favourite activities Archives

New House and New Traditions

November 4, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

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So, we bought a house yesterday.

<– That’s it. Pretty good, eh?

We jogged into town on Wednesday afternoon, bought an iPhone (because, obviously) and started looking at houses yesterday at 10 am. The deal was done about 10:00 last night.

We are totally thrilled with how this worked out. It’s almost miraculous. We got a house we love and – get this – the possession date we wanted. We’ve agreed to be out of our house by the 26th and will be into the new one on the 28th. Of November.

So that means we’ll be in our new house for Christmas.

I’m not actually sure what our Christmas plans will be this year, but I think it’s going to be a little odd. We’ve spent every Christmas except two at home with my parents and other assorted family. We’ve picked out a tree at the same nursery every year. We’ve done the same lights tour. We’ve eaten Christmas dinner at the same table and hung our stockings from the same fireplace. Those things will change and it will be okay, though I’m feeling a bit sentimentally sad about it.

What we will have, however, is this, which we woke up to this morning:

There’s actually no guarantee we’ll have a white Christmas but if we do I will be a very happy girl. Despite many years on the coast, it never feels like Christmas without snow. And I think this little dude will like it too:

We’ll be in town for good just in time to gear up for Christmas, which will involve my sister and her husband, and my parents are planning to come out too. My mother-in-law lives here, so we won’t be short on family.

And it will be kind of fun to start new traditions and find new holiday comforts. We’ll go visit the great light display they do in a park here and actually enjoy hot chocolate in the car without being too warm. I’ll prove to Connor that I do, in fact, know how to build a snowman. We’ll bake my mom’s Christmas cookies in our new oven in our totally awesome new kitchen, and then we’ll sit by our new fireplace and eat them. (Or maybe I’ll leave the boys downstairs and eat mine upstairs because our new bedroom has a fireplace in it. Squee!) We’ll introduce our stockings to their new home and make sure Santa knows we’ve moved.

And we’ll enjoy the snow. Until we’re sick of it.

***

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Filed Under: Happy things, Stuff I like · Tagged With: family, favourite activities, firsts, hope, living life, The Universe

Where I’m From

September 21, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

I am from homemade Playdoh in blue and green, from the endless possibilities of Brio trains, and multi-coloured afghans hand knit with love.

I am from beach houses, suburban houses, and the house of many trees, each one a home complete with dogs and dance recitals.

I am from my mother’s mountain, a freshwater spring spilling on to the sand, and a John Denver soundtrack on long drives between the two.

I am from summers at the pool and advent calendars at Christmas, from Rileys and Birds and the traits of the Nelsons.

I am from Calvin and Hobbes quoted at the dinner table and laughing so hard milk comes out your nose.

From you have your mother’s eyes and I’m going to drive with my eyes closed so tell me if we’re going to hit something.

I am from a belief system that knows kids and clothes can be washed and that little girls are more valuable than family treasures accidentally broken.

I’m from a hospital nestled in the foothills, tourtière on Christmas Eve and school lunches that were the envy of classmates, they who wore kilts and blazers and heard pull your socks up and dangly earrings aren’t allowed. (I wore them anyway.)

From boats and salt water oceans, a mother’s hand warm from her tea, and the man who summoned emergency personnel with a practical joke, prompting a fondly-recalled story in the newspaper 25 years later.

I am from fat, brown photo albums, artwork and photos above computers and a do-anything-for-you kind of love reflected in a lifetime of knowing what it is to have a family.

family photo of children playing in the sand

The beach house where the spring water flowed into the ocean. (That's me on the left. The 4th sibling came later.)

Linked up with:

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With thanks to Mama Kat for the prompt using this template based on this original work, which I’d seen before but had not yet been inspired to try.

And with sincere apologies to my mother if I’ve made her cry (again).

Filed Under: Be enough me, Happy things, Writing · Tagged With: Be enough me, family, favourite activities, gratitude, living life, love, my wish for you, photos

Why I Run

June 16, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

At first all I hear is silence. Then birdsong. The crunch of my feet on gravel. The rhythmic sound of my breath.

I am running.

***

I started in running in January 2005. I hated going to the gym, so I figured I’d try something with a goal in mind and registered for a 10k clinic.

At first one minute of running made me feel like I was going to DIE.

I went to the run clinic every Wednesday night and dutifully did my solo runs two other days a week. I progressed, increasing intervals until I got to the point where I thought I might actually be able to do it.

And I did. That year at the end of April I ran my first 10K.

But I didn’t stop running.

Why do I run?

I run because it’s hard. Every run, good or bad, feels like an accomplishment.

I run because it gets me outside into the fresh air.

I run because a sunlit trail often seems like the place on Earth to be.

I run because when it rains everything feels refreshed, even me.

I run because, as I wrote before, it’s a battle between mind and body and it’s good for both.

I run because I have friends who run and I run with them.

I run because I’ve made new friends through running.

I run because often when running I’m also writing – drafting things in my head and thinking about the right turn of phrase as my feet pound the path.

I run because the trails are there.

Because I run, I get alone time I might not otherwise take time for.

Because I run, I’ve seen my expression reflected on other runners’ faces – a grimace signalling determination through pain.

Because I run, I also know what an expression of joy looks like on the face of someone out in the fresh air and sunshine doing something that’s good for them.

Because I run I see more dragonflies.

Because I run, I get to see my dog in his happy place, skipping along, sniffing, falling behind, catching up, surging ahead, pushing me farther.

