September wrap-up - I know, I know - it's rather late....

It's been a month of getting back on an even keel with life. Kids back at school, students back at university, fall leaves etc. (blogs not getting posted on time)

1. As I previously mentioned, child number 1 is back at university.

2. Sending your child off to university is expensive.

3. Hope she'll remember that when she picks out my nursing home....

4. Sending your oldest to public school is not too expensive. Especially because he feels like he needs nothing except a box of pencils for school supplies.

5. Which was a good thing because this is the year that the football team goes off to California for 5 days. And the final payment was due in September.

6. Child number three is in private school. And HE had an extensive, expensive supply list.

7. Fortunately, his growth spurt was confined to his legs - meaning he only needed new pants.

8. And his feet have stabilized for the moment, so last year's shoes fit.

9. However, my car has chosen this month to need a new clutch.

10. We have started down that path of "Do the expensive repair on the 10 year old car or buy a new one?"

11. We seem to be heading towards "Buy the new one"

12. There goes the winter holiday.

13. It is supposed to be even colder and snowier than last year.

14. I guess (being a sensible adult) that a new car that won't leave me stranded in
-35 C weather is important.

15. I think I am tired of being a sensible adult.

And another year gone

So 16 years ago today on September 23rd, I became a mom for the second time. (Many, many people have commented on the similarity in birth dates between the oldest two - both the 23rd. Honestly, neither of them were planned...it was likely the long cold winter months that did it.)

Although my pregnancy was completely unplanned, it brought some light to a very dark time in my family - my dad had died almost exactly 9 months to the day that CW was born. My mother had become quite ill in the ensuing months. CW brought us happiness and joy in a year that had not had much of either.

Unlike his sister, he was a quiet content baby - literally only fussing when he was hungry or wet (and really, mostly only when he was hungry). And that has been his modus operandi for the past 16 years - never fussing, never (or very rarely) bad-tempered, and a nice kid who, at least once a day, tells his mother he loves her - even on the days when he likely thinks I am not the brightest bulb around. In turn, I am trying (very hard) not to nag him - he is so bright and I wish that he would realize that with a moderate effort, he could be at the top of the pack in everything he does. But that is not how he operates - he is going to do things his way - and "really, mom, let ME worry about it" - what ever the particular It is at that moment.

Since AE went off to school, he has become a fabulous older brother - she was always around to buffer his and MH's relationship. Now they have to work it out together - and although it has sometimes come to fisticuffs, they usually make up in a few short hours. I think he is actually incapable of holding a grudge. He shows such a genorosity of spirit - even when he thinks his parents are being jerks. Once he calms down, he usually sees our side of it - or if he doesn't, he will, at least, apologize for his behaviour. Many adults I know could take a lesson or two from him.

So happy belated birthday - middle kids have it a little rougher than those on either end of the birth order (speaking from experience). They often get less attention, less time and less parental energy. This can help - or hinder- their progress, depending on their personality. For you, CW - it is all good. You seem to blossom and do the best when you are left to handle your life the way you think it should be. And if it is not the way your parents think it should be - well, I am happy to say that you often prove us very wrong.

Love Mom

I have nothing....

So my daughter who is away at university was the person who got me started on blogging. She blogs (it's that one called "Some strange tide" over on the right) about her life away at university. (By the way, AE, glad to see that you took your mother's advice and changed back to the " 'cause how else would a prairie girl get to the Maritimes? ) Anyway, last year, I guess I nagged gently reminded her many one or two times about posting.

Shoe's on the other foot this year - she harassed me last week about blogging and how it has been far too long since I posted.

But here's the problem - right now, I got nothing.

I could talk about running and how we are into our last long run before starting to taper for the marathon in October. Yawn - been there, done that. I am learning that many people don't want to hear about me training for a marathon the second time through. So, yep, nothing there.

I could talk about what I am reading- but right now, it's a YA Alyson Noel - and I have discovered 1/4 of the way into it that I have already read it. Tedious.....

I could talk about knitting, but still on Flint, still on Boating socks, still not much further along. So nothing there either.

I could talk about my broken finger - but it's not broken any more - just crippled up and I have to have therapy. Kind of boring.....

