I totally get that Staples commercial. You know the one with the parents dancing through the aisle of the store, loading the cart with school supplies while singing that old Christmas classic but with a twist.
I love back to school - and not only for the reasons you think. Sure, I'm looking forward to a clean house and a little peace and quiet but that's not the only thing I'm looking forward to ... I love everything about back to school. Always have. I love shopping for school supplies and picking out a new outfit for the first day of school. I love the pre-school haircut, the new 'indoor' shoes, the new back pack and the fresh lunch kit. I love the anticipation of seeing old friends and making new ones. I love walking into the classroom for the first time, organizing my new desk, seeing where my spot in the classroom is ...
Oh wait ... I'm not the one going back to school.
Anyway, I love back to school ... especially labelling school supplies! I love seeing all the brand new markers and pencils and glue sticks laid out beside the stack of unopened loose leaf and fresh binders and unmarked scribblers. Oh Hilroy, you are everything good and stationary in this season!!!
Um, excuse me ... I seem to be getting a little carried away.
This afternoon, while the kids are desperately clinging to the last dregs of their summer holidays I will be surrounding myself with stacks and stacks of school supplies; labelling, sorting and organising. I will pack backpacks and hang up all the new first day of school outfits, all the while humming my favourite September song!
If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers.
~Edgar W. Howe
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
10 Undeniable Truths of Summer Break
As Summer Break draws to a close I have learned a few undeniable truths about kids and summer and survival ... Can you identify?
1. You can schedule twelve hours of activities for six consecutive days for the kids but when you take the seventh day off as a home day they will whine about how 'Its so boring' and 'We never do anything fun!'
2. You can spend an hour setting up the sprinkler, finding towels and bathing suits and slathering sunscreen on the kids and they will still only spend 10 minutes playing in the water before they get cold and hungry and want to do a craft/watch a movie/go to the park...
3. The kids will never remember that you said Wednesday is room cleaning day but they will always remember that Thursday is ice cream day.
4. 9 out of 10 times, at their insistence, you will drag every inflatable beach toy, sand toy and water gun the kids own down to the beach and they will play with rocks and sticks instead.
5. Letting the kids stay up late so they will sleep in the next day never works ... they will still wake up early the next morning and they will be grouchy to boot!
6. At some point in mid July you will start to pass summer grime on your kids feet off as a suntan.
7. At some point in late July a run through the sprinkler or a dip in the lake will pass for a bath/shower for your kids.
8. The same stack of books you wanted to read in June will still be there in September ... waiting to be read.
9. It is an unreasonable expectation to think a six year old boy will voluntarily wear underwear during the summer months.
10. As desperate as you are for school to start so the fighting and whining will stop, you will still feel a little sad to turn the calendar over to September.
Thanks kids for the great summer of beach days, long walks, movie marathons, storytelling, tree climbing, backyard adventures, silly antics, laughs and memories ... let's do it again next year ... same place, same time!
The tans will fade but the memories will last forever
~Unknown
1. You can schedule twelve hours of activities for six consecutive days for the kids but when you take the seventh day off as a home day they will whine about how 'Its so boring' and 'We never do anything fun!'
2. You can spend an hour setting up the sprinkler, finding towels and bathing suits and slathering sunscreen on the kids and they will still only spend 10 minutes playing in the water before they get cold and hungry and want to do a craft/watch a movie/go to the park...
3. The kids will never remember that you said Wednesday is room cleaning day but they will always remember that Thursday is ice cream day.
4. 9 out of 10 times, at their insistence, you will drag every inflatable beach toy, sand toy and water gun the kids own down to the beach and they will play with rocks and sticks instead.
5. Letting the kids stay up late so they will sleep in the next day never works ... they will still wake up early the next morning and they will be grouchy to boot!
6. At some point in mid July you will start to pass summer grime on your kids feet off as a suntan.
7. At some point in late July a run through the sprinkler or a dip in the lake will pass for a bath/shower for your kids.
8. The same stack of books you wanted to read in June will still be there in September ... waiting to be read.
9. It is an unreasonable expectation to think a six year old boy will voluntarily wear underwear during the summer months.
10. As desperate as you are for school to start so the fighting and whining will stop, you will still feel a little sad to turn the calendar over to September.
Thanks kids for the great summer of beach days, long walks, movie marathons, storytelling, tree climbing, backyard adventures, silly antics, laughs and memories ... let's do it again next year ... same place, same time!
The tans will fade but the memories will last forever
~Unknown
Monday, August 29, 2011
Easy vs. Right
Being a parent isn't the hardest job on earth, being a good one is.
