Seven

This is not my reality. It was NOT seven years ago that we picked him up from the hospital.
He had a great day. Mom made bacon for him for breakfast. Gramma Cathy called and sang happy birthday to him over the phone. He absolutely did NOT want anything taken to his class to share with other kids, he wants no attention drawn to him for ANY reason and he already asked to stay home from school because the principal was going to give him an apple for his birthday.
He had an ice-cream cake, he got his own TOOLBOX and a key to lock it!

This is the first photo we ever took of our Miracle Max

Here we are leaving the hospital:



And here is the photo I was able to get of him this morning:


Here are his answers to the questions I am going to try and remember to ask him each year:

1. What is your favorite color? Yellow

2. What is your favorite toy? My Music Player

3. What is your favorite fruit? Oranges

4. What is your favorite tv show? The Wild Kratts ( it is what was on t.v. as we were talking)

5. What is your favorite movie? Night at the Museum

6. What is your favorite thing to wear? The tool-belt I got for my birthday

7. What is your favorite animal? Zebra

8. What is your favorite song? Daddy Cool by Boney M

9. What is your favorite book?  I don't like books ( this is both disturbing AND true - his mother and I LOVE books and he does not!)

10. Who is your best friend? Ben (this is equally disturbing. Ben is not so nice to Max......)

11. What is your favorite snack? Ritz Cheese Crackers.

12. What is your favorite drink? Apple Juice Boxes

13. What is your favorite breakfast? Oatmeal (I thought he would say "bacon")

14. What is your favorite lunch? Ham Sandwiches

15. What is your favorite dinner? Spaghetti

16. What is your favorite game? Sonic Dash on his Ipad

17. What is your favorite thing to play outside? Riding Bikes

18. What is your favorite holiday? Summer when there is no school.

19. What do you sleep with at night? My sleeping bag

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Firefighter. Not really but I don't want to answer any more questions so that's what I am saying.

It took quite a while for me to get all this information from him. He is not a talker and would rather not be "interviewed". He had a number of different reasons why he could not participate in this adventure but made it through alive!
I hope you enjoy this little snapshot of my boy.

THREE months? How did that happen?

It seems impossible that it has been three months to the day since I last posted. I can't believe that much time has passed. SO much has happened.
I am no longer working in my former position, where I was employed for ten years. I have a new job, Shel has a new job, the boys are back in school, and we are moving forward and being MUCH more conscious about making our lives healthy and happy and positive. I would be lying if I said I have resolved all of my feelings about what happened and the people involved, but overall I can honestly say I am MUCH happier now and grateful to have moved on and away from what was a toxic environment for me and vicariously for my family. (This is not to say there were not a small number of great people that I worked with)
It was only three months ago that our lives were shaken up and we had some serious decisions to make. starting before the job loss, it seemed that everything that could possibly go wrong, WENT wrong. We had bad news on Shel's health, then bad news on mine. I was out of work, our van broke down, our dog died.... yup, I'm not even making it up about our dog. I could actually go on and on about things that were happening all around us.

I went through some very dark days and would not have made it through them without the most amazing support. Some friends in town picked up Shel and the boys when the van broke down and loaned us a vehicle. We took a trip to the city for some medical testing and had a fun afternoon with the kids in Galaxyland. I quit smoking. Two "friends" I have from blog land but have never met in person (Teena and Michelle) sent words of support which really impacted me in a most positive way. My spouse, my mom, my siblings, ALL of them offered daily support - sometimes hourly! I discovered some friends among former "aquaintances" in this small town who also offered insane amounts of support and positivity. Even my "distant" friends supported me in emails and messages on facebook.
Then I got a monthly newsletter (which I subscribe to) from Carol Lynn Pearson which was so timely and relevant it gave me goose pimples. Here is what she had to say in her own words:

