Earl Grey. Hot.

Something is happening and I kind of like it.

I have never liked coffee. Coffee Crisp chocolate bars were the closest I ever came to enjoying the flavour of coffee, but I discovered this summer that I enjoyed an occasion Iced Cappucino from Tim Horton's. Still, I don't like coffee.

I have also never truly enjoyed tea though I have tolerated it on many occasions over the years, usually while holding back a grimace and adding lots of sugar. Since I started working at Tim Horton's last year, I have been subjected to plenty of tea smells as I pour hot water over tea bags on a daily basis. The smells have been enticing and delicious to my nose even though the thought of drinking tea was not appealing.

Chai tea has been the one tea that I have come to tolerate when I want something hot and don't feel like hot chocolate. At work, we just recently added chai tea to our selection so I ordered one on our way to Sam's hockey game a few days ago. I loved it. While celebrating a friend's birthday the other night, I had a cup of chamomile tea and really enjoyed it. Yesterday, I had, not one, but two cups of Earl Grey tea, because it tasted so good. This morning, I just finished a cup of Earl Grey and my tastebuds want more.

What is happening to me? And why?

I do not have a clue, but it is a better alternative than the diet coke I am addicted to. This might be the time when I actually can break that habit. I did enter and exit a grocery store yesterday without even considering buy some diet coke. Impressive.

Three Days

Isn't it lovely? I had yesterday as well as today and tomorrow off work. While I didn't request three continuous days off, I am more than glad to have them. With all the people quitting work recently, I'm thinking that my schedule will only become fuller as the weeks go by. Still, the timing for this stretch is perfect; just when I needed more of a break than one day can provide. I did ask for tomorrow off as my dad is going in for his knee surgery and needs someone to drive him to and from. Abby was chosen as one of four students in her class to bring snacks for their class party tomorrow, so I actually have time to bake!

I do have a few errands to do around town, but they will wait until tomorrow after I drop dad off for surgery. Today, I need to bake, go to the chiropractor, catch up on laundry, clean the bathroom, carve a pumpkin, and get as much "work" done as possible. I'd really like to be able to relax and enjoy as much of my day off tomorrow as I can. It is frustrating to have a day off work eaten up with housework, appointments, and running around town. I want time to just sit and scrapbook or read or do a puzzle or something, but I doubt that this is what will happen tomorrow. I already know that I will need to go to the library and to Wal-mart and quite likely the chiropractor again. Then, there's hockey practice and picking up my dad and picking up my mom from work and being ready for trick-or-treaters.

Okay, I've had enough typing. My wrist had been doing so well...a week or so without pain until I went to work on Saturday. I thought I'd try working without wearing the support. Yeah, I lasted maybe 2 hours before the pain started up again and it hasn't exactly gone away again yet. Guess I'll keep wearing that brace at work for a while yet...

Sound of Silence

Last night, for 15-20 minutes, I sat in my van outside my friend's house. It was dark and still and the cold stole the warmth from inside my van and I sat and I talked to myself. Out loud.

Call me crazy. I don't care.

Loose Ends

I had a long post typed up the other day, went to publish, and it disappeared. How frustrating!

Sam is back home from his weekend at junior high youth conference in Chilliwack. He had a great time.

Casey had an extreme meltdown Friday afternoon after I picked him up from his sleepover. That was the Reader's Digest Condensed version. How do you deal with a 10 year old who says that killing himself would be a better alternative than living and not being able to do what he wants to do? All over a costume for Halloween...

And the kicker...last night, he was going on and on about what he's going to dress up as and it is much more benign than what he was fighting for! Aaargh!

I lost the big diamond in my engagement ring sometime on Saturday. I worked until 3pm. Kane picked me up, we came home, I changed, and we were out the door by 3:40. It wasn't until then that I noticed the gaping hole in my ring. I'd like to think that I would have noticed it missing had it been gone much earlier in the day, but I don't really know. This is the second time that I have lost a diamond from that ring. Obviously not the exact same diamond but it was the same diamond. Does that make sense? :o) So, I'm not wearing my rings as they are soldered together and I don't need four tiny prongs to scratch and catch on everything. Even today, my finger still bears the indent from my rings, and it feels as if I am wearing them.

I coloured my hair Friday night. It is now darker than it has ever been with a few highlights thrown in. The colour is called Truffle. I think I like it. Kane thinks it looks lighter, but there's no way.

