When we are young, we make friends so easily. I witnessed friendships form today at Kenneth's birthday party in a matter of minutes. It was fascinating to see boys who just met click. The 6 boys seemed to pair-off almost right away. 4 of them knew each other very well, but 2 of them were meeting the others for the first time. Of course, some of them didn't get along, but overall they all had fun.
Friends are so very important. Especially when you don't have family around. We all need support from each other and even when you're family is around, you need friends to balance things out. I have often underestimated the importance of my friends and taken their friendship for granted.
In my life, there seems to be a limited lifespan for my friendships. Since joining facebook, I have been able to contact friends of the past. We have all grown-up, some have gotten married, some have had kids. Life has changed. It's hard for me to say whether we're still friends. We don't share our day-to-day lives, but we still like each other. I've had best friends that I no longer see.
On the other hand, I've met many friends over my lifetime. It's interesting to think about how we make friends. For most of us, we've lost that childhood ability - it takes a little longer to make friends and we don't always click. Our families play a huge role in our friendships, too. It can be hard for me to make friends with others who aren't married and don't have kids. It seems necessary to have that much in common.
I know that when Kenneth starts school, we will meet many more friends and I hope we won't lose track of the friends we've met at nursery school.
Since change is inevitable, a change in friends is, too.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Birthday
This weekend we're celebrating Kenneth's 5th birthday!
His birthday is also Frank's mom's birthday. We will be remembering her that day. It saddens me that Kenneth never met her.
I have always thought of birthdays as important and worth celebrating. That may seem obvious to many people, but really I've met lots of people who don't do much for their birthdays. For as long as I can remember, I've spent half the year looking forward to my next birthday and often knew what I wanted to do for my birthday months before. I guess I love parties!
Birthdays mean more than cake, presents and candles. They are a celebration of your existence. The day you were born was the single most important day of your life!
My kids' birthdays now greatly overshadow mine, which is the way it should be. The anniversary of their birth is a good reason to spend the day focussed on them. I've taken the idea from Kenneth's nursery school calling it his Special Day. He's going to do the things he likes to do: get a haircut, go to gymnastics, and play with friends. I guess the trip to the ski hill is out since the snow is being washed away.
I love smothering my kids with love on their birthdays. I have fond memories of waking Morgan up on his birthday to read him a new book. I was as excited as Christmas Day!
These days there is a lot more going on then when Morgan was little, but I do my best to make my kids feel special on their birthday.
hmmm... it's less than 6 months til my birthday, I guess I'd better start planning. Will the disco ball come out this year? Maybe I'll save that for my 40th.... a few more years to go. I'd love to go horseback riding at Rockwood Park. Maybe one year that dream will become a reality.
Happy Birthday, Kenneth! mommy loves you
His birthday is also Frank's mom's birthday. We will be remembering her that day. It saddens me that Kenneth never met her.
I have always thought of birthdays as important and worth celebrating. That may seem obvious to many people, but really I've met lots of people who don't do much for their birthdays. For as long as I can remember, I've spent half the year looking forward to my next birthday and often knew what I wanted to do for my birthday months before. I guess I love parties!
Birthdays mean more than cake, presents and candles. They are a celebration of your existence. The day you were born was the single most important day of your life!
My kids' birthdays now greatly overshadow mine, which is the way it should be. The anniversary of their birth is a good reason to spend the day focussed on them. I've taken the idea from Kenneth's nursery school calling it his Special Day. He's going to do the things he likes to do: get a haircut, go to gymnastics, and play with friends. I guess the trip to the ski hill is out since the snow is being washed away.
I love smothering my kids with love on their birthdays. I have fond memories of waking Morgan up on his birthday to read him a new book. I was as excited as Christmas Day!
These days there is a lot more going on then when Morgan was little, but I do my best to make my kids feel special on their birthday.
hmmm... it's less than 6 months til my birthday, I guess I'd better start planning. Will the disco ball come out this year? Maybe I'll save that for my 40th.... a few more years to go. I'd love to go horseback riding at Rockwood Park. Maybe one year that dream will become a reality.
Happy Birthday, Kenneth! mommy loves you
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Ownership
Today's blog is brought to you by the ongoing saga of Mojo, the dog.
We first met Mojo in August when he came to visit our dog, Zeke. After several more visits involving animal control, we adopted Mojo at Christmas. Two months later, his previous owners are demanding him back.
Because the idea of this blog is to practice writing rather than rant about my day-to-day drama, I will ponder on the idea of ownership.
