Just Another Day In Paradise

Season's Greetings

One of my New Year's resolutions is going to be to do this blogging thing a bit more frequently than I have for the past couple of years. One of the reasons I HAVEN'T been writing much is that Shawn hasn't been taking a lot of pictures lately. (right about now Shawn is calling bullshit on me but I really believe that without interesting pictures to capture my interest and get me thinking it is hard to come up with anything compelling to write about. Its the way my writing process works. I am a VISUAL thinker. And if you still don't believe me Shawn let me ask you how many times you've TOLD me about how a motor works and I still don't understand...but if you could convince me to come out and look at it and SHOW me I swear I would be able to retain it!!!)

But I digress. This post is supposed to be about Christmas. Specifically how our holidays were.

If would summarize this year's Christmas by saying that the kids and Shawn and I all definitely have "our way" of doing Christmas down...and that was exactly what we did. And I think because of that it felt like its supposed to feel.....like a really comfortable old sweater. That all five of us manage to snuggle into (well yes and Marley too of course).

I never really realized until I became an adult or even a parent how important traditions are to make us feel a sense of belonging and included. It was so interesting to watch during the weeks and days leading up to Christmas as the kids excitedly discussed and asked us about some of the "traditions" we were going to be doing again this year. From the small gifts under the tree for each day of Advent, to the annual trip to see Santa at Market Mall, to the matching pyjamas they all receive on Christmas Eve, to sprinkling magic reindeer food outside on the front lawn and setting out freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for Santa and reading The Night Before Christmas the kids were all about our Christmas rituals.

We don't celebrate Christmas with our kids exactly the same way as either Shawn or I did with our respective families when we were children. I can't say for Shawn but I know in my case I'm extremely sentimental about my memories of Christmas with my brothers and parents. Deep down I know I could never recapture or relive those cherished memories. And so it was important for Shawn and I to move forward and create our own special customs in our new family. Over time our way of doing Christmas has evolved......and now that the kids are getting older I can see they have come to count on having "their Christmas".

And that is one of the main reasons why you won't see us traveling during the holidays.

Don't get me wrong. There is a big part of me that feels left out and ripped off knowing that pretty much all of the rest of our extended families are all gathered together during this time of year and we are the only ones never there to share in that. And I KNOW Shawn feels the same way. That's probably one of the reasons that truthfully I dread those traditional phone calls to Sudbury on Christmas Day. Because I would rather not be reminded of what we are missing out on......cousins excitedly playing together....time spent catching up with one another....lively Christmas dinners with lots of fun conversation... the odd roudy game of cards or Monopoly played after a few too many glasses of wine ....and a whole bunch of other things.

But in my heart of hearts I want to savour the holidays as Shawn and I have created them for our little nuclear family. And I hope that what we are providing to Alex and Drew and Piper is at least as important.....the ability to hopefully one day look back on their childhood Christmas's and have wonderful memories and a sense of what Christmas was all about for OUR family. And to know that Shawn and I created these Christmas's for them because we loved our children as fiercely as any parents could ever love their children.

 

Cat's In the Cradle

Funny how things happen. 

Yesterday I was teasing Drew about how he's had the same Kid Rock song on loop playing on his iPod in his room while he's on his computer for the past several days. Only I slipped and said Kid Joe instead of Kid Rock....to which Drew guffawed and said "There's no such musician." Fortunately Shawn was there to save me and backed me up - letting him know there was indeed a Kid Joe.

Fast forward to this morning. While Shawn was making me his specialty egg mcmuffins as I special requested the night before he pulled up Ugly Kid Joe's rendition of Harry Chapin's 1974 folk song.

If you've never listened to the words and you are a parent or ever plan on being a parent you should. The song is told in first-person by a father who is too busy to spend time with his son. Though the son asks him to join in childhood activities, the father always responds with little more than vague promises of spending time together in the future. While wishing to spend time with his father, the son continues to admire him, wishing to be "just like him." The final two verses are a reverse of the roles, where the father asks his grown-up son to visit, but the son responds that he is now too busy to find the time for his father.

While Drew was appreciating the musicality of the song Shawn and I both found ourselves caught up in the lyrics. 