I remember when Dude was about 10 days old and I was completely overwhelmed. I hadn't slept for more than an hour at a time since he was born, I was leaking from every possible place on my body, I was sore from birthing Baby Budzilla (he was 10lbs 7oz and almost 24 inches long) and nursing him every two hours. I can clearly remember standing in the shower, the first one I had had in what felt like years, and bawling my head off. I was a mess!
I look back on that day often and ask myself, "What the heck are you crying for?! That was the easy part!!!"
Some days I would give almost anything to go back to when my biggest concern with the kids was how long they are going to nap for and if they had a BM that day. If I would have known then what I know now I would have cherished those exhausting but comparatively carefree days. I would have savoured the cocoon we were in, how sheltered we were from outside influences and expectations. I would have basked in the baby-bliss just a little more.
Because of the age of our kids and where we live our challenges with them are still nothing compared to what some parents face. Recently I heard from a friend that I don't see very often. She has a son that is a couple of years older than Dude and I knew that she was having some trouble with him. He's at that preteen age and had had a rough year at school and in their neighborhood. There's a lot of gang activity in her area and her son was being alternately harassed and recruited by gang members. In July things got so bad that my friend knew that if she didn't act quickly and drastically she might lose her son for good.
So she made the tough decision, the right decision. My friend packed up her son and shipped him off, halfway across the country to live with his aunt. This might seem like an extreme reaction but my friend had seen other kids she cares about go down the same path her son was on and it scared her. Even though she is plagued by doubt and loneliness she is sticking to her guns, so to speak; her son is there and she is here and that's just the way it is for now.
My friend's son is doing well, settling in to his new life with his aunt and my friend says that even though she still gets the odd call from the gang recruiters and neighborhood thugs looking for her son she feels like a weight has been lifted. She can see that this right decision has given her son a chance to live and grow and be successful. She can see him growing into a man of integrity and purpose rather than squandering his life away in jail ... or worse.
No one said being a parent is an easy job, in fact people tend to say the exact opposite. I just hope that I will always have the guts to make the right choices for my kids, even if those choices are not the easy ones to make.
Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.
~Elizabeth Stone
I remember when Dude was about 10 days old and I was completely overwhelmed. I hadn't slept for more than an hour at a time since he was born, I was leaking from every possible place on my body, I was sore from birthing Baby Budzilla (he was 10lbs 7oz and almost 24 inches long) and nursing him every two hours. I can clearly remember standing in the shower, the first one I had had in what felt like years, and bawling my head off. I was a mess!
I look back on that day often and ask myself, "What the heck are you crying for?! That was the easy part!!!"
Some days I would give almost anything to go back to when my biggest concern with the kids was how long they are going to nap for and if they had a BM that day. If I would have known then what I know now I would have cherished those exhausting but comparatively carefree days. I would have savoured the cocoon we were in, how sheltered we were from outside influences and expectations. I would have basked in the baby-bliss just a little more.
Because of the age of our kids and where we live our challenges with them are still nothing compared to what some parents face. Recently I heard from a friend that I don't see very often. She has a son that is a couple of years older than Dude and I knew that she was having some trouble with him. He's at that preteen age and had had a rough year at school and in their neighborhood. There's a lot of gang activity in her area and her son was being alternately harassed and recruited by gang members. In July things got so bad that my friend knew that if she didn't act quickly and drastically she might lose her son for good.
So she made the tough decision, the right decision. My friend packed up her son and shipped him off, halfway across the country to live with his aunt. This might seem like an extreme reaction but my friend had seen other kids she cares about go down the same path her son was on and it scared her. Even though she is plagued by doubt and loneliness she is sticking to her guns, so to speak; her son is there and she is here and that's just the way it is for now.
My friend's son is doing well, settling in to his new life with his aunt and my friend says that even though she still gets the odd call from the gang recruiters and neighborhood thugs looking for her son she feels like a weight has been lifted. She can see that this right decision has given her son a chance to live and grow and be successful. She can see him growing into a man of integrity and purpose rather than squandering his life away in jail ... or worse.
No one said being a parent is an easy job, in fact people tend to say the exact opposite. I just hope that I will always have the guts to make the right choices for my kids, even if those choices are not the easy ones to make.
Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.
~Elizabeth Stone
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
The Things They Say
Despite the mayhem and moments of frustration, having the kids home for the past couple of months has been pretty entertaining. Chatting with them or listening to their conversations with each other has provided us with hours of comedic relief. Here are a few snippets from our summer together ...
Mischief - What is Romeo and Juliet about anyway?