"SMOOTHING THE PATHWAY OF OTHERS.  Actually, I've been forced to think about this because the bishop of my ward asked me to speak in sacrament meeting (which I did last Sunday) and that was our theme of the month -- "Smoothing the pathway of others."  He specifically asked me to tell the story of my life with my former husband Gerald (which you have or can read about in Goodbye, I Love You.") That was just a small part of my talk.  I emphasized that as I was smoothing Gerald's path at the end, there were others smoothing my path, and I believe others were smoothing their paths.  That's what we do for one another, you know.I began my talk with a little story I heard long ago -- about the King who placed a large boulder in the road leading to the city and then hid to see what would happen.  The merchants and important citizens came by and loudly complained about the boulder and then went around it.  Finally a peasant put down his basket and used all his might, finally moving the boulder out of the road.  To his surprise, there where the bolder had been was a purse with 50 gold coins and a note written by the king, stating that the gold belonged to whoever cared enough for others that he/she would remove the boulder.We love our stories of heroes removing obstacles for others -- when Superman moves not only a boulder, but a building -- when Schindler moves a deadly boulder from the paths of 1,200 Jewish people.We do that on a smaller scale, you and I.  And we don't find a purse full of gold.  But what we do find is this -- peace of mind, gratitude, a knowledge we have been of use in this world, and -- very often -- experience that gives us an opportunity to be of use to many others.  That's what my experience with my former husband gave me -- the privilege of being able to touch the lives of large numbers of gay people and their families. That kind of opportunity is pure gold.Each of us has different boulders to help remove from the paths of others.  And I really do believe that there is some large plan that puts us in the right place at the right time.  The boulders in your own path -- and the boulders in the paths of those your meet on your journey -- are perhaps ones that are designed specifically for you.  At least that's the belief that helps me when the path gets rough.  Thanks for walking with me."

My path has been smoothed by many people over the last three months. Thank-you. Thank-you. Thank-you. One day, if your path needs smoothing, I would be honored to smooth it in return.

Moving forward

My job is officially over.
We have a lot of decisions to make and a lot of things all going on at once. In addition to the  stuff we have going on with Shel, I also got some bad news about my own health.
Take a deep breath and move forward!!!!

He turns FIVE today

My humpback whale turns five today. It is hard to believe my little guy is already so old! He is quite indignant that he is NOT old - he is still "new". He may still be new but he does not fit in my arms the way he did five years ago !
I saw this idea on the internet for asking your kids questions each year on their birthday and then compiling it from each year into a book for them when they are older. I thought it was a cool idea and so we started today!
Here are CJ's answers:

1. What is your favorite color? Flames and blue flames and red flames. Actually, all the flames and red and yellow and purple.

2. What is your favorite toy? Monster truck toy with a remote and with red flames on.

3. What is your favorite fruit? Oranges and apples and bananas and strawberries and grapes and everything. Which one do you like the most? Strawberries!

4. What is your favorite tv show? Tuff Puppy and Sponge bob and Flushed away.

5. What is your favorite movie? Flushed away

6. What is your favorite thing to wear? Sandals (he got a pair of sandals today for his birthday. Until today he has been wearing flip flops!)

7. What is your favorite animal? Dogs and kitty cats

8. What is your favorite song? Blue and Pink (CJ made up this song last year when we went to Edmonton. All he does is sing “Pink and Blue” over and over and over again. When Max joins in he tells him to stop singing because it messes him up!)

9. What is your favorite book? He didnt have an answer to this question , but when we got ot th elibrary he always chooses a "where's Waldo book to bring home and when we were in Edmonton at the hotel last year he got a Bible in the room which he take EVERY WHERE with him and which he wants us to read from for him before bed.

10. Who is your best friend? Evan and Justin Weenink.

11. What is your favorite snack? Root 

12. What is your favorite drink? Root beer (He drinks more chocolate milk than rootbeer!)

13. What is your favorite breakfast? Egg and Bacon Sandwich and pancakes.

14. What is your favorite lunch? Noodles

15. What is your favorite dinner? Noodles and pancakes.

16. What is your favorite game? Every single game (on his ipad)

17. What is your favorite thing to play outside? Bikes

18. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas.

19. What do you sleep with at night? cars

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A worker man to fix bikes if loose chains fall off. (He can already fix a chain that comes off a bike and he is good at it!)

 

Fathers Day When You have Two Moms

In school this past week the kids all worked on crafts for Fathers day. In CJ's class the aide worked with him on a card for his two mom's and he brought this cute card home on Friday.
It is very cool that he is in an environment where his kind of family is recognised and we appreciate the work his aide does with him - we know it is reflective of her and not of everyone in the school.