We watched Napoleon Dynamite last night because Casey has been begging and begging to see it. He claims to have loved it, but the rest of us sat through it like prisoners subjected to torture. I did not find it funny. Sure, there was a plot, but it was rather thin and weak, in my opinion. I'm no movie critic; I enjoy a lot of bad movies, but this was boring. Honestly, I can't understand the hype.

My wrist has been feeling much better the past week. There has been the odd painful episodes, but they've been few and far between. Whether this is due to my chiropractic visit last week, the wrist support I've been wearing at night, or simply the natural cycle of things I do not know. The day before I went to the chiropractor my wrist felt good, and he didn't do any actual adjustments. Whatever the reason, I'm glad. Still, it's back to the chiropractor today and continue in wearing the support.

My house is a mess. I've not done very much in the way of housework during the past few weeks of pain. The kids have done some general tidying and vacuuming, but that requires my nagging. The mess is driving me crazy though, and I have this strong need to purge clutter and junk. I started on the boys' room yesterday. So much junk. Why do they keep it? We aren't big consumers so where does it all keep coming from?

Time to get ready for work.

Life's Little Adventures

I had yesterday off work, but I was a prisoner in my own home until 2:10pm. I had things that I could have done out and about except that I was waiting for a phone call from one of Sam's teachers. She had called me at work on Monday to talk, not realizing that I don't have a job that allows me time to chat on the phone, so she said she would call me yesterday. I waited and waited, did laundry, waited, watched Star Trek re-runs while doing a puzzle, and waited. Finally, I had to leave for my chiropractic appointment and I didn't stop running around until shortly after 8pm. She never called. That is so frustrating!! I could have gone out and bought a filter for the furnace and turned it on...finally. I was COLD!

The chiropractic appointment went well. It was an initial session, so no adjustments just a couple of scans and such. Some things look reasonably good, but there are some indicators that my carpal tunnel might not be carpal tunnel. It could be related to the spine. Hopefully. So, I guess I get to make regular appointments now to get everything properly aligned. Oh joy. Funny how now my neck is sore...

Yesterday morning was kind of weird. Because I didn't have to work, I was in no hurry to change from my warm jammies into real clothes, so I sent the kids off to school at 8am with the intention of taking the morning slowly. I then realized that it was Tuesday, garbage day, and I didn't think that Kane had taken the garbage out before he went to work. Rats. Quickly throwing on some clothes, I took out the garbage, although I did entertain the thought of doing so in my pjs. Perhaps if we didn't live on a major road...

After taking out the trash, I decided to start on the laundry. Gathered it all up, took it downstairs, sorted and started the first load. Then, I came upstairs and started tidying the living room. What did I see lying on the carpet? Abby's math textbook and notebook!! I checked her class calender. Yup, she had math that day. I looked at the clock. It was 8:20. The bell would ring at 8:25. I had a dilemna: take the books to her or let her live with the consequences. I hemmed and hawed before decided to take the books to her. After all, there are plenty of times when I am not available to help in class or drop off forgotten items. I didn't have socks on and didn't have the time to find some and put on running shoes, so I slipped on my sandals and took off. We live close enough to the school that I had time to run in the few minutes left until the bell rang, but I did have to actually run which is difficult to do in sandals. I must have looked a sight to all the rush hour drivers. Once I got to the school, I opted to run across the field rather than take the long way around on the sidewalk. Of course, the grass was wet and cold. My poor toes got wet and cold. Very cold. I huffed and puffed up to Abby as she waited in line outside her classroom then walked home on numb toes. It showed me how out of shape I am; my legs are stiff today.

I could write more about today's adventures, but Sam is looking over my shoulder, reading every word I type out loud, and nagging me to get off the computer so he can play some silly games. Plus, my neck is sore. Yes Sam, I did already say that. I put it in for effect and maybe a touch of humour. You know? Oh and Sam, I love you and am very proud of you for how well you did in your cross-country races this year. You improved on all your times! Way to go!!

Falling Apart at the Seams

I must be getting old; my body is falling apart or fighting back. Kane will be happy that I finally booked an appointment with a chiropractor. I've been putting it off and he's been nagging, especially since my carpal tunnel diagnosis. We ran into his chiropractor at hockey last night and Kane had him join in on the nagging. So, I just called and made an appointment for tomorrow. It's been a long time since I've been to one of those...probably 7 years or so. To be honest, I went regularly for at least two years and never noticed a difference, but I'll go.

Today, I have a doctor's appointment for something unrelated to the carpal tunnel. Just a check-up, routine thing but necessary just the same. I'm not keen on going to the doctor very often either and I've put this off long enough, too. Although, if my arm is still giving me trouble in a few weeks then I'll be making another appointment for that.

