Organized Chaos

Life is busy. Life is crazy. But life is very good. It seems like all of a sudden the clock has been ticking too fast and sometimes it feels like the fast forward button is jammed, other days it feels like Groundhog's day. I don't know what it is but gone are the summer days of sipping iced tea and snapping pictures. Hence, the lean visuals on this and recent posts.

I am back to teaching on call which is always nuts. The thing is though that I do thrive a bit on chaos...you should see my kitchen, and laundry room, and bedroom. I have piles of paper which I organize and reorganize. Finally, I get sick of looking at it so I put it in a bin. Then I am looking for a specific piece of paper and the hunt is on. I am searching all of my favourite haunts for piles and bins and sifting through until all of a sudden what I am looking for is not so important because I have come across an old post-it note from RKA that makes me laugh, or found a magazine which I decide to thumb through one last time before recycling it. So I sidetrack myself to the point where I forget what I was looking for in the first place, enjoy a good peruse through my bins of treasures, and then strategically dump everything back in the bin. Then, once or twice a year I find myself pulling an all-nighter and obsessively labelling the Tupperware cupboard or the medicine cupboard.

This week it was the laundry room's turn for an impromptu overhaul. The laundry room has a self-closing door on it which makes it the perfect place to dump junk and forget about it. It also doubles as our mudroom...triples as the cat's dining area and litter box haven...and finally also functions as our guests' changing room for the hot tub. Yes, it has a multitude of purposes...and it is approximately 8' by 8' with no windows. Well, one new storage bench and one bottle of spray paint and my laundry room/mudroom/cat's quarters/cabana is now definitely improved.

I remember...

...wondering why anyone would spend their allowance on gum when you have to spit it out in the end

...skating on the ice rink my dad built us in the backyard

...making snow forts and wondering if it was going to cave in and suffocate us

...that my mom was always there

...calling nintendo - "intendo"

...the incredibly itchy feeling of my first chicken pock hatching on my head in kindergarten

...my mom sitting me on the counter and snipping my bangs with the kitchen scissors on picture day morning

...thinking that people who had microwaves and dishwashers were really rich

...flat out refusing to wear white leather sandals to kindergarten because I was embarassed of my ugly feet

...wanting to wear glasses and have braces because you seemed to miss a lot of school for appointments

...going to the bus depot to pick up huge parcels which were filled with home baking and gifts from grandparents

...being afraid of moustaches

So many random memories. It makes me wonder...what will they remember?

The Essence of a Gentleman

I went to visit my grandpa today at his care home. As always, my favourite part of the visit was that first moment. The one where he looks up to see who has come in to visit him and there is a definite flicker of recognition in his eyes. His eyes light up and then he smiles slowly as he places you. In that moment he knows you... and even better he knows that you love him. You can tell.

It is hard to visit sometimes. Awkward. Grandpa is often in a different time or place. Worried about things from years past. So we try to calm his worries. Smile and agree, distract him, or switch topics. Our disjointed conversations are peppered with moments of clarity. In those clear and fleeting moments we can connect. Hot topics for connection are taxes, bridges, politics, vehicles, golf, and occasionally even current events. Just when you are sure that he is mentally residing in the 1960's he will surprise you with a tidbit from the evening news. Then in the next breath he embarks on a new line of questioning as he tries to get his bearings and figure out his surroundings but he is obviously confused. Yes, it is hard to watch a man who was so clear in his opinions and beliefs, now have such muddled thoughts. Still, it is important to visit and to learn more about this man who has lived almost three times as long as me.

I heard once that when you near the end of your life and your body fails, and your mind falters it is your soul that is left. In old age your spirit is exposed without the mind's ego or the bravado of your body. All that is left is the essence of your being. That notion has always stuck with me. I am grateful to witness my grandpa's gentle, humble, funny, and loving soul. He truly is a gentleman.

West Coast

I have to admit that 99% of the time I take living on the west coast for granted...

...But an impromptu trip to Stanley Park sparks up that 1% of gratitude and appreciation for our stunning little corner of the world.

Obviously R embraces the beauty of her surroundings...

...and B gets right into it with a full body point at the ocean.

I really do love it here. For many reasons. But mostly because most of my favourite people in the world inhabit this same little corner. (see above)

Aloha & Happy Halloween!

Hi G&G! Happy Halloween from the chicken and the princess! Hope you get this in Honolulu. Have a fantastic trip! We miss you! Mahalo!

Love,
R&B

Justification...

...for my filthy house:


The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow
For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.


Does it still work if your "baby" is almost two????

Braggin' on B

There are so many reasons to brag about this little guy but I will just include my top five here:

1. He is up to some four word phrases including my fave, "I love you, Mommy".
2. At 23 months he has accepted his new soother-free lifestyle and is moving on.
3. The incredible amount of energy he has which seems to be renewed daily!
4. For a not-yet-two-year-old he actually shares pretty well.
5. His good looks are only out-shined only by his friendliness.