It has been an interesting few months to see how our boys are processing the idea of being in a different kind of family as they are getting older and more aware of the other kinds of families around them.

On Mothers Day, Shel was outside with the kids and said to them that she needed to get inside and start preparing a meal for supper for me for mothers day. Max was quite insistent that she did not need to do this because she was the FULL mom and I was the half mom. Because I work and am out of the house in the day and Shel stays home, to Max it means I am half-mom, half-dad.

CJ has started to talk about his "dad". He has always been less literal and more imaginative than Max, and in the past he has had imaginary friends. Now when he sees something - a motorcycle, a camper, a cat in the road - he says it is his "dad's". He has told us his dad has black skin and red hair (his favorite colours). When pressed for information on whether or not we can meet his dad, he tells us his dad is dead.

It bothers Max a LOT when CJ talks about his "dad". He initially would tell him to stop it and tell him that he was lying. Shel and I have encouraged Max to leave CJ alone and let him use his imagination. Both boys know they have two moms and have been with us since birth. I think they are trying to make sense of their world, and I hope we are being supportive enough for them to do it in.

Unfortunately Shel's dad has passed away and my dad is busy overseas with his "new" family and so the boys don't really have great father role models in our dads. Thankfully we have great siblings and sibling -in -laws for the boys to look up to as male role models. I just wish they were closer.

In the meantime we will celebrate "two best mom's day" - which reminds me - Max didn't have anything for me on fathers day for being half a dad!? I need to bring that up with him tonight.

Laid to Rest

At work the flag flew at half staff last week in honor of Sarah. She was laid to rest on Saturday. It is still so hard for me to believe she is gone. It is surreal.

365/17 Sarah

Try this: make a list of 365 people whose names you remember and who were interesting to you. And then, if you can, write down a few words about each of them before they're gone from your memory. If you can't do this, it might be wise to spend the next 365 days meeting more people in person who are interesting to you. Learn their names.

Last night a friend of mine was hanging out, quadding, having fun on a Friday night. She stopped to wash off the quad in the river and was swept away by the current. Her body was found today. I am in total shock.
Sarah was an AMAZING person. That seems like a cliche, like something you are SUPPOSED to say about a person who has passed away. In this case it is not cliche, but true.

I have known Sarah for about five years. She works in the housing office on the other campus and I have reason to talk with her FREQUENTLY, many times a week and some times many times in a day. When she sees my number come up on the caller id she answers the phone "Hey, Hey, Lady!"

She is friendly, helpful, kind, and I feel honored to have known her. We always chat and laugh of the phone when I call. On the rare opportunities I have to visit the other campus I always stop in and visit. I have never seen her without a smile on her face. She is a RARE person. An incredible person.

I will miss hearing her voice. I am just in shock that this has happened. I keep checking her facebook status as though all of a sudden she is going to post something and let us all know this is some kind of sick joke and she is ok. I just can't stop thinking about it. This is so insane. Rest in Peace my friend.

Bear sighting

Yesterday afternoon I was driving with the little kids and look what we saw!  I am THRILLED I had my camera with me. I am blessed to live in such a beautiful place.

Gone so long

It's been a while since I was here last. Life has thrown our little family some insane curve balls. At the end of all the budget cuts at the college I came out of the other side with my position intact. It has been a double edged sword to have made it through the cuts and I am still reeling a bit from all the changes. Things have not settled and I don't know how long it will be until they do.
Now for the clincher..... Shel has cancer. The big "C". We officially found out today. Everything has happened quite quickly. We will be getting a call from the doctor on Thursday by noon on what happens next. I don't know yet if I will be blogging though this or not, but I figured I would at least post this so if I am gone from this site for a while then people will know why!

Bike riding

Our boys love little other than being on their bikes from the time their heads come off the pillow in the morning until we are dragging them in at bedtime.
I love bike riding season aswell, it just feels like I spend a LOT of it fixing bikes. This summer our goal is for Shel and I to join these little expeditions.

A few years ago when the farmer whose fields surround our house took down all the trees, he moved some grain bins onto our property. He asked if he could and told us he was selling them and they would be taken away. He did sell them. They were removed. Left behind however were four large cement pads which initially was a huge frustration to us but has since turned into quite an adventure for the boys.