And, I ignored the voice mail message a few months ago reminding me that it was time for my eye exam. Yes, I have been putting it off, even though I really think that I might need a new prescription for my glasses. I've been having difficulty with my vision for a while now.

Despite all that, you know what concerns me the most? Sometimes my left arm (wrist and elbow) hurts very much like my right arm does, and I wonder if it's just in my head or if I'm worse off than I thought.

Season Opener

Sam's team won their first game of the season 8-5. I was only able to see the first period and maybe half of the second. When I left the score was 5-4 in our favour. Actually, I think the score was 5-4 at the end of the first period; definitely lots of action in bantam!

I admit to a little bit of 'mommy fear' while watching the game. There are some big kids and my Sam is still just a little kid. It is more than a little disturbing to me to see short kids playing such a physical sport with, or against, kids that are the size of adults. Seriously, there is at least one bantam player who is 6'4" without his skates on! Do you know how tall that is with skates on?! In house hockey, which is what Sam plays, there is no body checking. In theory anyway. In yesterday's game, there were more than a dozen penalties, many of which were for body checking or roughing or cross-checking. It might not be tolerated, but a penalty after the fact does little to protect a smaller player from being plastered by someone twice his size. And you'd better believe that I am quick to notice which players tend to take more liberties with the body than I would like. In previous years, there has been a 3 strikes rule in hockey. Any player who had three penalties in one game was ejected from the game. I don't know whether the rule is non-existent or just different in bantam, but there were two players (one from our team and one from the other) who had at least 5 or 6 penalties each.

Still, I thoroughly enjoyed being back in an arena watching hockey. My name is Angela and I am a rink rat. Yes, I am. It is quite possible that I have been in every hockey rink in southeast Saskatchewan as my dad played a fair bit of hockey when I was younger. Given a choice, I think I would always choose hockey to watch over any other sport with the only real competition being Canadian football. My dad played a lot of football, too. Okay, he played a lot of fastball, softball and slo-pitch as well. I remember well playing under the bleachers at the ball diamonds with my sister, finding beer bottle caps back in the days before screw caps, and chasing foul balls to return for a piece of Dubble Bubble. There's just something about hockey that I love. It doesn't matter if it is the NHL, the WHL, the world juniors, the Olympics, or just my 13 year old son in bantam house.

Sam has a game this afternoon. It should be exciting...

Expecting the Unexpected

So I am sitting at work, eating my soup and enjoying my break, when my boss comes and sits down. Uh oh! Instantly I am worried that he's going to ask me to work on one of my days off, but instead he says that they are giving me a raise on my next paycheck because I am a valuable employee. (translation: they are desperate to keep me) Wow! I must say that I am a little surprised having just received a raise within the past two months, but I won't turn it down.

Also, he asked if I was interested in becoming a trainer which is one step up from your basic peon. To the best of my knowledge, a trainer is someone who trains new employees (obviously) and there might even be more to it than that. I don't really know for sure. They would like an answer by the weekend. Being a trainer is something that has crossed my mind, although I would never have chased after it on my own accord. It is somethign that Kane and I have discussed several times, but I have always said that I would wait until I was asked to even think about it. I do believe that I am capable, but I don't have the availability that I always assumed they would want for someone with more authority. Maybe I was wrong. Or maybe they're just desperate. Maybe both answers are correct.

Of course, I will discuss it with Kane first,but I do believe that I will accept the offer so long as they don't expect my hours to change. I'm ready. It isn't that I chafe under someone else's authority, but I do like having authority of my own.

Ho-hum!

That's how I feel. I had the day off yesterday with thoughts of doing several things. In the end, I did very little and accomplished even less. Well, I did get the laundry finished but that's hardly exciting. I had the entire day to do as I pleased and I did next to nothing. I felt too blah and unmotivated.

Today's day off turned into a day off with a two and a half hour work shift thrown into my morning. Now I am back home with a lot of free time ahead of me and my list of things to do is the same size as yesterday, but I am once again mellowing into a puddle of motionless tissue. Actually, I really don't have as much time today as I would need to do all that I want to do. It is Wednesday, our crazy day of the week. But I can't even come up with inspiration for supper. How pathetic is that.

My arm hurts. My fingers feel swollen and numb. My elbow and wrist hurt. The brace helps but it isn't a miracle worker. At least when I thought it was tendonitis, I had the expectation that this pain was only temporary. Now I'm not so confident that the pain will end, although I am not overly concerned about the long term prognosis as of yet. So, I guess I could blame my blah feelings on my dysfunctional arm, but I know that it is not that simple.