I am often struck by the obsession we have with ownership. I guess it goes along with consumerism. We feel a right to own things. We possess our shelter, our family and our stuff. And the more we own the happier we are. When I lived in a co-op, we were less concerned about ownership. We felt responsible for our children, but were quite willing to share our spaces and our things. We often ate together, shared our social time and homes. Now that I am a home-owner, I realize that I share less and own more.
With ownership comes responsibility. When we own a pet, we accept that if it hurts somebody or eats something or dies, we will have to apologise, replace what was eaten or take the animal to the vet or bury it. If it runs away, we are responsible for locating it.
Ownership has also been brought up with the Olympics. The Canadian program, Own the Podium, was introduced to pump us up about the Vancouver Games. The hype translated into long sough-after funding for athletes through coaching and facilities and I for one am proud that we set out to own the podium. Instead of saying "let's try" we said "let's do it!" Even though it's purely marketing, believing you can do something will get you closer to doing it than wondering if you can.
Because we are primarily focussed on the type of ownership that results from a transaction (i.e. we bought it), we forget about other types of responsibilities. For example the environment. We don't really own it, but we are responsible for it. We don't own each other, but we are all dependent on each other. We often look for an owner when we talk about whose responsible for these larger things. Like who is going to be responsible for Toronto's garbage or for rebuilding Haiti. Who is responsible for the hurricanes, tsunamis, floods. Ironically, we call these acts of God.
A bit of a ramble, but I own it and take full responsibility.
We first met Mojo in August when he came to visit our dog, Zeke. After several more visits involving animal control, we adopted Mojo at Christmas. Two months later, his previous owners are demanding him back.
Because the idea of this blog is to practice writing rather than rant about my day-to-day drama, I will ponder on the idea of ownership.
I am often struck by the obsession we have with ownership. I guess it goes along with consumerism. We feel a right to own things. We possess our shelter, our family and our stuff. And the more we own the happier we are. When I lived in a co-op, we were less concerned about ownership. We felt responsible for our children, but were quite willing to share our spaces and our things. We often ate together, shared our social time and homes. Now that I am a home-owner, I realize that I share less and own more.
With ownership comes responsibility. When we own a pet, we accept that if it hurts somebody or eats something or dies, we will have to apologise, replace what was eaten or take the animal to the vet or bury it. If it runs away, we are responsible for locating it.
Ownership has also been brought up with the Olympics. The Canadian program, Own the Podium, was introduced to pump us up about the Vancouver Games. The hype translated into long sough-after funding for athletes through coaching and facilities and I for one am proud that we set out to own the podium. Instead of saying "let's try" we said "let's do it!" Even though it's purely marketing, believing you can do something will get you closer to doing it than wondering if you can.
Because we are primarily focussed on the type of ownership that results from a transaction (i.e. we bought it), we forget about other types of responsibilities. For example the environment. We don't really own it, but we are responsible for it. We don't own each other, but we are all dependent on each other. We often look for an owner when we talk about whose responsible for these larger things. Like who is going to be responsible for Toronto's garbage or for rebuilding Haiti. Who is responsible for the hurricanes, tsunamis, floods. Ironically, we call these acts of God.
A bit of a ramble, but I own it and take full responsibility.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Excitement
Depending on how you look at it, being a stay-at-home mom with 3 kids is either full of or devoid of excitement. What kind of excitement do I want?
Watching the Olympics over the past 2 weeks has been exciting. It's something new, we can all watch.
This weekend we'll be celebrating Kenneth's 5th birthday, which is very exciting! We'll have his friends over for a party after we treat him to a visit to the barber shop (he likes getting his hair cut) and get home from gymnastics. I expect we'll all want an early night on Saturday!
All 3 of my kids seem to accomplish something remarkable daily. Morgan has a girlfriend and made the volleyball team. Kenneth can fold laundry and pour his own juice. Lillian can get herself a snack and is toilet trained. They are all brilliant, beautiful kids. It's exciting to be their mom!
On the other hand. It's not exciting to clean up cat poop, wash toilets, pick wet noodles up off the floor, etc.
It's exciting, in a bad way, to deal with a dying van, a broken dishwasher, low cash flow, missing bus pass, and so on.
Either way, excitement is present in my life. Whenever I long for it, I am flooded with more than I need. Perhaps whatever my dream becomes, I need not worry about whether it will involve excitement. I know that when life seems boring I just need to wait 5 minutes!
Watching the Olympics over the past 2 weeks has been exciting. It's something new, we can all watch.
This weekend we'll be celebrating Kenneth's 5th birthday, which is very exciting! We'll have his friends over for a party after we treat him to a visit to the barber shop (he likes getting his hair cut) and get home from gymnastics. I expect we'll all want an early night on Saturday!
