Robin | Farewell Stranger

Behind This Moment

June 10, 2013 by Farewell Stranger ·

This is a moment in time, but it’s also a feeling.

It’s when they can both lie on Daddy, and it’s looking at my family and how they just fit.

It’s seeing them all together on one couch, and it’s knowing that in what will feel like mere moments we won’t all be under the same roof.

It’s when both of them are little enough for me to pick up, and it’s knowing exactly what their small bodies feel like in my arms.

It’s when one looks so big next to his baby brother, and it’s wishing for a pause button because I know I won’t have this view for long.

It’s looking at my smallest while he’s still a baby, and it’s wondering what he will be like as a boy and then a man.

It’s looking at my biggest in the week before he turns five, and it’s knowing this is the last summer he will still seem like a little boy.

It’s seeing what looks like a dog-pile on their dad, and it’s knowing part of him wishes he could keep them that way forever.

It’s looking at my three boys, and it’s not being able to imagine life any other way.

Filed Under: Motherhood · Tagged With: family, gratitude, moments

A To Z: Old School Blogging

June 9, 2013 by Farewell Stranger ·

Elaine is hosting Old School Blogging again, this time with Jennifer as her co-host. I like doing a fun, about-me type post once in a while, and I’m always good with an alphabet meme, so let’s go!

A: Attached or single?

Attached, and amazed every day that I got so lucky.

B: Best friend?

My husband, I’d say, but very grateful for these girls too.

C: Cake or pie?

I don’t generally say no to either, but my husband has perfected pie (crust, filling, the whole deal) so I’ll go with that.

D: Day of choice?

Friday. Right now, anyway. I get the afternoon to write and I like the vibe Fridays have.

E: Essential item?

Chapstick.

F: Favourite colour?

Pink.

G: Gummy bears or worms?

No, thank you. I’m not really a candy eater.

H: Hometown?

Victoria, BC.

I: Favourite indulgence?

A Smarties Blizzard. You Americans that don’t have Smarties are seriously missing out.

J: January or July?

January. I don’t like hot weather, I dig winter stuff, and it has such a feeling of possibility.

K: Kids?

Yes, these two. (There is a second under there. And his hood just fell like that, but his big brother thought it was pretty funny.)

L: Life isn’t complete without?

Walks in the sunshine, a glimpse of the mountains, time by the ocean, an opportunity to learn something new, family time, chocolate.

M: Marriage date?

August 28, 2004.

N: Number of brothers and sisters?

One brother, two sisters. One half-brother, one half-sister.

O: Oranges or apples?

Apples.

P: Phobias?

Spiders, claustrophobia, the dark. Yes, I’m afraid of the dark. Shut up.

Q: Quotes?

When I was in high school I had a journal that I collected quotes in. At the time, my goal was to fill it up, which seemed like a lofty goal at the time. I eventually stopped adding quotes to it, though I love them still. But one quote has been my favourite for a long time, and I think it can be applied to most things in life:

R: Reasons to smile?

Ethan’s baby laugh, Connor’s big heart, a really good book, a fantastic run, the perfect cup of tea, a decadent dessert, a really good day.

S: Season of choice?

Winter. I’m Canadian, eh?

T: Tag five people.

I hate tagging people.

U: Unknown fact about me?

Gosh, is there anything? What haven’t I told you? Okay, here’s a story from today:

I have an anaphylactic reaction to shellfish. Or at least I used to. When I was 21 I quite suddenly became allergic after eating it all my life. With the first incident, I got really sick and thought it was food poisoning. Then about a week later I ate it again and ended up in the hospital, where they told me I really ought not to eat shellfish anymore if I wanted to see my 22nd birthday. I carried an EpiPen for years, but I never had to use it because, for the most part, shellfish is an easy thing to avoid. And the darn things cost about $70 a pop, so I got a little tired of paying for something that I never used and that expired pretty fast. My husband was not a fan of this approach, but I’m stubborn.

After today, though, he wins. We were at a farmer’s market just out of town (i.e. fairly far from the hospital) and I ate some samples of curry from a vendor that sells kits. It wasn’t until my sister and I had both tried all three kinds that she pointed out the little sign that said, “Contains shrimp paste.”

Commence panic!

I’m fine, though, and it seems that perhaps I have outgrown that particular allergy (which I have long suspected). But I will still get an EpiPen until I can get some testing done just to put my mind at ease (and because after today if I don’t my husband will probably divorce me).

So a generally unknown fact about me? I should carry an EpiPen but I don’t because I’m stupid. (But, man, that curry was good.)

V: Vegetable?

English peas.

W: Worst habit?

Nail biting.

X: X-ray or ultrasound?