Life is never as simple as I'd like it to be. In general, life is good and I am blessed and happy. However, there are also questions, doubts, fears, concerns, and mixed feelings that weigh heavily on my shoulders. Most of the time I can stand strong and steady beneath the burden, but times do arise when I'm a little weary of standing and I don't feel nearly strong enough. I make every effort to cast these cares upon my heavenly Father's shoulders, but even doing that does not break the ties wrapped around my heart.

If that sounds rather cryptic, so be it. I'm fine, really. Just rather blah, you know.

In other news, I think Sam will have a good year in hockey this season. There are a couple of familiar faces on his team and the parents all seem to be good people. The head coach has laid out his philosphy and goals for the season and they look great. One of the assistant coaches is a former NHL player, so the boys will have lots of opportunity to learn from someone who has won a Stanley Cup. It's kind of exciting actually. And, our practice nights are on Tuesdays from 5:30-6:30. We couldn't have picked a better night for our family!

I'm not going to spell check this, so I will apologize now for any errors in this post or any future ones. A handful of numb fingers do not always push the correct keys or in the correct order. I've caught as many as I could at the time, but I don't want to spend mroe time than needed at the computer.

Giving Thanks

Things I am thankful for, in no particular order:

*God's grace and mercy
*Kane, my bestest friend and the one who completes me
*Sam, Casey and Abby-they bring me much joy and potentially grey hairs but I love them dearly
*turkey dinners with all the fixings
*autumn colours
*best friends and familiar faces
*flannel sheets, well-worn sweaters, cozy blankets, a mug of hot chocolate...anything warm and cozy
*good bosses
*bedtime
*ibuprofen
*diet coke vanilla black cherry
*holidays and the end of holidays
*ice packs and heat packs
*pumpkin pie...made by me
*hot bubble baths
*music
*fall colours and smells
*television season's premiers (no more re-runs!)
*good books
*days off
*hockey season has begun
*leftover turkey
*aches and pains
*God's Word

Diagnosis

It's been a while since I have updated my blog. My arm has been too sore to do a lot of typing, a lot of anything really. It was really bad yesterday, so I stopped at the doctor's clinic after dropping my boys off at church last night. The waiting area was empty, so I was in and out quick enough. The diagnosis is not what I expected though. I had assumed that this was tendonitis as the pain is somewhat similar to the tendonitis I have had diagnosed in my other wrist before. Instead, the doctor believes that I have carpal tunnel syndrome.

I suppose it is good to have a diagnosis, even one that I am not very happy about, as it gives me direction for appropriate treatment and preventative measures. I know that surgery is an option at one end of the CTS spectrum, but I don't think I'm anywhere close to that end yet. The doctor did recommend wearing a wrist support especially at night when I sleep. A stop at London Drugs and $40 later, I was the proud new owner of an ugly but sturdy wrist support. There was a difference this morning after wearing it all night. It wasn't a dramatic difference. My arm wasn't miraculously painfree, but the numbness and tingling in my fingers had lessened. Of course, after a day of working, the pain, numbness and tingling are right back in action. I wore the support while at work otherwise I would have only exacerbated the problems with all the bending of my wrist. With the support, my wrist was immobile, but it sure made ordinary actions a little more difficult. Pouring coffee required much more motion from my entire arm. I'm not sure if my difficulties in grabbing change out of the till was from the support or if it was merely a side effect of my digital numbness. I dunno.

So, I have my support. If there's no improvement then eventually I will need more testing. I guess.

The bright side is that this has given me a great out at work. It has been keeping me off of the sandwich bar station, and I am so glad. For one thing, the slicing motion is brutal on my arm, and secondly, the sandwich bar is just a crazy place to be these days.