Dude - Its a high school play that some guy in Europe or China wrote. Its about these two people who like each other and then they die. The moral is that if you get a girlfriend it might kill you, so be careful.
Mischief - I just drank a big glass of milk, wanna see me do a handstand?
Random One - Ah, I think you might want to let that milk settle before you start doing tricks.
Mischief - Right, I might puke if I do tricks now (pause) Hey, mom ... wanna see me puke upside down?
After seeing me answer the door in ratty yoga pants and a pilly sweater...
Crafty - Ugh! You answered the door like that?!
Random One - Yeah, so?
Crafty - You look like a hobo!
Random One - If I was a hobo I wouldn't have a door to answer.
Crafty - Yes, you would, it would just be made of cardboard or something.
Mischief, upon meeting my cousin's baby - So this is the new little dude? He's kind of cute, once you get to know him.
Dude - That was sarcasm? Hmph, I thought I knew what sarcasm sounded like. Interesting.
Crafty - Duh!
Dude - Now, that was sarcasm!
Mischief - We can't go back to the dentist for maybe like two years.
Mr. Awesome - Why?
Mischief - Because I promised the dentist that I would stop sucking my thumb by the next time I see him.
Mr. Awesome - And?
Mischief - I don't think I'll be ready to give it up for another couple of years and I'll feel bad to break my promise so we can't go back.
Children seldom misquote. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said. ~Author Unknown
Mischief - What is Romeo and Juliet about anyway?
Dude - Its a high school play that some guy in Europe or China wrote. Its about these two people who like each other and then they die. The moral is that if you get a girlfriend it might kill you, so be careful.
Mischief - I just drank a big glass of milk, wanna see me do a handstand?
Random One - Ah, I think you might want to let that milk settle before you start doing tricks.
Mischief - Right, I might puke if I do tricks now (pause) Hey, mom ... wanna see me puke upside down?
After seeing me answer the door in ratty yoga pants and a pilly sweater...
Crafty - Ugh! You answered the door like that?!
Random One - Yeah, so?
Crafty - You look like a hobo!
Random One - If I was a hobo I wouldn't have a door to answer.
Crafty - Yes, you would, it would just be made of cardboard or something.
Mischief, upon meeting my cousin's baby - So this is the new little dude? He's kind of cute, once you get to know him.
Dude - That was sarcasm? Hmph, I thought I knew what sarcasm sounded like. Interesting.
Crafty - Duh!
Dude - Now, that was sarcasm!
Mischief - We can't go back to the dentist for maybe like two years.
Mr. Awesome - Why?
Mischief - Because I promised the dentist that I would stop sucking my thumb by the next time I see him.
Mr. Awesome - And?
Mischief - I don't think I'll be ready to give it up for another couple of years and I'll feel bad to break my promise so we can't go back.
Children seldom misquote. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said. ~Author Unknown
Monday, August 22, 2011
Right as Rain
I am kind of an anomaly; I love weather that most people hate. I love winter and snow and minus 34 temperatures. I love cloudy days and cool summers. I also love rain. Most everybody loves a raging thunderstorm every now and then but I also enjoy a good, steady rain. I like misty, foggy rain, hard pounding rain, a constant drizzle, thundering sheets and intermittent showers. I just love rain.
I love how a good rain makes things grow. You just know that in the days following rain, there will be lush green grass, blooming flowers and the fields will be bursting with new growth. Rain washing everything clean and makes the world seem almost new and fresh again. A thunderstorm, though cool to watch, can often cause flash floods, widespread damage and leave a big mess in its wake; but a constant rain is soaked into the ground as it comes down and leaves nothing but possibility when its done.
*Insert eminent jump to deep, philosophical analogy here ;-)*
I have been living in intermittent showers lately. I've not experienced a real storm yet but the threat of one is looming. I see the clouds in the distance and I'm not sure whether they are ominous, threatening storm clouds are light, fluffy benign clouds. I see them but I just don't know what they'll bring. No matter how long I stare at those clouds I won't know what they hold until they are right overhead.
You can go a little mental if you stare at clouds too long. You start to see things that aren't really there and you start to worry about what the clouds mean, which direction they are travelling and how they will disrupt your future plans. You can waste your life cloud watching and storm fretting if you're not careful.
Rain is normal and natural. Without a little rain every now and then how would things grow? When I think about the rain I've experienced I can see where I have grown or learned something about myself. The rain has helped me to realize that I am stronger, smarter and more resilient than I thought. The rain has revealed patience, perseverance and optimism I didn't know was there, just under the surface. The rain has also proven to be short term, it never lasts too long and it never destroys what is meant to be.