 

I cannot BELIEVE how tall my oldest boy is getting. He has the most adorable smile.

When a tree falls in the forest. I mean, yard.

It seems like one week we are under a snowfall warning, then the next week we are under flood watch. Most recently we have had wind like you wouldn't believe.
The trees around our house have taken a beating. We have SO much yard work to do it is a bit overwhelming and when the healthy trees come down in the wind it is a big discouragement. THANKFULLY the tree fell at an angle or it would have taken out part of the roof.

Soccer season

Last year was the first year I had kids in soccer. I volunteered to coach the under six team. This year the minor soccer association in our town was in danger of folding and a desperate plea went out to ask for volunteers. I helped with three of the four registrations, volunteered to coach under six again and somehow ended up vice president of the minor soccer association. WOW.

Soccer was scheduled to start on Tuesday night. On Monday the president sent me a text message to say she was not going to be able to attend and was going to drop everything off to me on Tuesday at work.

She came and gave me all of the lists for each of the coaches of the kids on each team. (I think the coaches NEED to have this info before the night they are showing up the first night to coach but maybe that's for me to work on for next near?!)

I went early to the first field where the under four and under six teams start. I put up colours on each goal post and then I hung up lists in the same colours on the fence for people to see. If their kids name was on a yellow sheet they went to the yellow goal etc. It was MUCH better than last year when all 100 plus kids showed up and went from field to field to see if their kid was on that pitch.

Last year I started to practise right away and so parents who saw I was actually playing with kids already all just came and put their kid on my field and I had a WHACK of kids that were not mine for the first few weeks. At least THAT was an improvement over last year.

The president had apparently told people that they could still register on the field the first night and so people were showing up to register and pay and I had NO help at ALL to take money, put kids on to teams equally AND coach at the same time. I started my kids with help of a parent to watch them and tried to finish up registration. I think it is a BIG mistake to take registration on the field especially when we had FOUR registrations before hand and they were advertised in the paper, and on the town notice board AND with sandwich boards on main street (also a change for next year!)

THEN (and this is the real kick in the teeth) A lady showed up to put her kid into the under four team and her name was on the board as a coach. She said " I never volunteered to be a coach!"

I have NO idea why the president just put names down as coaches and never bothered to confirm with people that they were doing it. It is VERY intimidating to parents, especially parents who have no knowledge of soccer to be thrown in like that and I felt HORRIBLE.

 I found an older boy who plays lots to coach the u-4 for Monday and he said he would do it every week and the mom said she would be happy to help him but she had not signed up to be a coach, nor had anyone called her to let her know she was coaching. It was the president who put all the lists together and I just assumed she had contacted everyone?

 I managed to get everything sorted and get some time with my little group of under sixes, then the time ended and the under eights started to arrive and I had 15 minutes to get them sorted AND get to the next field to get the lists to the coaches of the under ten teams and lo and behold a dad walks over to me and says - my wife's name is on that board to be a coach and she is not even here tonight. He had sent her a text message and she said she didn't volunteer OR have anyone call her! We have two under 8 teams and the one guy showed up with his son from college to coach the one team and they agreed to take all the kids and coach them all together which was a HUGE relief but I still had people coming to register. I got through as fast as I could, I didn't write anyone a receipt but told them I would get to them later. I went as fast as I could to the school to the under ten field and got the coaches there the lists and did the late registrations and had a few minutes to breathe. The man who came to coach the one under ten teams was on my list as being the coach of the under 16 team and so I asked him about it and he said...... wait for it.... no-one had asked him to coach the under 16 team and he has a son on the under ten team and so that was where he wanted to be! Shocker of all shockers.

I now had no coach for the under 16 team!

I went over to the fields where the under 14 and under 16 teams were, and took registrations for the under 14 team. There are very few under 16 kids to play - not even enough to field one team - and they said they would just play together and they were all thinking of car pooling and going to Peace River teams anyway, so they were good for the night just to kick some balls around alone.
So we waited and waited and waited for the under 14 coach to show up and I finally called her but only got her message machine. I left a message to let her know we were at the field waiting and a minute later she called me back and said........... No-one had called her to let her know that she was supposed to start coaching Tuesday night! She said she would be there on Thursday. So I stayed and coached the under 14 kids for an hour and a half so that they could play. (she wasn't able to be there on Thursday as it turns out and then the following Tuesday called me to say she was willing to be an assistant coach but not coach the team full time and alone. This has yet to be resolved.)


