Wordless Wednesday: 13 Years Together and Still Smiling

Thankful Tuesday: Three Things

Three of the people in my life that I am grateful for this week are:

• My Sister, Tara
• My Sister-in-Law, Anne
• My best friend, Nikki

When I was a little girl, I used to lay awake some nights and pray to God that he would send a me a sister. The universe works in mysterious ways and always gives us what we need. These three women are proof of that. They have been at my side through the best times and also the worst. We don't see each other nearly often enough and that's something I long to change. Spending time with them always lifts my spirit. They are the embodiment of caring, strength and wisdom. They also help me keep my perspective and sense of humor along this bumpy ride. They are trusted confidants, valued allies and inspiring role models. I will be forever grateful to call them my friends.

Cheers!

Little Rocks

Jonas and I had the opportunity to go curling this weekend with our Area Cub Scouts. Neither of us has ever done it before, except on video games, and it was something that we were both looking forward to trying. So, we got up early Saturday morning, bundled up and headed out.

I didn't set foot on the ice but I learned a few things nonetheless. Number One - not all Canadians associate the word "helmet" with a hockey helmet. Number Two - curling is full of movements which are not natural, even for Canadians, including.... Number Three - walking on ice is a lot easier if you've got teflon tape on one of your feet. Number Four - falling on the ice isn't as much fun for kids when they're not doing it to delay going to school. And Number Five - there is a reason why my Scotish ancestors associated curling with alcohol consumption, though I learned this anecdotally because Scout Leaders are not permitted to drink when we're on duty.

In the spirit of the day, Jonas and his fellow Cub Scouts had a great time. Called the "Little Rocks" program, the coaches taught the kids the basics of the game. Jonas learned how to throw a stone. (To my mind, "slide" would be a better term but I was raised a hockey player.) He learned to sweep the ice. (They don't use brooms anymore, by the way, but it still did a mom's heart good.) He was quite proud of getting a couple of his rocks down the sheet of ice and onto one of the rings, called "The House". He did pretty well, if I do say so myself.

His biggest disappointment of the day was that they didn't get to play a real game to validate his belief that he was pretty good at this new endeavor. He enjoyed himself and left the rink with a longing to try it again. I think that's something we'll indulge.

Cheers!

A Beautiful Moment

Jonas woke me up this morning by crawling into bed beside me and whispering "Mom please come and watch the beautiful sunrise with me." It wasn't the way I planned to start the day and, despite the early hour, I wouldn't trade it for the world. It was early dawn. The sky was starting fill with light but the sun hadn't yet broken the horizon. We kneeled on his bed, elbows on the window sil, chins on our hands and our eyes eagerly looking eastward. Neither of us said a word. We just watched. What an incredible moment. The innocent wonder of an eight year old who wants to share such a simple treasure is amazing. That he wanted to share it with me, an honour. Cheers!

Life and Death

It's been a week of dealing with life and death in our house. After a wonderful weekend away celebrating the new year with family, we came home to a very sick cat. This morning Ivan joined Snoopy, Rainbow and Jessie in pet heaven. It's been especially painful for Jonas. There have been lots of tears and hugs, and lots of talk about life and death.

The older Jonas gets the tougher these big life events become. Making Ivan as comfortable as possible, and letting him live his last days surrounded by the love of his family, prolonged the inevitable by a couple of days, giving us the opportunity to come to terms with it. It also resulted in many discussions about death and, just as importantly, about life. Despite the difficulty of the topic, these have been wonderful converstations between the three of us. They've given Steve and I a glimpse into the inner workings of that beautiful, ever-evolving mind and, hopefully, reaffirmed for Jonas that he can talk to us about anything and not have to keep his feelings bottled up inside.

There's always an upside, right?

Cheers!

Wordless Wednesday: One of My Favourite Things

One of my very favourite things is the relationship that Jonas and Steve have. Even though I don't always understand some of the boy stuff, I love watching them together. Their relationship has blossomed with all the time they've spent together this year and that makes me smile.

Experimenting with electronics together

Campfire making together

Hiking together



Hoping for a good outcome in a board game together



Enjoying each other's company



Thankful Tuesday: Two of My Favourite Things

One of my favourite things about 2011 is how much Jonas has grown. He's matured so much this year. He's becoming more complex, which can be a mixed blessing sometimes, but mostly it's just pretty cool to see how much he's grown. He's playing outside with his friends without supervision, he can go to the store down the street on his own, he's helping more around the house and he's even had his first crush. It's more than just things like that though. He's thinking deeper thoughts, doing more complicated things, he looks older and he even carrys himself differently.

One of my other favorite things about 2011 is that, no matter how much he's grown, he's still got the heart of a little boy. He's dealing with some pretty weighty issues but he's still the optimistic, happy little guy he's always been. He loves nothing more than to share his things and his experiences, is quick to smile and laugh and is sensitive to other people's feelings.

And one more thing - I LOVE that Teddy is still his BFF!

Cheers!