Ultrasounds. I had so many ultrasounds with both pregnancies that I’m a pro.

Y: Your favourite food?

Right now it’s this salad.

Z: Zodiac sign?

Sagittarius. Fire sign, baby!

Those are my answers. What about yours?

Filed Under: Happy things · Tagged With: blogging, favourite activities, lists

Influencing Girls as a Mom of Boys

June 6, 2013 by Farewell Stranger ·

Some day, a young girl will be sitting in my kitchen thinking she’s not good enough or smart enough or strong enough. She may not be my girl, but I will see myself in her and I will say this:

“I know. Me too. But keep going. Do it anyway. Do it because you can. Do it because you love it. Nothing else matters.”

Influencing girls and helping them be strong—unstoppable, if you will—is really important to me, which is what my latest post at Yummy Mummy Club is about.

Have you felt like this? I’d love it if you’d come and share.

Filed Under: Better world · Tagged With: my wish for you

Fun Father’s Day Giveaway

June 5, 2013 by Farewell Stranger ·

Q. Why did the blogger buy a hot pink iPhone charger?

A. Because her husband kept stealing her usual charger and she thought a pink one might deter him.

That’s not a joke so much as a story loosely based on my own life. (Okay, totally based on my own life.) But here’s the real punchline: It didn’t deter him. I guess the joke’s on me.

Is it just mine or does your husband steal your phone charger too? Let’s see if we can fix that. I’m going to give you the step-by-step details on how I’ve solved this problem and give you a chance to do the same.

1. Accept the offer from London Drugs to get a fun gift for your husband for Father’s Day.

2. Get your husband to browse their selection and let you know what he might like.

2a. Laugh when one of the items on his list is the Ove Glove.

3. Briefly consider his suggestion of a waffle maker but decide that’s probably not good for your desire to continue fitting into your clothes.

4. Decide to go with the portable iPhone docking station he liked in hopes of reclaiming both your usual iPhone charger and your spiffy hot pink one.

5. Celebrate Father’s Day knowing your Wife of the Year award is in the bag.

And there you have it! Easy peasy.

Want one of these for your own? (You don’t even have to give it to your husband/dad/other father figure – I won’t tell.) You can enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

And Happy Father’s Day to all you great dads out there. The world is better for having you in it.

Update: We have a winner! Congrats to Bailey D.!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by London Drugs but the plan to use it to win Father’s Day is all my own and was endorsed by my husband.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Randomness ·

Lacing Up

June 2, 2013 by Farewell Stranger ·

I’ve had lots of excuses for not running in the last 18 months. At first it was because we had just moved and there was a lot of snow on the ground and I didn’t really feel like breaking my neck. And then I got pregnant. And then I had just had a baby. And then there was snow on the ground again.

Then my husband got me some Yaktrax, which removed my fear that I might break my neck. The first time I wore them it was -18C (about 0F) and I managed to stay warm enough and figured I was good to go. But then in January I twisted my ankle and I stopped running, and I didn’t really start again.

I started to think maybe I wasn’t a runner anymore. I was feeling too old and achey. My knees weren’t cooperating. I was sucking wind and generally feeling like all my running mojo had veered off the path and run away without me.

I did other things. Boot camps and Jillian Michaels workouts and yoga. Long walks with big hills. Pilates. All of which were fine, but I didn’t find myself in any of them. There was a piece of me missing.

So I took to the trails again.

I’ve walked a lot in our area in the short time we’ve been here, but when I started running I didn’t yet have my go-to running routes the way I used to. And we live on a ridge, so no matter what direction I go I end up coming home on a hill. But still, I ran. I looped out and back, and followed paths. I found some trails and ran them to see where they went. I still sucked wind, but I was running. I had no particular thoughts about it; it just seemed good enough.

This morning when I got up I re-evaluated my planned run. My knees were complaining and I was sore after a challenging yoga practice last Wednesday and a stroller fit class on Friday. I was feeling like I’d been working hard and maybe skipping a run wouldn’t be a bad thing.

And then I got inspired and figured I’d do a short one. It was my day to walk the dog anyway.

If you follow my Facebook page you know how it turned out. I got to the end of the “out” part of my planned out-and-back and saw the entry to a path I hadn’t seen before. So I went down it. To make an hour-long story short, I got lost. After following a series of paths I ended up way, way down at the bottom of a glen and, just as I was starting to wonder where the trail came out, it ended.

Apparently this is where the sidewalk ends.

I have no idea why the trail ends there. At some point, someone must have decided that was all they were going to do. Or maybe they ran out of asphalt.

In any case, I found my mojo. It was down at the bottom of a glen, waiting for me on a rainy Sunday morning.

I’m a runner again.