All 3 of my kids seem to accomplish something remarkable daily. Morgan has a girlfriend and made the volleyball team. Kenneth can fold laundry and pour his own juice. Lillian can get herself a snack and is toilet trained. They are all brilliant, beautiful kids. It's exciting to be their mom!
On the other hand. It's not exciting to clean up cat poop, wash toilets, pick wet noodles up off the floor, etc.
It's exciting, in a bad way, to deal with a dying van, a broken dishwasher, low cash flow, missing bus pass, and so on.
Either way, excitement is present in my life. Whenever I long for it, I am flooded with more than I need. Perhaps whatever my dream becomes, I need not worry about whether it will involve excitement. I know that when life seems boring I just need to wait 5 minutes!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
First
Coming up with the first word is difficult. I've had many ideas. Love, passion, winter, etc. (and I may use these at some point), but when I sat down to write "first" seemed to be the best choice.
The first of anything tend to be the most memorable. I'm sure this has something to do with either the lead-up or the outcome. Our first steps. Our first kiss. Our first baby. Our first car accident, etc.
I find myself often saying to my kids "I just have to do this first and then I can... insert request here". This is due mostly to my insistence on doing one thing at a time. I'm always saying that to my kids, too.
A first is also the basis for what comes after. Our first job seems to help steer us to or away from anything like it afterward. If we do something for the first time and fail, all our other attempts will have a built-in memory of the first even when we succeed.
To be the first to do something is quite an accomplishment. World Records are based on this. History is written in the firsts. I am the first person in my Dad's immediate family to graduate from University, for example. In today's society it seems ever more difficult to be the first to do something. If you're wondering if it's been done, better check youtube!
The first step in a series of tasks can make or break the project. Anyone with a leaky foundation can attest to this.
So how does the word "first" affect my life and my goal of developing a dream? hmmm... well, it seems as though before I can work toward a goal, I first have to have the dream. I dream of self-fulfillment. I dream of not worrying. I dream of peace in all its forms. At the moment, I don't seem to be able to dream of the near future. Maybe something else has to come first.
In the beginning, there was the word. The word came first.
The first of anything tend to be the most memorable. I'm sure this has something to do with either the lead-up or the outcome. Our first steps. Our first kiss. Our first baby. Our first car accident, etc.
I find myself often saying to my kids "I just have to do this first and then I can... insert request here". This is due mostly to my insistence on doing one thing at a time. I'm always saying that to my kids, too.
A first is also the basis for what comes after. Our first job seems to help steer us to or away from anything like it afterward. If we do something for the first time and fail, all our other attempts will have a built-in memory of the first even when we succeed.
To be the first to do something is quite an accomplishment. World Records are based on this. History is written in the firsts. I am the first person in my Dad's immediate family to graduate from University, for example. In today's society it seems ever more difficult to be the first to do something. If you're wondering if it's been done, better check youtube!
The first step in a series of tasks can make or break the project. Anyone with a leaky foundation can attest to this.
So how does the word "first" affect my life and my goal of developing a dream? hmmm... well, it seems as though before I can work toward a goal, I first have to have the dream. I dream of self-fulfillment. I dream of not worrying. I dream of peace in all its forms. At the moment, I don't seem to be able to dream of the near future. Maybe something else has to come first.
In the beginning, there was the word. The word came first.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Words to live by
I started this blog because I miss writing. I was thinking of just writing each day to practice and thought a blog might be a fun way to try it out.
To start with, my idea is to pick a word and write about it. If I get any followers, they can suggest words. Maybe it'll become a way for me to interact with the "world" outside of the day-to-day being a mom gig, which is good and all, but I miss writing.
It may sound strange, but I'm working on developing a dream. I haven't been dreaming much lately. I know, but really, I'm not sure what I want to be. I guess it's a bit of a cliche for a stay-at-home mom to ask "who am I"?
My life has changed in some pretty drastic ways. From becoming a parent at 18 to moving to another province to leaving a full-time job in IT to stay at home with my kids. And even though I know that the only thing certain in life is change, I'm really not sure what comes next.
I guess I'm searching for some words to live by.
To start with, my idea is to pick a word and write about it. If I get any followers, they can suggest words. Maybe it'll become a way for me to interact with the "world" outside of the day-to-day being a mom gig, which is good and all, but I miss writing.
It may sound strange, but I'm working on developing a dream. I haven't been dreaming much lately. I know, but really, I'm not sure what I want to be. I guess it's a bit of a cliche for a stay-at-home mom to ask "who am I"?
My life has changed in some pretty drastic ways. From becoming a parent at 18 to moving to another province to leaving a full-time job in IT to stay at home with my kids. And even though I know that the only thing certain in life is change, I'm really not sure what comes next.
I guess I'm searching for some words to live by.
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