My child arrived just the other day,
He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away.
And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew,
He'd say, "I'm gonna be like you, dad.
You know I'm gonna be like you."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."

My son turned ten just the other day.
He said, "Thanks for the ball, dad, come on let's play.
Can you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today,
I got a lot to do." He said, "That's ok."
And he walked away, but his smile never dimmmed,
Said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah.
You know I'm gonna be like him."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."

Well, he came from college just the other day,
So much like a man I just had to say,
"Son, I'm proud of you. Can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head, and he said with a smile,
"What I'd really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys.
See you later. Can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."

I've long since retired and my son's moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind."
He said, "I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kid's got the flu,
But it's sure nice talking to you, dad.
It's been sure nice talking to you."
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."

Shawn and I both try really really hard to be present with our kids. But we're only human. Work and the responsibilities of being adults and the need to find just a bit of time for ourselves definitely get in the way of stopping...and having some real time with each of our kids. Each of our kids. And time really does go by so fast when you are a parent. It feels like just the other day that we were bringing Alex home from the hospital...and now our baby boy is approaching 12 and could be off to college in just 6 short years.

I really hope that when all is said and done I don't have regrets. Regrets that I poured so much of myself into my work and pursuit of professional fullfillment at the cost of not having spent enough real time being with the kids. Regrets that I chose to be not just a working mother but a working mother that worked long hours and many weekend days and travelled when I could have been at home seeing them off to school each morning and greeting them at the end of the day. Regrets that a lot of my one-one time is spent in the car with one or the other or all of the kids running errands because I have no other time to get them done.

Don't get me wrong. I KNOW my kids love me. But I also know that they wish they had more of me. Shawn reminds me that the fact that they want more of me is a good thing....when they stop asking for more of me is when things have gone too far.

But I'll never get these times back.

And so...time to shut down the computer and go and find Shawn and the kids and spend this holiday BEING with them and enjoying every moment.

Merry Christmas!

 

September

When I was a kid I loved September....almost as much as I loved the first signs of spring...for many of the same reasons. I loved the idea of a fresh start....new school supplies...new back-to-school clothes. New skating season. New school year. New chance to "reset".

Now that I'm a parent of three school-aged kids I've got a confession. I'm not so hot on September anymore. Because its a crazy upside-down busier-than-ever sort of time. Here are just a few of the changes around here:

- Piper is in the first grade now. That means full days of school. I know - can you believe it? Wasn't it just last year she was learning to walk and talk? Well she's talking now. And talking back pretty well too.....she's had some great role models in that department lately I'm afraid. Fortunately she's also working really hard at becoming a voracious reader - she's had some pretty good role models for that too. Maybe once she's a strong enough reader she will spend more time with her nose in a book and less time being sassy! Yeah. I know. Fat chance. Oh well at least she's still kinda cute! Well except for her mouth. Did I mention she's been growing more teeth than losing? Yep she's currently got EXTRA bottom teeth in her mouth. Its a bit of a mess. I suppose we can thank Shawn for that one!

- Drew and Alex are both at a new school this year - Alex is in grade SIX and Drew is in grade FOUR - yikes!  I've met their teachers who seem wonderful....and the program they are in is excellent and they seem to be adjusting well....except for the fact that the bus ride is ONE-AND-A-HALF HOURS EACH WAY!!!! Yes. Seriously. The bus picks them up at 7:19 in the morning and drops them at the school at 8:50 if they are lucky...and the same thing at the end of the day except in reverse. I'm doing what I can....I've called the bus company and the school board's transportation department as well as the school. Last week in an act of complete frustration I called the school board Trustee to see if she could rattle some chains to make somethng happen. So far nothing. Nada.  So we are doing the best we can. Either Shawn or I or the sitter is driving them in the mornings....which works okay but still isn't ideal for a variety of reasons.

- Musically we have branched out a bit this year. Alex is up to 45 minute weeklypiano lessons now and is going to be working on getting through at least grade one this year. Piper has started lessons too. That's been going really well, largely because the new babysitter (did I mention we are now on sitter #5 since January?) has a lot of experience teaching piano and has been helping her out.  As I mentioned a few posts back Drew finally convinced us to let him switch to guitar lessons. He's just had his first lesson and so far so good!