Although rain is often cold and uncomfortable, it can also be warm and refreshing. I don't spend too much time cloud watching, trying to figure out when the next rain is coming and if it'll be a light misting or a fierce storm. I just keep living my life, making plans and when it does rain I try to see it for what it is; not the end of the world but a time for growth and possibilities.
Right as rain ... I like that saying.
Many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings abundance to drive away the hunger.
~Saint Basil
I love how a good rain makes things grow. You just know that in the days following rain, there will be lush green grass, blooming flowers and the fields will be bursting with new growth. Rain washing everything clean and makes the world seem almost new and fresh again. A thunderstorm, though cool to watch, can often cause flash floods, widespread damage and leave a big mess in its wake; but a constant rain is soaked into the ground as it comes down and leaves nothing but possibility when its done.
*Insert eminent jump to deep, philosophical analogy here ;-)*
I have been living in intermittent showers lately. I've not experienced a real storm yet but the threat of one is looming. I see the clouds in the distance and I'm not sure whether they are ominous, threatening storm clouds are light, fluffy benign clouds. I see them but I just don't know what they'll bring. No matter how long I stare at those clouds I won't know what they hold until they are right overhead.
You can go a little mental if you stare at clouds too long. You start to see things that aren't really there and you start to worry about what the clouds mean, which direction they are travelling and how they will disrupt your future plans. You can waste your life cloud watching and storm fretting if you're not careful.
Rain is normal and natural. Without a little rain every now and then how would things grow? When I think about the rain I've experienced I can see where I have grown or learned something about myself. The rain has helped me to realize that I am stronger, smarter and more resilient than I thought. The rain has revealed patience, perseverance and optimism I didn't know was there, just under the surface. The rain has also proven to be short term, it never lasts too long and it never destroys what is meant to be.
Although rain is often cold and uncomfortable, it can also be warm and refreshing. I don't spend too much time cloud watching, trying to figure out when the next rain is coming and if it'll be a light misting or a fierce storm. I just keep living my life, making plans and when it does rain I try to see it for what it is; not the end of the world but a time for growth and possibilities.
Right as rain ... I like that saying.
Many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings abundance to drive away the hunger.
~Saint Basil
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Every Little Moment
Today my friend is saying good bye to his father. I knew my friend's dad briefly, years ago and I remembered him to be a friendly, funny, gregarious man. He drove the bus to Mexico on one of the mission trips I went on as a teen and he was constantly joking around, laughing and talking about his family. He was a big man with a huge heart and I feel very blessed to have known him even for that moment in time.
Over the last couple of weeks, while his father was struggling with health issues, my friend often talked about how his dad was his best friend and the greatest influence in his life. He talked with respect, awe and a little playful remorse about the adventures he had with his dad and the things they learned about life, God and each other along the way. The most amazing and inspiring thing to me, though, is knowing that my pal told his dad often exactly how he felt about him.
At times like these we often tell ourselves that time is fleeting and we need to tell our loved ones how we feel about them and most of us do. Most of us are good about telling our spouse, kids and family members how much we love them but what about the other people in your life? Do you tell your friends that you wouldn't want to do life without them? Do you tell your neighbors that you are so glad to know them? Do you tell your difference makers just exactly how much they have meant to you?
I'm not talking about becoming a soppy mess and making people cringe when they see you coming for another out-pouring of mushiness. I'm talking about saying a heart felt thank you, truthfully encouraging people in the good work they are doing and recognizing the effort they put into their relationship with you. I'm talking about really seeing the people in your life and appreciating them.
When I leave this world I want people to know that they mattered to me, that I thought they were awesome and I felt honoured to know them. I don't want anyone to doubt the value they had to me, even if I only knew them for a moment. I want people to know that they made a difference to me just by living their life with integrity and genuine passion, that their happiness was inspiration enough for me to live a better life. I want people to know that they mattered, that they made a difference ... so I tell them.
We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.
~Marian Wright Edelman
Over the last couple of weeks, while his father was struggling with health issues, my friend often talked about how his dad was his best friend and the greatest influence in his life. He talked with respect, awe and a little playful remorse about the adventures he had with his dad and the things they learned about life, God and each other along the way. The most amazing and inspiring thing to me, though, is knowing that my pal told his dad often exactly how he felt about him.
At times like these we often tell ourselves that time is fleeting and we need to tell our loved ones how we feel about them and most of us do. Most of us are good about telling our spouse, kids and family members how much we love them but what about the other people in your life? Do you tell your friends that you wouldn't want to do life without them? Do you tell your neighbors that you are so glad to know them? Do you tell your difference makers just exactly how much they have meant to you?
