An October Christmas

With all the snow that's been happening, Christmas with our snowbird family isn't actually that far of a stretch in October.

As we all sat around the table, enjoying an early Christmas dinner, enjoying each others company and some cups of good cheer, I was thinking about the first time I came to this house for Christmas dinner.  Jon and I were a shiny new couple and although I had been there for dinner once before, Christmas dinner just felt like a bigger deal.  I remember being so nervous.  So nervous that I can't even really remember who was all there.  I remember playing the present game and one to the left and two to the right and watching Zach, who was maybe four years old, try not to cry when he lost his quarters. I remember feeling welcomed and loved and cozy.  I received perfume as a gift as we headed out the door early to get back to whatever twenty year olds do on Christmas.  

And this year, as I watched my girls roll the dice and quietly hope that no one would steal their presents, I thought of the many people that I've met around that table over the past 19 years.  The early Christmases before kids and the Christmases at the hotel.  And how it doesn't matter who you have with you, there's always room for one more at the table.

I sat down next to the wood burning fireplace, looked out at the early snow and then over at the corner of the room where the piano that is now in our living room used to sit.  I  smiled as I thought of the years we sang carols around that piano after a few too many cups of good cheer.  I suppose with the rumors that this may be our last Christmas around this table I was feeling a little nostalgic.  

No matter when or where Christmas is celebrated, memories will be made and love will be felt.  This early Christmas is the perfect kick start to all the good things to come.  

Merry Early Christmas and safe travels to our snowbirds.

Thanksgiving

As a mom, there are lots of things that I worry about.  I worry about my girls becoming slaves to electronics, about them watching endless hours of Fuller House and obsessing over whether DJ will choose Matt or Steve to be her boyfriend.  I worry about them doing well at school, if they remember their manners when I'm not there, if they are kind to others.  I worry about them eating too much sugar and getting cavities from not brushing well.  I worry that they don't get enough sleep, that they argue too much and won't grow up to love each other.  And then there's the serious stuff to worry about.  Freak accidents, crazy people, rare diseases.  You get the picture.  

And just when you're about to wave the white flag and surrender to doing the parenting thing all wrong, Thanksgiving rolls around and gives you a chance to slow down and truly remind yourself of how good you actually have it. Because when I look a little closer, many of the things I worry about are worries of indulgence.  Too much of this and too much of that.  And my concerns, although real to me, need to be checked every now and again and put into their rightful place.

Because for as much as I sweat the small, day to day stuff, I have to take a look around and acknowledge that our Thanksgiving was spent with my parents.  We cooked a turkey dinner together with all the trimmings. We laughed and toasted each other as we watched the snowy blizzard that was happening outside from the warmth and comfort of the house.  And to take that for granted would be completely disrespectful to all the peeps in my life who have lost their parents and those who aren't able to be with their parents and to the kids who don't have the luxury of healthy, capable and loving grandparents.

Due to the blizzard like conditions and the enormous snow fall, we spent most of Thanksgiving day without any power in the house.  It likely couldn't have happened on a better day.  What better day than Thanksgiving to lose power and give us a humble reminder of the many luxuries that we do take for granted.  Although the power was out for most of the day and the house was starting to get a little cold, I knew deep down that we didn't really have anything to worry about.  That Hydro guys were out working hard to get it restored and that we could always go to town where the power was still working.  Because we have privilege, I get the luxury of worrying about the small stuff. The privilege of a loving family, food in the cupboards, and a peaceful country.  Every once in a while its good to check our privileges so that we can remind ourselves that the small stuff is really and truly just small stuff.

Happy Thanksgiving.

#Snowday

Well, we got a snow storm a little too early for anybody's liking.  Except for the kids of course.  While snow in October isn't all that unusual, what really rocked our world was that fact that we had our first ever snow day!  A snow day like, you know, when schools are closed and buses don't run and all that jazz. On October 4th we got to experience this snow day phenomenon for ourselves.

The day started like any other first winter snow day.  Jon left for work and said he would drive me and the girls to school in a shop truck because our truck was stuck in the back until they got the snow cleared. Just as I was scrambling around looking for mitts and ski pants, Jon came home form work and asked if I'd checked my messages.  That's something I don't do very often in the morning due to the fact that I'm kinda busy getting lunches and back packs and the three of us out the door.  "Well you better check," he said, "they're saying the school is closed."  Say what?  Our schools don't close.

But it turned out to be true story.  And the cherry on top of the snow day cone was that staff didn't have to go in either!  I can't hardly describe the feeling of just dropping everything and letting go of all the things that you were prepared to conquer in the day.  I verified with all my teacher buddies that this snow day thing was for real and when it was confirmed I made myself a coffee and sat down and put my feet up.  I'm not sure who was more excited, me or the girls!  

Colors of Fall

I like to meet the girls when they get off the school bus.  Even though they are completely capable of making it across the parking lot, past the shop and up to the house on their own.  I still like to walk out to the road to meet them.  A long time ago, I was at a conference for work and the speaker was Gabor Mate and he had just coauthored a book with Gordon Neufeld and he was talking about the idea of holding onto your kids and the phenomenon of peer attachment.  Google it if you're really interested but the funny thing is that even though I wasn't married and had no children when I heard Gabor speak (and I've since heard his buddie Gordon speak many times as well) I have never forgotten the concepts that he spoke of that day.  One of those concepts was the idea of collecting our children and the benefits of a greeting ritual.  Yes. I'm for real.  This is what goes through my mind as I wait for the bus.  How greeting and saying hello to my children will keep them close to me and how beautiful the leaves are and how the sun feels on my face and how happy I am to be alive.

I asked the girls if the wanted to go for a walk to World Rock.  It used to be them asking me but there has been a shift as TV and electronics exert their power as we know they can.  So it is me saying, "let's go for a walk."  Lucky for me, Callie was willing to join me.  Beyond our backyard fence and the trampoline and the too small swing set we have quite the yard to explore.

We make it to World Rock and decided to keep exploring.  Walking down the highway just to see what we could see.  Looking for fall's colors and treasures and just being.

We found some rock solid love around us.  We're loving fall and all its amazing colors.  We're getting ready to store nuts and make things cozy.  These upcoming months are responsible for filling our hearts full to the top, warming them up and keeping them strong through all the winter days to come.

Back at 'er.

The first days and weeks of  the new school year have come and gone and we are back to packing lunches and forgetting to return library books.  Callie has the same teacher and mostly the same kids in her class as last year.  And maybe all that sameness is what made this fourth grade year one of our smoothest transitions yet.  Her exact words, "this is the first year I haven't had bad belly aches". Maybe it's the sameness, maybe she's growing up.  Maybe a bit of both.  Whatever it is, we'll take it.  

 And my sweet little Lexi started grade two without missing a beat.  As long as she's got a high ponytail and tall boots, she's ready for anything.  Grade two feels pretty big kid.  Especially when you have a big sister and all her friends to hang out with.  She needs frequent reminders that she is just seven years old.

I will enjoy another year of part time work.  Getting home in enough time to make supper and meet the girls as they get of the school bus is a perfect balance.  I will treasure this balance as I know it will not last forever.  Cheer to grade two, four and part-time hours.  Let the learning begin.