Here's a quote from my daytimer which puts a smile on my face:

"Experience is the comb life gives you after you lose your hair." -Judith Stern

End of September

It has been a long, somewhat insane and yet wonderful day. My day started with the buzzing of the alarm clock around 5:00am. Did you know that it is still dark at that time now? Ugh. By 5:45am, I was at work preparing for a long and crazy shift. I might have even been trembling just a bit. Saturdays tend to be busy with large orders as families and groups of people come in for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and whatever. I knew that today would be no exception; however, a glance at the schedule showed an alarming lack of bodies to work with. Two people had already called in sick. Another shift was crossed off though I don't know why, and another shift was crossed off because the person had been hit by a truck yesterday! Ouch! The person who worked the 11pm to 7am graveyard shift stayed until 9am to help us out, otherwise we would have had only 3-4 people when we typically have a minimum of 5. There were no other staff coming in until 11am. I only received one of my two breaks and that wasn't until 11:15am. However, despite our lack of bodies and the endless line-up out the door for hours, we worked hard and well. I was on the sandwich bar, a position I am proficient at although I tend to dread working there during crazy times. It is a demanding position which requires speed and the ability to multi-task well. I did well today, but I still asked to be somewhere else after I had my break. My arm would not have tolerated 8 hours of slicing and spreading. A lot of my job bothers my arm when I have tendonitis, but slicing/spreading motions seem to be the worst.

After work, I came home and cleaned up. Kane picked up our new shed which needs to be assembled tomorrow. Then, Kane and I went to our old church for a banquet in honour of our old pastor who will preach his last sermon as pastor of that church tomorrow. He's been the pastor there for 17 1/2 years! It was good to go, and I'm glad that we did. We both have a lot of respect for Pastor Larry and his wife. They are good, godly people who love the Lord and lead by example. While I really don't miss many things about our old church, I do miss them, and now they are leaving. I'll never be able to read Dr. Seuss again without thinking of Larry. Wherever he is led next, I know that God will bless him and cause him to be a blessing for His glory.

It's just after 10pm now and my eyelids feel like sandpaper. I am so tired and my arm hurts. Go figure. Tomorrow is a new day. I'm not sure if we're going to make it to church, but I plan on raising the cover on my grandpa's organ and playing some hymns. "Playing" is an exaggeration. I don't know how to play a piano let alone an organ, but I can play the basic notes with one hand and that's all I need to know. In church last week, we sang the hymn, Be Thou My Vision. Having grown up in the church, I've heard it many times before but I was never a "fan" of it before. I fell in love with it last week, and then tonight at Larry's celebration we all sang that same hymn. A good reminder to keep my focus where it belongs.

You Have a Melancholic Temperament

Introspective and reflective, you think about everything and anything.You are a soft-hearted daydreamer. You long for your ideal life.You love silence and solitude. Everyday life is usually too chaotic for you. Given enough time alone, it's easy for you to find inner peace.You tend to be spiritual, having found your own meaning of life.Wise and patient, you can help people through difficult times. At your worst, you brood and sulk. Your negative thoughts can trap you.You are reserved and withdrawn. This makes it hard to connect to others.You tend to over think small things, making decisions difficult.

What Temperment Are You?

Timber

I went to work this morning shortly after 7am and returned shortly after 3:30pm, but I came home to a vastly different place. Until today, we had a massive blue spruce smack dab in the middle of our front yard. This tree was huge! Our old neighbour regularly worried about that tree falling on his house and wasn't afraid to tell us that we should chop it down. The tree was healthy though and there wasn't any good reason to cut it down.

Still, Kane has always harboured a desire to be rid of it, and I have resisted. The expense was always heavy on my mind, plus it provided lots of shade and most likely noise reduction as well. It did but not any more.

Kane knows someone who does this sort of thing as a hobby and offered to do it for $80. How could we pass up that? It's done and there's no going back. My front yard is a littered mess of branches and chopped up trunk pieces. In fact, if it weren't for the chunks of the trunk, it looks as if a giant stepped on our tree and flattened it. We'll give away the usable wood and have the rest chipped, also for a good deal.

The difference is amazing! Even around supper time, there was so much more natural light in our living room and front foyer, because there is no tree blocking it out. When we look out the front window, we can actually see the construction across the street and the mountain and orchard instead of branches. What will Maggie do for entertainment now that there will be no birds in the branches to meow at?

Canucks, eh!

Last Sunday, we went to see the Vancouver Canucks training camp practice and scrimmage in Vernon. It was an awesome opportunity to see our (Kane, Casey and I) favourite NHL team in the flesh without spending oodles of cash and driving to Vancouver. Sam was disappointed that we couldn't see his beloved Maple Leafs but Toronto is just a little bit further away!

We brought our old camera, but we weren't allowed to use the flash or our zoom lens. One of the security people was reluctant to let us bring the camera into the arena; she thought it looked "too professional". Uh, sure...we're real professional photographers trying to pass ourselves off as frazzled parents with hyper children in tow. Guess we didn't fool her! Ironically, we noticed many people using flashes and many zoom lens, some even bigger than ours, but we are law-abiding citizens and kept our flash and big lens in the camera bag.