- The kids are also keeping busy with sports. Alex is signed up in a basketball league this year (using his considerable height to his advantage!), Drew is back at tennis now that his wrists are all healed and Piper is taking primary ballet and character dance classes on Saturdays. 

- All in all I think it is fair to say we are keeping busy. None of us has fully adjusted to the new schedule yet....it will be nice once we can get into a bit more of a routine. Until then I will continue to feel like I am a couple of steps behind where I should be and the kids will feel like I'm constantly rushing them. I just keep reminding myself that one day in the not so distant future there will come a September where the whirlwind of activity won't swirl like a vortex in our house. The kids will be grown and off doing their own thing....and I will remember these days and wish that I could somehow do it all over again!!!

Happy September everyone!

And How Was Your Day?

Because I can unequivically tell you that today was Drew's worst day in his entire life. And as parents, Shawn and I have never had a worse experience to date either.

For me it started with the phone call. The summer babysitter (who is FANTASTIC by the way) called me on my cell phone:

"Hi Leah, how are you?"

"I'm fine. But Drew fell off the swing and he's screaming that he hurt his arm. I don't know him well enough to know if he is overreacting or if this is something serious."

"Leah I can hear him. It's serious.Take him to the hospital. Or call an ambulance if you prefer. I'll meet you there".

Click.

Okay so I'm thinking as I am driving to the hospital that it is highly likely that Drew broke his arm. It did not even DAWN ON ME that he could have possibly BROKEN BOTH OF HIS ARMS.

Which I realized the second I entered the procedure room at the Children's Hospital.

By the time I got there they were already splinting his arms, but without even an x-ray it was clear the bones were not where they should be.

Ugh.

Poor poor guy.

And he handles pain and stress EXACTLY as well as I do. Which is not well.

He was so freaked out. About how much pain he was in. About the fact that this was only the first day of summer vacation and his entire summer would be ruined. About all the things he wouldn't be able to do. And about how NO WAY YOU ARE NOT GIVING ME A NEEDLE IN MY FOOT. And about the pain.

At one point I kid you not he was actually yelling out that he wished he had never been born. And that he really really really wanted to use some swear words.

I was impressed. Because he did not swear.

And I would have forgiven him if he had of.

Because this sucked. A lot.

And then, once they x-rayed his arms and knew that one arm had to be re-set it was time for sedation. They opted for Ketamine. AKA Special K. Which doesn't put you to sleep so much as dulls your pain receptors and makes you really really stoned. By this time Shawn had arrived and the room was getting crowded (I had already sent a shell-shocked Piper home with Leah but Alex refused to leave Drew's side). Shawn insisted he stay with Drew through the re-setting of Drew's left wrist and so I took Alex and got him something to eat in order to pass the half hour or so it would take to do the re-set and cast his arms.

When I returned Drew was happily drowsy and calm.

That DID NOT LAST.

As Drew came to from the sedation he had a violent and scary reaction to the medication. He was thrashing around and yelling out and crying uncontrollably. I'm sure he was scaring every other little kid in that emergency room that afternoon. Shawn and I tried everything we could to soothe him and comfort him and calm him down but there was just no doing. This episode continued for a solid 45 minutes or more I would say. And all I can say is that as a mother it was one of the most painful things to witness your child experiencing that much fear and anxiety and panic and hurt and anger.

Wow.

Am I ever glad that eventually the drug effects wore off and we were able to finish up with some final x-rays, a prescription for codeine and orders to finally bring him home.

Drew is in bed now. Sleeping the sleep of the emotionally and physically exhausted. I am wiped out too. But I'm also stunned...at how quickly life can throw you a curveball like this. And grateful. That he broke his backwards flip-fall with his arms and didn't break his neck. And so very proud of Alex and the love and compassion he has shown for his brother throughout this entire ordeal. And worried for Drew...and whether and when he will wake up in pain and scared and disabled. And wondering how I can somehow make this all better.

Even though I know I can't.

But thank goodness time WILL heal these wounds.

Three to four weeks hopefully.

