMake Time to Celebrate - Elaine Froese | Canada\u2019s Farm Whisperer | Your go-to expert for farm families who want better communication and conflict resolution to secure a successful farm transition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Make Time to Celebrate - Elaine Froese | Canada\u2019s Farm Whisperer | Your go-to expert for farm families who want better communication and conflict resolution to secure a successful farm transition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cShould we go ? We\u2019ve got so much work to do on this farm .\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWe got an invitation to the wedding, but I didn\u2019t know I was expected at the bridal shower.\u201d \u201cOur daughter was always sorry her dad couldn\u2019t leave the field for a day to attend her graduation.\u201d Celebrations abound in the…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Elaine Froese | Canada\u2019s Farm Whisperer | Your go-to expert for farm families who want better communication and conflict resolution to secure a successful farm transition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-01-16T03:34:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elaine Froese\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elaine Froese\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elaine Froese\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6960d626ab7e9f2f8f719815b7733dc3\"},\"headline\":\"Make Time to Celebrate\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-01-16T03:34:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/\"},\"wordCount\":1188,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"family\",\"healthy living\",\"inspiration\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/\",\"name\":\"Make Time to Celebrate - Elaine Froese | Canada\u2019s Farm Whisperer | Your go-to expert for farm families who want better communication and conflict resolution to secure a successful farm transition\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-01-16T03:34:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6960d626ab7e9f2f8f719815b7733dc3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Make Time to Celebrate\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/\",\"name\":\"Elaine Froese | Canada\u2019s Farm Whisperer | Your go-to expert for farm families who want better communication and conflict resolution to secure a successful farm transition\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6960d626ab7e9f2f8f719815b7733dc3\",\"name\":\"Elaine Froese\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4df8162d4b4a0bb7b79f735f1fd39bc21a692ec62908384041c34339d64bd119?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4df8162d4b4a0bb7b79f735f1fd39bc21a692ec62908384041c34339d64bd119?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elaine Froese\"},\"description\":\"I\u2019m Elaine Froese, a lifelong farmer. Every day, I use my background in conflict resolution and communication to help fellow growers and ranchers face make-or-break issues head on \u2014 so they can focus on the business of farming. My expertise is sought after across Canada, and in the U.S. I'm a catalyst for courageous conversations, new scenarios and more profitable businesses. Many of my clients say: \u201cI wish I had met you 10 years ago.\u201d Learn more on how I can help you here \u2192\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/author\/elaine\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Make Time to Celebrate - Elaine Froese | Canada\u2019s Farm Whisperer | Your go-to expert for farm families who want better communication and conflict resolution to secure a successful farm transition","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Make Time to Celebrate - Elaine Froese | Canada\u2019s Farm Whisperer | Your go-to expert for farm families who want better communication and conflict resolution to secure a successful farm transition","og_description":"\u201cShould we go ? We\u2019ve got so much work to do on this farm .\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWe got an invitation to the wedding, but I didn\u2019t know I was expected at the bridal shower.\u201d \u201cOur daughter was always sorry her dad couldn\u2019t leave the field for a day to attend her graduation.\u201d Celebrations abound in the…","og_url":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/","og_site_name":"Elaine Froese | Canada\u2019s Farm Whisperer | Your go-to expert for farm families who want better communication and conflict resolution to secure a successful farm transition","article_published_time":"2013-01-16T03:34:21+00:00","author":"Elaine Froese","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elaine Froese","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/"},"author":{"name":"Elaine Froese","@id":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6960d626ab7e9f2f8f719815b7733dc3"},"headline":"Make Time to Celebrate","datePublished":"2013-01-16T03:34:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/"},"wordCount":1188,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["family","healthy living","inspiration"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/","url":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/","name":"Make Time to Celebrate - Elaine Froese | Canada\u2019s Farm Whisperer | Your go-to expert for farm families who want better communication and conflict resolution to secure a successful farm transition","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-01-16T03:34:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6960d626ab7e9f2f8f719815b7733dc3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/01\/16\/make-time-to-celebrate\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Make Time to Celebrate"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/","name":"Elaine Froese | Canada\u2019s Farm Whisperer | Your go-to expert for farm families who want better communication and conflict resolution to secure a successful farm transition","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6960d626ab7e9f2f8f719815b7733dc3","name":"Elaine Froese","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4df8162d4b4a0bb7b79f735f1fd39bc21a692ec62908384041c34339d64bd119?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4df8162d4b4a0bb7b79f735f1fd39bc21a692ec62908384041c34339d64bd119?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elaine Froese"},"description":"I\u2019m Elaine Froese, a lifelong farmer. Every day, I use my background in conflict resolution and communication to help fellow growers and ranchers face make-or-break issues head on \u2014 so they can focus on the business of farming. My expertise is sought after across Canada, and in the U.S. I'm a catalyst for courageous conversations, new scenarios and more profitable businesses. Many of my clients say: \u201cI wish I had met you 10 years ago.\u201d Learn more on how I can help you here \u2192","url":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/author\/elaine\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}