On Wednesday I spoke to the president VERY briefly and took all the stuff back to her and she asked why I wasn't writing receipts as I was getting money :(

And the water started to flow

It has felt like a LONG winter. We had snow on the ground that has stayed since before the end of October and here we are at the end of April/beginning  of May and this week we had a heavy snow fall warning.

On April 21 when we walked to the corner and looked back at our yard it looked like this.



 

 

Then on Saturday April 27th the wind started to blow and the snow started to melt and all of a sudden the fields were deep with water.

 The wind was blowing so hard the water in the field had whitecaps! WE were out watching the water and realized it was rising FAST. It was coming up over the road in places.

 Here Max is walking along the road that is being covered by water. It was getting deeper and deeper and flowing faster and faster and we decided it was a good time to head home. The wind was BITTERLY cold and the water was ICE cold.

 As we got home we realized the dugout had overflowed, the ditch had overflowed and the water was now flowing over our driveway!!!!

 

We kept a close eye on the water levels and thankfully they didnt get any higher, although we do have what appears to be a lakefront property now!

 

The water rose and rose and then froze overnight and then started to receed. It has left some interesting ice formations in the fields now.

 



I'm watching you

I love to laugh. It doesn't matter who I am laughing with, it is one of my favorite things.
In March I went to visit my mom and she lives in the same town as my sister. When we get together there is ALWAYS laughter.
One morning I went with my sister and her husband to Home Depot. As we were waiting we noticed a man standing at the end of an aisle just staring at us and not moving. He looked like a zombie. For some reason it made us laugh so hard. We decided to try and get a photo of him on our phones. That was even funnier. We were trying to be "sly" but it was not working out, and it didn't even matter! He still stood there and stared at us. A cashier standing immediately across from him was watching him and watching us and was also laughing.
Today I got an email from my sister with the heading "I'm watching you." I opened the email and the only thing in the content of the letter was the photo we took of the zombie guy in the store. I laughed so hard.

Alison Redford - thanks for nothing

Last year when Alison Redford became premier of Alberta she visited  Mount Royal University and promised $650 million in funding for post-secondary education. One year later the reality is COMPLETELY different.

There have been significant cuts made to the budgets in post secondary education. This means that all 26 post secondary institutes have decisions to make. Difficult, life-changing (for some) decisions.

Programs at some institutions have been cut already and there are more cuts to come before the final budgets are complete by the end of June.

Mount Royal was affected to the tune of 14 million dollars. They have announced the termination of disability studies, music performance and theatre arts diploma programs, along with the forensics, journalism, perinatal care and aging studies certificate programs, and an engineering transfer program.

The University of Alberta has been affected to the amount of 65 million dollars over two years.

Lakeland College has cut 60 employees positions.

The mayor of Calgary said this week “I have been on record as saying that the provincial government has made a terrible error in its post-secondary education policy — great cities need great universities and great universities need government support."

I work in a post secondary institute. There have been no announcements made yet on cuts here, but retirement incentives and other incentives have already been offered to those who are willing to leave now. The hammer has yet to fall. We have been assured that there will be no cuts to programs as a result of this budget, which is a great thing but what it means is that the deficit we face will be made up predominantly by cuts to jobs. It is impossible to balance the budget otherwise.

Where the premier and the education minister see dollar amounts I think they miss the bigger picture. The HUMAN picture. The premier has announced that there will be a freeze on tuition for the next year and that the budget will not be met "on the backs of the students". That's a nice idea, however instead of raising the tuition with the cost of living, which is a standard in post secondary institutes, the premier will instead balance the budget on the backs of the post secondary employees who will lose their jobs.

I don't know if I will lose my job. It may be another month before I know. In that one month period I, and my family, and the other hundreds of employees - in my institution and all others in the province AS WELL AS their families will all have to deal with the stress of not knowing. When the announcements are finally made those who are cut from positions have the stress of moving forward.