I'm not talking about becoming a soppy mess and making people cringe when they see you coming for another out-pouring of mushiness. I'm talking about saying a heart felt thank you, truthfully encouraging people in the good work they are doing and recognizing the effort they put into their relationship with you. I'm talking about really seeing the people in your life and appreciating them.
When I leave this world I want people to know that they mattered to me, that I thought they were awesome and I felt honoured to know them. I don't want anyone to doubt the value they had to me, even if I only knew them for a moment. I want people to know that they made a difference to me just by living their life with integrity and genuine passion, that their happiness was inspiration enough for me to live a better life. I want people to know that they mattered, that they made a difference ... so I tell them.
We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.
~Marian Wright Edelman
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Happy New Years!
This past weekend marks the one year anniversary of our move to Small Town Canada.
A year ago I wasn't thinking about anything but just getting here and unpacking. The whole thing seemed kind of surreal. It was less three months from the time we decided to move until we were sleeping in our new house, an hour and a half away from our hometown. Things happened so fast that I didn't really have time to think about anything but the actual logistics of the move.
It wasn't until school started a couple of weeks later that I really thought about what this move really meant to all of us. Sure the job and work environment was better for Mr. Awesome and the schools were overall better for the kids but we also had to give up a lot.
We left a tight knit community, our friends and our church. We lost the convenience of having family close by, of knowing where everything is and of having Starbucks just around the corner. We had to, for better and for worse, let go of familiarity, reputation and comfort of the life we had built and step out into this new adventure.
Not knowing what to expect and having no real plan for our new lives in Small Town left us open to a world of possibilities and I think that for the most part we made the most of every opportunity. We all jumped in with both feet and I have to say that I am really proud of my Random Family. The kids put forth their best effort at school and they each finished the year strong. They all matured some, learned a lot and made some really great friends ... in fact, we all have.
This blog started off, a year ago, as a way for me to chronicle our move and the daily antics of The Wee Ones for my pals and a year later it has evolved and so have I. I started writing this blog as a way to hold on to everything I was leaving behind but it has become a measuring stick of change. Over the year I have changed how I view motherhood, wifedom and my role in my own life. I have become more comfortable in my own skin, in my own shoes and for the first time since leaving university I feel as though I see a future for myself, apart from being some random mother.
I want to thank you all for reading, for commenting and for encouraging me. Knowing that you are taking a few minutes out of your busy day to check in with this Random Family blesses me. And hearing that you are getting something out of my rambling words blesses me even more. I love reading your comments and emails, I am so encouraged to hear that the lessons I am learning make you laugh, think or inspire you to learn a little something new, too.
Thanks for being my pals for the past year and I look forward to the year to come ... Happy New Year!
A year ago I wasn't thinking about anything but just getting here and unpacking. The whole thing seemed kind of surreal. It was less three months from the time we decided to move until we were sleeping in our new house, an hour and a half away from our hometown. Things happened so fast that I didn't really have time to think about anything but the actual logistics of the move.
It wasn't until school started a couple of weeks later that I really thought about what this move really meant to all of us. Sure the job and work environment was better for Mr. Awesome and the schools were overall better for the kids but we also had to give up a lot.
We left a tight knit community, our friends and our church. We lost the convenience of having family close by, of knowing where everything is and of having Starbucks just around the corner. We had to, for better and for worse, let go of familiarity, reputation and comfort of the life we had built and step out into this new adventure.
Not knowing what to expect and having no real plan for our new lives in Small Town left us open to a world of possibilities and I think that for the most part we made the most of every opportunity. We all jumped in with both feet and I have to say that I am really proud of my Random Family. The kids put forth their best effort at school and they each finished the year strong. They all matured some, learned a lot and made some really great friends ... in fact, we all have.
This blog started off, a year ago, as a way for me to chronicle our move and the daily antics of The Wee Ones for my pals and a year later it has evolved and so have I. I started writing this blog as a way to hold on to everything I was leaving behind but it has become a measuring stick of change. Over the year I have changed how I view motherhood, wifedom and my role in my own life. I have become more comfortable in my own skin, in my own shoes and for the first time since leaving university I feel as though I see a future for myself, apart from being some random mother.
I want to thank you all for reading, for commenting and for encouraging me. Knowing that you are taking a few minutes out of your busy day to check in with this Random Family blesses me. And hearing that you are getting something out of my rambling words blesses me even more. I love reading your comments and emails, I am so encouraged to hear that the lessons I am learning make you laugh, think or inspire you to learn a little something new, too.
Thanks for being my pals for the past year and I look forward to the year to come ... Happy New Year!
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