Because I run I have learned to push myself – to not quit when I want to because I remember my dad’s advice and I’ve learned it’s true: “If you stop when it’s hard you never improve.”

Because I run I know what it’s like to cross the finish line of a half-marathon and receive a medal for finishing something I once thought I would never, ever be able to do.

***

I see sparks of sunlight glinting off the lake. Shadows bounce and twirl, reflecting the dance of the trees above them.

Today I ran.

Because I am a runner.

Yes, my face always gets this red when I run.

Filed Under: Happy things · Tagged With: favourite activities, living life, perspective, running

Thoughts from the Road(Trip)

June 9, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

We pulled into our driveway last night and could hear our dog – having spent the past week waiting to see if we’d ever come back – barking madly. Upon opening the door, he came storming out. He jumped. He licked. He ran circles around us.

We’re home.

The trip – despite some moments of going crazy – was great. A few observations:

Spending seven full days with a toddler when you haven’t done that often – in fact, ever – is…what’s the word? Challenging? Exhausting? Enlightening? Crazy-making? Endearing? Yes.
I might, possibly, need to plan a little bit more alone time on future trips.
Toddlers who are pretty tied to a routine at home do surprisingly well on road trips.
Next time, I need to remember to bring bath toys. (Thanks again, Paige, for kitting us out for the trip home.)
When you tell your three-year-old boy you’re going to a play date and he’s quite concerned about whether there will be diggers there, and then you arrive to find that there are, in fact, diggers to play with, the look on his face is priceless.
It turns out three-year-old boys quickly forget about diggers when there’s a selection of fire trucks to play with.
A two-day drive with a toddler is actually not so bad when he can watch shows on the iPhone once the toys and games you brought get boring.
The second day is especially quiet when the toddler is sick, spent the whole previous night throwing up, and then sleeps most of the way home. (Poor little monkey.)
My family – those who were there and those who weren’t – are truly one of my biggest blessings.
There’s a reason we seem to go there every year. It’s becoming even more about the people, though I will always find a piece of my soul in the place.

Filed Under: Motherhood · Tagged With: family, favourite activities, living life, love

I’ve Got the Scattered Part Right

May 23, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

I hate the sound the timer makes. Ticking relentlessly to the end. Loudly so as to prevent clear thinking.

I glance at it and see my time is almost up.

Come on, think. There have to be words for these categories.

Nothing? Fine. Think of words that start with ‘t’. Truck… Toad… Toilet… Tampon…

Oh for goodness’ sake. This isn’t working. Those don’t fit any of the categories. Okay, forget choosing words. Focus on the categories.

“Excuses for being late”

‘Threw up!’ There, that’ll work.

“Household chores”

Uh, towel washing? No, that sounds dumb. Okay, um…toilet scrubbing! Hey, ‘toilet’ fit after all!

“Things that bother you”

Um… Uh… Oh for crying out loud! Everything bothers me. Surely one of them starts with a T. Wait! Tina Turner! Double score! Except she doesn’t bother me, so does that count? Whatever. I can lie.

The timer keeps ticking.

“Foreign cities.”

My brain goes blank. I visualize a world map, but all I can picture is each country a different colour.

Come on, think of a city! Oh! Turkmenistan. That can’t be spelled right – it looks too simple. I think it has a ‘j’ in it. Turkmejnistan. No, that doesn’t look right either. Good lord! Stop wasting time. They won’t know how it’s spelled either.

“Things in the bedroom.”

Hee hee.

I giggle, but I’ve got nothing.

“Vegetables.”

That’s got brain fart written all over it so I skip it.

“Lunch food.”

Easy peasy! Tur…

CLICK!

Stupid timer.

***

My husband (the sporadic blogger) is an artist, and he rocks word games. I’m a word nerd, and I really, really don’t.

I don’t play Scrabble because I just stare at the tiles looking for words to jump out at me, then get lazy and put down words like “ant” that give me about 2 points.

Word jumbles? Can’t do ’em.

But I will play Scattergories. The tradition started years ago with a friend. She lives in another city, and when my husband and I visited we’d haul out the red box.

Our friend is pretty good. She comes up with good words, something for most categories, and often scores multiple points for nailing alliteration.

My husband has never, in my recollection, missed a category. He always has a word for whatever letter we’re using. And he scores multiple points on something in every round.

As for me, my paper usually looks like I had to pee in the middle of the round and forgot to come back.

***

The timer has spoken so we compare notes.

“A song that starts with ‘t’.”

My answer: Uh, er, couldn’t think of a song.

My husband’s answer: Tiptoe Through the Tulips by Tiny Tim.

Are you freaking kidding me? We’re two categories into scoring and he has seven points already?!

He gloats. He’s good at that.

Our friend starts singing the song, which doesn’t help my humiliation.

We keep scoring. My husband gets multiple points on several of the categories.

He gloats a little more, so I laugh at him for not only knowing the tulip song but who sang it.

My friend starts singing it again, so I laugh at her for knowing the words AND the tune.

And then we roll the dice and play again.

Quick, someone give me something you’d find in your fridge that starts with ‘R’!

***

Disclaimer: looking at list 6 now, it’s freakishly easy. Apparently I don’t do well under pressure, but either way I suck at the alliteration points. And my husband better not get too used to winning, because with the vocabulary and sharp mind Connor already has his dad’s going to have to bring his A game if he wants to keep winning.