Insomnia, nausea, eye twitches from not sleeping, irritability, anxiety, heart burn.. heart attack? Will I snap at my son tonight when he breaks something accidentally, but because I am exhausted and stressed out? Will he cry? Will he feel disconnected to me and think I am a mean mom and not someone he wants to trust?

This is just a SMALL idea of the cost to me right now - and to the other employees who are in limbo.

Let's say in a month I lose my job. How will I pay my mortgage? How will I pay ANY of my bills? I live in a VERY small community where the opportunity to find employment at the same rate of pay which I have right now is virtually impossible. So do I move my family? Sell our house? What do I do for medical insurance in the meantime? Where do we go?

The government of Alberta thinks they are saving money, but I say they are wrong. HORRIBLY wrong and disconnected from your constituents. What you are doing has a HUGE cost, the results of which you may not be able to measure right now but which this province will be paying for for a LONG, LONG time. Unfortunately so will we.

The trials of an oldest child

I am the oldest of five children. My spouse is the oldest of four. I could write endlessly on the trials of being the eldest but I will spare you. (Those of you who are eldest in your respective families will all know what I have to say and those of you who aren't, won't understand!)
Today I was reminded what it is like to be the oldest child by something that happened with my own kids.
When I picked up CJ - second born - from school he proceeded to tell me that Max (the eldest) had been bad on the bus. His retelling of the incident was very funny because he told me "in Bud's voice". Bud is the busdriver.
I was highly amused at his retelling of the incident. Then it got me thinking. When I was growing up it used to drive me CRAZY when my younger siblings would tell my parents things I had been involved in prior to my arrival at home. It seemed like no matter what I was involved in - and there wasn't a lot - just enough to make this a salient memory - my parents would know what had happened before I got a chance to tell them.
Right before my eyes my ownchildhood is being re-enacted by my own kids. No matter how glad I am to know what happened and no matter how funny the telling of it was, I feel sorry for Max.
Gosh it is hard to be the oldest child.

Letter to Max 6yrs 7 months

Dear Max,

 

Gosh it has been so long since I wrote you a letter, I have fallen down on the job.

After this weekend I knew I needed to sit down and write to you. You are growing so fast it is ridiculous! We sat down this week and compared the size of our feet. Mom's friend suggested that maybe mom has small feet but I don't! Your feet are HUGE! We have to buy you ANOTHER pair of indoor shoes for school already. I'm pretty sure you will be the tallest person in our family, and I think it will happen soon.

 

You are so kind, and so gentle, and so thoughtful it makes me proud to be your mom. You came into the room this morning and the first thing you said to me was "Happy Easter Mom." Mama Shel and I lay in bed listening to you play with the little ones. You are such a good big brother. I know we tell you this all the time but it is true! You always include the little ones when you play and you make games that everyone can join in on.

 

You love to cook and clean and work on projects and you have set up your own little office in the room upstairs with all your things.

 

Since the weather has FINALLY improved you have been outside riding your bike almost every day this past week. You already have a five speed bike! You love to ride and you have even gone outside ALONE to ride. This is so amazing to me because for so long you would not do anything without having either Mama Shel or I in your sight. I think you were four years old before you ever went around the house out of our sight even when we were outside with you!

 

I can't say enough how much your mom and I are proud of you.

 

Did you know that there were people in this world who tried to tell me and Mama Shel all the things you could never do? They told us you may never ride a bike. They told us you may never learn to read or to write. Even this year at the beginning of grade one they told us that you would only learn "living" skills - like dressing yourself - and not things like spelling or math. Boy, have you shown them! You are a funny kid though, you brought home a spelling test this week and didn't even show it to me or Mama Shel. You are still the same quiet, shy boy you have always been and don't like any attention drawn to yourself, even if it is hugs and kisses for doing so well on your spelling!

 

 

 

When I came to the school the other day I saw this letter you wrote about the Leprechauns and took a photo of it. I think it is a perfect example of how generous you are and how you think of others.

My baby boy, My Miracle Max. It is hard for me to see you grow so fast. I want to keep you small and protect you from all the hard things that are out there in the world. I want you to have a wonderful life full of success and it is hard for me to let you go, even in the small ways I have had to do already.