About Piper

Piper has been growing and changing so quickly it is hard for me to even describe how she's changed. I think what I will do is try to provide just a snapshot of who this incredible little girl is right now -

• She's a girly-girl. From pink nailpolish to barbie dolls and teaparties to loving to shop for cute clothes she likes all things feminine!
• She's a very social little girl. It seems that wherever she goes she attracts children to her....at school...at the playground....at ballet class...wherever.
• She's a reader!!!  We worked at it a bit this winter but just recently she cracked the code. And now she can't get enough of reading. Anything. Anywhere. So cool to see!
• She's definitely a Mama's girl. She lives for her "girl-power" Saturday mornings with me where we hang out together. I know I know...enjoy it while it lasts :-)
• She's clearly inherited the sarcasm gene. The other day she asked me a question and when I started to reply she cut me off and said "Mom that was a "rhitonical" question.
  
• She's a dreamer. We went to see her end-of-the-Kindergarten-year concert last week. For weeks she chattered on and on about this event. The day of the event she was giddy with excitement the entire day, talking about the performances her class would be giving. Come time for the actual concert and Piper's eye's glazed over; she was lost in la-la-land, overwhelmed by the experience. Sooooo reminds me of her biggest brother at that age!
• Speaking of Alex.....if you chopped off all of that hair she would be the spitting image of him. 
  
• Which brings me to that hair. 'Nuff said.
• But she is like Drew in other ways too. She's an "outdoor girl" like he is; she can be quite sassy at times, and she loves her various "collections".....from rocks to seashells to princess dolls.
• She adores classical music. She requests it when we are driving around in the car (Drew just LOOOVES that lemme tell you); she dances to it and she can't wait to start piano lessons in the fall in order to one day play it.
• She loves to colour, draw pictures, write words, watch iCarly, play her DS, have friends over for play dates and play with her pet shops, zoobles, polly pockets and playmobile. Most of all she loves to talk!!!
  

None of these things in and of themselves is really all that remarkable. But when you put all of these traits together and mix them up in just the formula that Piper has....well in my unbiased opinion you get the sweetest, cutest, most amazingly incredible little girl any Mama could ever have. I couldn't adore her more.

The Ukelele

 

I can remember Drew as a two year old....barely...but I can. Even at that very young age he knew his own mind. He was tough. And determined. And stubborn. And liked loud, pulsing heavy metal music. And electric guitar solos.

Now Drew is nine. And he's still tough.....well he likes to act tough anyway. And determined....well more like relentless. Especially when he wants something from us. And stubborn doesn't even begin to cover it. And his heroes are Judas Priest and Iron Maiden and Metallica.

And he is begging us to please, please, PLEEAASSE let him take guitar lessons next year instead of piano.

I will admit that I have been on the fence about letting him stop piano in favour of guitar.

It means I will need to let my personal dream go of who I wanted my kid to be and what I wanted my kid to do.

For years I had been pestering Shawn for the piano that he finally surprised me with about six years ago. Because I wanted to take lessons myself (yeah....those lessons lasted a whole seven months or so before I found it too much to take on and gave up)....but also because Alex was about turn five and I had it in my head that I wanted each of my children to learn to play the piano.

Of course I realize that neither Alex nor Drew have been particularly enamoured with piano lessons.....and don't even get me started on practicing. From the constant reminders, to the whining and complaining about the actual practicing, to the outright arguments that have ensued when I've tried to help them learn songs that they have struggled with it hasn't always been what I would characterize as one of my fonder moments in parenting in general.

But then again I don't think that the kids should get to do only that which comes easy or is fun either. And nor should we as parents.

But then one day in walks Drew from school toting this ukelele.  Looks so silly to me. Sort of like a child's toy.

But not to Drew.

And then he started playing it. And playing it. And playing it some more. In the kitchen. In his bedroom. In the car. I swear the ukelele was a like a third arm by the end of that first weekend he brought it home. And he kept signing it out from school. Over and over and over again. And some kid at school tought him the first few notes of "Smoke on the Water" which he thought was the absolute coolest. And he just kept on bringing it home and picking away at that thing.

And then one Saturday morning as Shawn was  making breakfast Drew came downstairs with the ukelele and asked "Papa.....I know this song....what song is this? I'm sure I know this song." and started strumming a few bars. Shawn looked at him a bit puzzled and said, "Drew, you're right. I can't put my finger on it but it does sound familiar." 