You know - I seem to be leading kind of a boring life these days. I have a friend who is about to have a book published (consulting manual, but still....) and another friend who just got back from Italy. And another friend who is off to Houston for the weekend. And another friend who has gone to New Mexico (with her husband) for a week. Even my husband (who should stay home and share in my boredom) is off to Halifax and gets to see our daughter and go for dinner and meet her friends.

Sigh - I guess I could write some more blog posts. At least that would fill my time.

August Wrap-up

Already? Seems like I was just in June....

1. Child number 1 leaves has left for Nova Scotia tomorrow last Saturday.

2. She will (fingers crossed) did take be taking her mess with her.

3. She leaves her two brothers and THEIR messes behind.

4. My mother would say this is history coming back as destiny.

5. Not that I was ever that untidy (just ask my sister!!).

6. We had a lovely birthday celebration for said daughter at the GlobalFest Fireworks Festival.

7. It was Canada's night to shine.

7. The competitions are judged, in part, on music content of said country that is competing.

9. Apparently, Justin Bieber is what the competitors thought of when they thought "Canadian".

10. Judging by the reactions of the people around us, that's not who THEY thought of. (How about Tragically Hip, Great Big Sea, Shania Twain etc. etc.) But I did like Nikki Yanofsky.

11. It has been a glorious September so far. Lots of lovely warm weather and sitting time on the balcony with my knitting, my I-pod and a beer.

12. I have discovered the beauty of audio books and Audible.

13. They are the ultimate when it comes to multi-tasking.

14. I will do anything (just about) as long as I can be reading a book. Even if reading a book means listening to one.

15. However, I can't hear it over the drone of the vacumn.

16. So it is a good thing Child number 1 vacumned (sort of) before she left .

17. In knitting news, I am busy with "Flint". I love knitting top down - no seams. And with very few ends to weave in, this sweater actually stands a chance of getting finished and worn - say by October.

18. Socks are going well too. (Edwardian Boating socks - not that I wear socks when I am boating, but I like the illusion.)

19. A Looong run tomorrow - 200 minutes (3 hours and 20 minutes).

20. I am tired already.

Happy Birthday Baby

19 years ago today I became a mom for the first time. As I write this , I was struggling through the last stages of labour and delivery, convinced that somehow they lied to me in pre-natal class because I did not remember them mentioning anything about PAIN.

And then she arrived. And as the doctor held her up, I was sure she was a boy (lack of sleep + the aforementioned PAIN + the position she was held in + the umbilical cord looking somewhat male - like = boy) And then I clued into my husband saying "It's a girl, Jan, it's a girl" and my heart exploded.

See, I really wanted a girl. But all the indicators were boy. The pre-natal heart rate, my shape, all the women on my case-load (I was in social services at the time) said "You're going to have a boy". Really, I was just so happy to be having a baby, that I said it didn't matter. And I am quite sure that it would not have, once s/he had appeared. But I REALLY wanted a girl in my heart of hearts.

And she was a lovely baby (I mean, once she got over that crying thing). She has never been what I would call a girly-girl - she has a normal (read not obsessive) like of feminine things, but she has always preferred books to fashion magazines (in fact, I don't think she has ever read one. A fashion magazine, I mean. But I can't be sure.) She has never, to my knowledge angsted about weight or looks (at least in the open and to my face). I think she is beautiful. And she is smart. And she uses her brains to get by in the world, not her looks. Which is great, because looks can be fleeting, but brains are forever. She is independent thinking, has a great (if somewhat sarcastic) sense of humour (that comes from her dad) and is starting to find her way in the world of grown-up. She is a great student and a wonderful writer. She loves to read (did I mention that already?), play the piano,cook, fence and even likes to knit. She has made good choices to this point, and I believe that she will continue to do so. She has a wonderful soul. She is a good sister (even if she does torment her brothers on occasion) and the best daughter one could ask for.

So happy birthday baby girl. And I am so pleased and proud that the armful of potential that we were handed on August 23, 1992 has turned out to be such a delight.

Not running

I have not run in two weeks. I had a cyst removed from my toe that necessitated two weeks off while it healed (actually still healing).

I can't believe how much I miss it.

Some of it is the forced inactivity - while I can ride my bike - the shoe hurts the top of my foot after about 10 minutes. So I am limited to those activities that I can do in my bare feet - like core class or yoga.