I love you my son, more than words will ever express. You will keep doing amazing things, you will keep showing the people who say "you can't" how wrong they are - no matter if it takes longer for you to get to your destination. Your mom and I will always be here, we will always love you. One day you may even decide you want to sleep in your own room and not on the floor in our room. I will be happy for you on that day. I will be happy for me and mama Shel because we will be able to get up in the night and not have to walk over you to get to the bathroom. I also know that on that day I will be a little sad that you have grown up even more, and I won't hear your breathing as you sleep so deeply. I love the sound of your breathing, it makes me happy to know you are close.

Rest your head, close to my heart, never to part, Baby of mine.

Mama Ju

My Red Facebook Status

If you are a friend on mine on facebook you will notice that my status photo has changed this week.

That's because I support equal rights.

 

Here's an article from Time Magazine explaining more on this change you may have noticed on facebook (and other social media)- 

 

 

From Time Magazine:

Have you noticed that Facebook and Twitter users are changing their profile pictures and avatars to an image of a red equal sign?

That’s because the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, has been promoting an image of a pink equal sign over a red background in lieu of its Blue and Yellow Logo to mobilize supporters online as the Supreme Court begins hearings on gay marriage today in Washington. A symbol of equality, the photo has racked up more than 25,000 likes and 78,000 shares on the group’s Facebook page in the past 24 hours. In fact, Mashable reports that since actor George Takei  changed his profile picture to the red equal sign, the post has received more than 40,000 likes from fans.

Today, the court is deliberating California’s Proposition 8, which bans the right for same-sex couples to marry. Tomorrow, arguments will be heard regarding the national Defense of Marriage Act, which has legally defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman since 1996.

While the court’s favorability rating is at an all-time low, some supporters have taken to social media to add to the weight of public opinion. On Twitter — where Supreme Court ranks in the top 10 in the world’s trending list — supporters like actress Sophia Bush have changed their icons to the equal sign.

There has been some criticism of this trend, and comments from people saying sarcastically that they are sure the justices are tallying up the number of facebook status changes right now. HELLO!!!!
THAT IS NOT THE POINT.

Of course the justices are not tallying up the number of statuses and I don't care if they don't. What I care about is MY friends, MY acquaintances, knowing that I support equality. I have had a friend ask me what it meant and I shared with her. She had no idea and would not have if I had not changed my status to red.

I am a pretty "a-political person". Aside of being very vocal about the importance of voting I avoid talking about or posting anything , (or RARELY posting anything) political on my facebook status. I have friends and family who are VERY political and some who post numerous times a day, every day, on political topics. I avoid engaging in conversations with these people because I don't believe facebook is a platform where I am likely to be heard or be able to completely and accurately explain or defend my position. BUT. I believe in human rights, more specifically I believe in LGBT rights. I think it is WAYYYYYYYYY past time that the USA recognized their gay citizens as EQUAL citizens. So I am keeping my red status for now, regardless of whether people think it is pointless or that I am on some bandwagon, or WHATEVER they think.

The ruling of the supreme court is not due until sometime in June. I can guarantee on the day the ruling is handed down my facebook status WILL have something to say. SO if you think I am being political just now? Oh, wait.

Spring

We have had a LONG and a COLD winter.
Winters here are unlike anything I ever experienced growing up because they are so dark. The sun sets early and rises late and so I get up and go to work in the dark and then by the time I am done with work it is dark again. It takes a lot of getting used to! We start counting down the days of darkness at solstice and then counting days to the light again in December. FINALLY the light has come back - by mid-summer the sun is up in the sky until late late at night and up again early in the morning. I was working on my thesis tonight and it was 8 pm and it was still very light. It was deceptive, but I sure love the light.
We have had more snow this year than we have had in many years. There is still so much snow in the yard it is up to the frame of the trampoline where we attach the pad. Temperatures have been horrendous, FINALLY this week they crept up to 3 degrees (Celcius) and we have been outside and loving every minute of it!
You know you are a Canadian when.....

It cracks me up how one of the boys in in a winter coat and touque and the whole nine yards and the other is in a t-shirt!

Photo Friday