(Originally Posted in 2024, Migrated to new website November 2025)

Often on my “flare days” I cannot get much accomplished. My rheumatoid arthritis simply will not allow me to do most simple tasks, let alone any heavier lifting. As you can imagine, being able to lift items larger than a pen may be detrimental to a cemetery groundskeeper such as myself.

I’m not going to lie. It has been a difficult path and many of my flare days have been spent miserable. Some days, I’m nearly unbearable to be around because of my grumpiness. Unfortunately, it is a comorbidity issue you see; I am also an addict in recovery. Because of these, I tend to get down on myself and stay there for a while; as I’m sure many people do, but I do it better than the average person.

Either way, I was attempting to find a way to keep my brain occupied so I decided to write. My cousin Susan has been a great supporter of mine and her requests echo in my mind whenever I realize that it has been a while since I last typed.

I don’t particularly have anything to speak about; nothing in the forefront of my mind that’s for sure. I like to write about things like my illness or my recovery because I hope they help another person, not to be a martyr. I also never wish to sound like a broken record or preachy but they definitely are my “low-hanging fruit.”

I can however, write about my experiences on a daily basis. Perhaps allow my fingers to walk any readers through a glimpse into the life and mind of me, Ehren A.

Well, as you know I am a groundskeeper. I drive tractors, dig holes, plant plants, remove snow, help set up services, do internments and disinterment’s, help visitors, as well as do all kinds of maintenance projects with a great team of people. It is very laborious work, but I love every minute of it. In fact, if you have taken the time to browse around my website or social media, you’d probably realize exactly how perfect of a job this is for me.

That’s pretty much what I do each day for responsibilities at work, but I do get the additional perks of being able to care for the natural wildlife; often saving a trapped or injured bird, luring coyotes back into the bushes, or unsticking the occasional scared bat. There’s never a dull moment and I have to thank the team for accepting me as I am and teaching me all they have so far. It has been a great experience.

By night, I try and help other people with their recovery or work on my own.

In the last couple of weeks, I have spent some time volunteering at the local Strathcona County Museum. I was honored to be asked to guide their ghost tours for their Spooky STRATHMA Event. I was able to participate during their kid’s event, but the day of the adult only event I was stricken with laryngitis. I lost my voice completely for the first time in my life. I am still struggling to get it back. I felt personally targeted, I had been so damned excited, but I did let it go eventually.

The team was incredible. I have never sat with such a diverse, accredited, and accepting group of intelligent minds in that way. We celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Museum and we all got to know each other a bit better. I myself being one of the “newer members” made sure to dress-to-impress. I was allowed to provide the Ghost Tour one last time; just for our volunteers, and boy was it fun.

I lead us through the Jail Cell, down the dark hallway, and into the pitch-black basement. I reminisced and shared a part of me that I rarely share with others now, the paranormal. God was it good to be back!

I had honest laughs and learned a lot about the volunteers and what makes them tick. I must say that we (as a society) are very lucky to have volunteer groups in our midst. Often, they are thankless groups of people that work tirelessly to achieve so many great things that are enjoyed by all. People don’t see how the benefits appear in their lives; they simply enjoy the perks. Typically, the changes; any changes really, are driven by volunteers anonymously or selflessly attempting to make a difference. Many times, they don’t even know why they are doing it. They are just good people trudging to build a better something; anything, for others to enjoy.

In-between all of this, I am a Halloween person at home too. Yes, I’m “that guy” with the “look-at-me” front yard and effects you can hear around the block. I was very late to the punch this year with decorating.

Normally, I take some time off from work and decorate my yard weeks in advance. I have many decorations that require assembly, lights, effects, and we never know when it’s going to snow. Normally it snows the day after I get all of my electronics up so I spend the day brushing off everything before setting up the last of the decorations for the kids to enjoy.

I left it in God’s hands this year and decided to focus on helping others with their struggles. Things would work out.

Well I can say that they did. Everything worked out great. Somehow, I was able to get all of my decorations out. I even designed it in a way that people could come up to the house. The treats were given out by my in-laws and wife at our front door. The brave could go around the back and do a loop through a 12-foot-tall clown’s mouth and into my back yard, where my more frightening decorations would be located.

We took some time to step away and take our two-year-old around the block trick-or-treating. When I looked back at my house and saw about 25 people on my driveway, heard the screaming, and saw all of the lights illuminating a fog-machine covered back yard I couldn’t help but smile.

The temperature was about +12 Degrees Celsius. The kids got to enjoy a frost-free evening and didn’t have to be bundled in their snow jackets like they always had been in previous years.

At 9:30 PM it was finally time to turn off the lights and sounds as the streets had emptied. I unplugged my dueling werewolves, 7 foot screaming banshee lady, my disembowelled wriggling zombie torso, I noted the light dusting of snow flakes starting to fall from the sky. It was ok though, no real snow in the forecast. Nothing I couldn’t blow or shake off in the morning.

I joked and raised my fist at the sky, “is that all you’ve got?” I then took a few extra minutes to box up my lighting and some extension cords before heading off to bed fearing a minor divine retaliation.

I was so proud of what I had accomplished and I was glad that I hadn’t worried or stressed about it. I had done everything right; I had done it perfectly. I got many compliments and thanks from people, which really pumps my tires. By the end of the event, I was watching the videos being posted and grinning from ear-to-ear. Another successful Halloween and an amazing event organized by our Community League that I helped found! My chest pumped up, I even called myself “The King of Halloween!” joking about how I had gotten away with it this year.

The next morning I awoke to a foot of snow covering all of my decorations. We have since gotten even more, and even more. It has melted, and thawed. I have spent an hour or two each day bringing in what decorations I can fit so that they can hang and dry overnight before packing them up and stowing them away. It has been 15 days since Halloween and I am only now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

I like to believe that; every now and then, I do still need a bit of a reminder to be humble. I can say that last year, I would have been grumbling about all of this. This year I am a different person. I can see the lesson here.

The goal of my story is not to brag about volunteering or anything really. It’s to share a bit of my life with you.

At the moment, I am flaring. I can’t really open my hands and everything hurts to touch. What I can say is that writing this out and posting it; as well as making a social media video this morning, has helped keep my brain occupied for a little while. I have been able to keep my mind off of my issues and share a bit of the past couple of weeks.

I was also a father, a son, and a husband this week but I don’t count that as work. My family members are the real heroes for putting up with me for as long as they have; they do the tough tasks. I just drink too much coffee, eat too much sugar when I know I shouldn’t, and get “the zoomies.” Everyone else in my life just straps in. I thank them for it.