Later on that day, after we'd been hearing the same bars strummed over and over for what seemed like the eleventy-billionth time Shawn turned to Drew and said "I know what that is! You're playing "Fear of the Dark" by Iron Maiden!"

Sure enough. Only this kid would figure that tune out by himself.

And I realized it was time to let my Mozart dreams for Drew go. And help him go and pursue his own dream.

One more parenting lesson learned.

For today.

Alex at 11

 

Its been a long time since I wrote about the kids in any detail....and since Alex just had a birthday on May 18th I'm going to start with him.Its incredibly difficult to put into words all that I feel about Alex but I'm going to try.

Alex is:

• MELLOW - must get it from his Mom (ha ha)! Seriously it takes a lot to work him up and he does NOT like to be rushed at anything. He's a homebody at heart....and I suspect if we let him he would be pretty happy just living at home for a good long while. He's not in a hurry to grow up.
• STUBBORN - just like his father. When Alex feels he is in the right he just digs in and won't let go. He'd rather miss just about anything (other than dinner) than compromise when he feels he has been wronged and not being heard
• ETHICAL and MORAL - I know some strange words for a kid so young....but let's just say if there were a few coins that mysteriously dissappeared off the counter or some missing halloween candy you can go to the bank that this kid did NOT do it. It simply isn't in his DNA to wrong another person intentionally - ever
• INTELLECTUAL - Alex is not the most physical or athletic of kids. In fact he'd rather snuggle up in his bedroom and read a book more than doing just about anything else. He reads faster than I do and scarily enough he and Shawn are starting to share a few books.
• LIKEABLE - Alex is the kid that nobody has ever said a bad word about....from coaches to teachers to other parents to classmates and friends. He has an extremely agreeable, easy-going manner, is respectful of others and has a warm and endearing smile. He understands what is expected of him in different situations and how to win friends. For the most part he doesn't complain when we ask him to help out around the house...and I know that it is sometimes really difficult to not expect more from him because of his agreeable nature.
• RESPONSIBLE - Last year we started letting Alex stay home by himself for a couple of hours at a time. And to be honest we just KNOW that he would never take advantage of that privilege. He has an intelligence about matters of safety and what our expectations are that I think is very advanced for his age. I don't know if it is because he is the oldest child....or just because that is who he is...but I know that Shawn and I have come to count on him to do the right thing....and sometimes when he does make a mistake we tend to be too hard on him for a kid of just 11. Its something we are always reminding ourselves of.
• SELF-CONFIDENT - Alex really doesn't care that much what other people think of him. He likes what he likes whether it is popular or not. He doesn't try to be somebody he is not....and really knows his own mind.  I truly hope that he can hang onto that as he begins his journey into the teenage years and beyond.
• GOOFY - Alex likes to be silly....from making up crazy songs about his dinner (Alex likes his food!!) to shaking his booty for the cameras at a Flames' game...Alex enjoys having fun and getting a laugh. He doesn't take himself too seriously most of the time....and for that he is just an all around fun kid to know
• SENSITIVE - I've always said that the woman who snags this boy is never going to regret it. If Alex treats the future ladies in his life half as well as he treats his Momma they are going to be some lucky ladies. From warm hugs and snuggles, to thoughtful conversations and genuine interest in the issues of other people. He is warm and sweet and kind.....and I am simply so lucky and honoured to be his mother and to know him.

 

Moving Forward

Yesterday was a really, really, really hard day. I learned that once again I was being asked to wait another year before being admitted to my Firm's Partnership. I cannot even begin to describe how hard I've worked for this promotion; how many personal sacrifices I've made, how many sacrifices I've asked my family to make and how utterly desparate I was for this to happen. So when I received the news that this wasn't going to be my year I was devastated. I managed to get back to my office in time to close the door and phone Shawn...who himself had been unable to sleep for several nights for his anxiousness for me....only he really understood me well enough to know all that I had invested in this promotion and how not achieving it would affect me. He was utterly, truly stunned...and heartbroken for me....but was at my office building within minutes to get me out of there and to my safe place - home. Where he and the kids put their collective arms around me and supported me when I felt too defeated and deflated to support myself.