And the only reason I do those are to make me a better runner.

Trying to be patient while your body heals is really tough. And I know that mine is a very small problem - others have much more chronic pain and have to put up with a lot more enforced inactivity than two weeks. But it's my balancing force, my go-to place when I am stressed or when I feel the need to challenge myself. It's the friendships and my sense of community. But I could rip the stitches and put myself out for longer than just two weeks. So I am trying to be good.

I ran across this while I was blog surfing this morning - and it really resonated with me. (This came from the blog 3x3x365.)

"It reminded me of listening to biochemist Covert Bailey
speak about how we get fit.
It’s in the repair. It’s when we crawl in a hole.

Here’s an over simplistic explanation.

When we’re out there running, our bodies
are way too busy to think about getting fit.
It’s an all hands on deck freak out when you decide
to start putting one foot in front of the other.
It’s pretty much all your body can do to keep up
with your panting and cursing while on a run.
Despite their best effort, muscles start to break down.
Stuff gets all out of sorts. It’s pandemonium.

When it’s over, and you’re tired, and you want to
crawl into a hole, and you finally settle down,
there’s a foreman somewhere in your center
who blows a whistle and gathers the troops and holds a meeting.
He’s talking to every muscle, organ, and cell.

LISTEN UP, CREW. I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED
IN HERE TODAY, LET’S START CLEANING UP.
SHE BETTER NEVER, EVER DO THAT AGAIN,
BUT IF SHE DOES, WE HAVE TO BE READY.

And so your body gets ready for the next time you lace up your shoes.
All those tears get fixed up, and reinforced, and everything
gets put back together even better than it was before.
That’s when you’re getting fit. It’s in the repair.
The rest. On the crawl in a hole days.

So don’t be so hard on yourself.
I imagine this is true for more things than running."

The idea that when you rest, then you heal is something we need to remind ourselves of (runners and non-runners alike)on a regular basis. Then you can go back out and do it all again - but this time, a little stronger.

I like that.

So I have been in a hole for the last two weeks. I am chomping at the bit to crawl back out there.

What I learned on my summer vacation (AKA July wrap-up)

So I spent most of July in Ontario on vacation. It was truly a grand place to be - hot and steamy the way I have not experienced summer in a few years. Herein is the summary of what I learned while away.....

1. Long runs are easier with friends (or as one of my running buddies put it "Less hard").

2. Always take the time to put in your contacts before any run. No matter how short it is.

3. Otherwise, you spend too much time waiting for doctors to see you.

4. The bad news? - one badly broken baby finger. And several facial scars. And one pair of badly scrunched (expensive) sunglasses.

Note the yellowish hue. And if the tape came off? That baby finger would be slipping behind the 3rd finger. Not pretty.

5. The good news? Still looking for the upside.....

6. We visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In Cleveland, Ohio.

7. As one child said "Not many people are going to be impressed when I tell them where I went on my summer vacation...."(I am paraphrasing.)(Slightly.)

7.Apparently women rock stars are noted for what they wore. Male rock stars are noted for what they did. It's probably the only time in history that Britney Spears will be in the same room as Joni Mitchell and Carole King.

8. Just as there are process knitters (those who knit for the joy of knitting) and product knitters (those who knit for the joy of the finished product), so too are there process car trips (trips where you take the side road and stop and explore) and product car trips (the destination IS the point).

9. I like process car trips. I am married to a man who seems to like product car trips. It makes for interesting road trips.

10. In his defence, I think the boys like product car trips. Not entirely sure it would be a happy trip if the parents were process and the boys were not.....

11. I did not visit ANY yarn stores. I did try once. It was closed.

12. Despite the lack of yarn store visits and the rather painful baby finger, I got a sweater and a pair of socks knit.

13. The U2 concert was FRABULOUS. Worth every penny (and there were many) that we paid for it.

14. My husband is correct. Experiences matter more than stuff (which is why I think he should like process car trips more....)

15. We visited the site of our first date.

16. Our sons did not appear to be that impressed in ancient history.

17. Finally - if you are visiting Ontario during what seems to be a record-breaking heat wave of proportions not seen in years (if ever)?

18. It's nice to be here......