I hobbled up to the bedroom and closed the door for a while, thinking that the solitude would somehow quell the raging headache and flowing tears that had been streaming since the words sunk in. But the silence only made the filmstrip of the events of earlier that afternoon play that much more loudly in my head. So I moped downstairs and offered to make the grocery store run for the groceries I knew were so badly needed in the house. JI just wanted to stay busy and somehow force my mind to think of other things.

I drove to the market in a fog. Nothing seemed real. I went through the motions at the store, haphazardly selecting fruit and vegetables on a whim, constantly having to recheck the grocery list to remind myself what I was there for.

But something happened while I worked my way through my task.

I started thinking about all the things that I had given up along the way to being here:The countless weekends and late nights spent at the office while Shawn and the kids were carrying on without me....eating dinner together; playing games together; watching movies together; conversations and laughter and kids getting tucked into bed with goodnight hugs and kisses.....all without me.

The friends I let drift away...because I was either too busy working or too tired from working or feeling too guilty to spend any of my precious non-working time with anybody other than my kids.

My health......from the chronic neck,shoulder and arm pain that keeps me awake nights to the extra strength Tylenol I pop several times a day like candy...to the fact that I haven't seen a dentist in over 2 years...to the 20 lbs that I lost 3 years ago only to have gained it all back and then some since I haven't made a place in my life for regular exercise.

And somewhere along the way I had lost the ability to have fun. I'd let go of the only hobby I've ever really had - scrapbooking....the supplies all sitting here for months and years....only ever being used to hastily create a card for the kids to take to birthday parties or to add a bit of pizazz to a school project.

And earlier this year I also let go of this blog...which has in many ways been a lifeline. A tool I have used to "check in" with myself on a regular basis, reflect on what was happening in our family's life, how the kids were changing, and to stay connected to a world bigger than the small small world I had created for myself of work and home.

And it came to me. I can't keep going like this. My oldest boy turned 11 years old yesterday....and I don't want the next 7 or 8 years we have left with him in our home to go by without me being present....not just physically...but also emotionally present. And the only way I'm going to do that is to reclaim ALL of my life. I'm hoping that restarting this blog is one small step in that direction. Tomorrow I'm going to take another step....and spend a few hours scrapbooking. When I told Shawn that he rejoiced a little....so much that by the time I woke up this morning he had downloaded over 200 family photographs to inspire me. There will be next steps after that. Its time I made time in my life to visit my old personal trainer friend Jason to get me back on track fitness wise. And doctor's app'ts and dentist app'ts will be made. And I'm going to reach back out and connect with some old friends....and hopefully they will still have me.

Don't get me wrong. I'm still sad. As I sit here the waterfall of tears continues to fall...as it has throughout all of my waking hours these past 24 hours or so. But I did manage to share a laugh with Shawn a couple of times this afternoon as we played hooky before the long weekend and went birthday shopping for Alex. And the kids and I had a lot of fun looking through the pictures Shawn had loaded on my computer. We had an especially good giggle about how tiny Drew looks in comparison to his brother and sister in this shot that was taken at the hoodoos in Radium this past weekend.

And on Tuesday I will go back into work with my head held high. And do the work that I am so passionate about and that I genuinely love to do. But I plan to do it differently this time around. Not so all-consuming. That didn't get me where I wanted to be anyway. And quite frankly it was getting to be not that much fun.

Who knows - maybe these changes just might lead to the career success I've been so badly wanting. But if it doesn't.....at least I will have the balance in my life enough to remember all of the other parts of my life that are truly where the stuff of richness and happiness and real success lie.

See you next week!

A New Year

  


 
Its Sunday morning - about 8am. I've been at the office for about an hour. Don't feel sorry for me. I just wanted to take a few hours this morning to catch up a few of the things I wanted to put to bed over the Christmas holidays at work but didn't quite get around to. And to do a bit of a general New Year's clean up - out with the old in with the new and all that...yada yada yada.  Before I head off to the mall at noon and try to put a dent into my Christmas gift cards that is!!

As per usual we had a very low key New Year's. None of us made it to midnight actually.....well maybe midnight in Newfoundland.....But with good reason. Shawn and the boys headed off bright and early yesterday for a day's fun out trail riding with Shawn's Jeep-owners' association.  Think four wheeling or sledding but in a warm cozy jeep with the comforts of a car (music, heater etc.).  Shawn  said there were about 20 jeeps out there in the back-country.....Shawn certainly hasn't wasted any time breaking his new baby in!! Good for him.  I'm just glad they all came back in one piece!!!

Piper and I had an excellent "girl-power" day while the boys were off doing their guy-thing. We baked a cake in her Easy-Bake Oven, painted fingernails blue and purple, played dress up and princesses, watched figure skating on T.V. together...and then headed off on a dinner date and quick trip to the mall to spend HER Toys R Us gift card.

I don't honestly know what this year will have in store for us. While there are many possibilities on the horizon....I am really just excited at the prospects and looking forward to watching our lives continue to unfold. I look at amazement at the three little people I feel priviledged to call my children and can't help but smile as I think to the new ways they will grow and change in this coming year and the realization that I will get to see it all. I know that Shawn and I plan to continue to work TOGETHER to create the best possible future for them and ourselves and I think that this year might possibly result in us BOTH achieving a really important milestone to that end - which I am so grateful we have been given the opportunity to do. 

I do sometimes feel like I am living on borrowed time......all of the people that are the closest to me have their health and are generally happy and safe. I know that the odds are that this good fortune can't continue forever. If I was to admit my one New Year's wish it would be to be blessed with one more year like the last. I really truly couldn't ask for anything more.

Happy New Years everyone!

Tammy

It wouldn't be Christmas around here without...

It's been very crazy around her (okay okay I know I ALWAYS say that)....but..and I'm quoting Piper "seriously this time" it has been crazy.  Shawn has been back to work at Technicoil as the controller for 8 workdays now.....3 of which were out of town (payback I think :) and we've all been adjusting to life with a new nanny. Maureen (or Moe as the kids call her) is a 56 year old former social worker who's social work gigs were mainly in Northern B.C. and Alberta....it doesn't get any rougher than the caseloads she's had. So.....I think she's quite a good fit for our hooligans!

Actually Moe is terrific. She's been really working hard to bond with the kids....even attempted to learn to play Yu-Gi-Oh with the boys today.....hat's off to her; Mama won't even try to learn....and when she went to leave today Piper ran after her to the door to give her a great big hug goodbye. VERY good sign!

Anyway...back to Christmas. What makes Christmas special around here? Or rather what are the traditions that we have developed around here being all on our own as a little family unit all of these years?  Here's what I can think of....

It wouldn't be Christmas at the Thompson's without:

1. Harried grownups frantically getting the parcels out the door on the 20th of December with fingers crossed they arrive in Sudbury on time

2. The traditional 1.5 hour wait at the mall to get that annual picture with Santa.....I think they're gonna need a bigger chair next year to fit them all in there!

3.  Tammy's bitching and moaning about why she ever started that friggin' Advent tradition of wrapping a tiny gift for each kid to open on each day of Advent. Seeme like a not bad idea when there was one 2 year old.....

4.  Shawn's frantic Christmas Eve shopping trip....and then lying and telling me he had this stuff bought weeks ago :)

5.  Lists of "what I really really really want for Christmas" shared by the kids with Mom and Dad.....only to be edited and rewritten so many times Santa has no clue anymore what the hell any of the kids really want anymore

6. LONG LONG waits in line at the bus station to pick up embarrassingly enormous parcles from overly generous aunts, uncles and grandparents.

7.  An evening about a week before Christmas spent by Shawn and I looking over the gifts we've purchased for the kids.....mental math to figure out who's been ripped off and frantic last minute shopping trips to try to even out the score

8.  Tins of turtles

9.  Lots of threats about how "Santa knows you aren't being very good....and you'd better shape up".

10. Stockpiling the "special Christmas morning coffee cream" to make the morning a little more tolerable!!

Seriously...we all are so looking forward to Christmas around here......and my only wish is that everyone can even be a 10th of how lucky I am......healthy and happy (albeit crazy) family to spend my life with.

All the best of the season!

Tammy