The practice sessions were somewhat boring, somewhat interesting. Having been to nearly all of Sam's hockey practices over the past four years, I've reached the point where the aura of watching a practice has faded. However, it was interesting to note that even professional hockey players don't always get it right and need to be corrected or shown what to do by their coaches!

The scrimmage game was more exciting but somewhat lacklustre. Only one goal was scored and at the opposite end of the ice from where we sat, but we still had good seats. We were certainly much closer than we could ever afford to be at a real game at GM Place!

Casey getting his Canuck jersey signed by Fin the mascot.

Roberto Luongo, our new (and better?) goalie.

Casey took this photo of his favourite player, captain Markus Naslund.

You can't really tell, but the two players are Henrik and Daniel Sedin.

Casey wearing his brand new hat that he purchased himself. He was able to get it autographed by Markus Naslund, Sami Salo, and Henrik Sedin.




This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike2.5 Canada License.

Sick Day

Abby is sick today. She came into my bedroom sometime around 3:30am to let us, or more appropriately, her dad know that she had thrown up. Good ol' dad cleaned up the mess and settled her on the futon. I woke at 7am to hear her vomiting again.

So, here I am at home with a sick girl instead of heading off to work. It's been a long time since I've had to call in and say that I can't come in for a shift, but she's too young to leave home alone especially when she's sick.

I think today will be a quiet day which will be nice as tomorrow will be an insanely busy day. Laundry is in progress, the dishwasher has been emptied, the garbage is out for pick-up, and there really isn't anything pressing to do for the rest of the day. I hadn't planned on doing anything until after work anyway, so things are good.

I finally found a Gamecube version of Lego Star Wars II yesterday! It only required a search at virtually every possible store in the city, but I found one. In fact, I bought the last copy at Toys R Us. The boys were so excited, but Abby and I were the first to play last night. If she's up to it, we can play some more today!

Cooler Days

The first official day of autumn is on September 23, but I can feel it edging ever closer already. These past few days have been cooler and mixed with rain and sunshine. Up until last night, we still had several windows open in the house. Now, I think only my bedroom window is open very slightly, and while I am not ready to close it yet, I am chilled. I put on my jeans this morning...first time wearing jeans since spring. I'm even wearing a sweater. Also, I've pulled out my fleecy pajamas and a return to the hot water bottle isn't too far in the future.

The kids did not have school today and I did not work. It's been a rather nice day. The cool weather is a great excuse for using the oven as often as possible, so I baked some banana bread this afternoon, and I have scalloped potatoes cooking for supper. In a little while, I'll put a pork tenderloin in the oven, too. But, I'm still cold and barefoot. I'm not ready to give up my barefeet yet.

My hands are feeling stiff whether from the cold, an impending flare-up of tendonitis, or my having played Gamecube for the past hour or so I do not know. Maybe a combination of all three. I finally had the time and desire to tackle the Star Wars Lego game. The boys mastered it in long ago, but I had never tried it. I like simple games without the need to memorize a gazillion different combinations of button-pushing skills. The Lego game is actually just hard enough to challenge me but easy enough that I can succeed. I've finished Episodes I and II already! Of course, I've had to fend off the boys left and right. They don't seem to believe that I am fully capable of finding all the hidden treasures or navigating through the podrace or battling Count Dooku. But I am. They are looking forward to the release later this month of Star Wars Lego II which is the original trilogy. I'm also excited. The original is my favourite.

Speaking of Star Wars...I bought the original trilogy on DVD earlier this week. For Sam. For his 13th birthday present which we had not bought yet. We do have this trilogy on VHS, but alas, we have no vcr anymore. It conked out and we never bothered to replace it as we use DVDs all the time now. Bad news for all our old VHS tapes though. What sealed the deal for me was that these new DVDs include both the original theatrical versions and the newer, retouched versions. Now, we just need to replace our Episode I tape for DVD. Sam and I are big SW fans, in case you didn't know. Maybe I'll talk the rest of the family into watching the Empire Strikes Back tonight. It's my most favourite episode. Think they'll bite?

I called the elementary school yesterday morning and talked with the principle briefly. She recommended that I first talk to Casey's teacher about my concerns before talking to her. Makes sense and I kind of thought that she would send me in that direction. She offered to pass the message on to Casey's teacher so he could call me. I waited all yesterday. He didn't call, but I was prepared. I had written out a list of my thoughts and concerns, so that I wouldn't forget a detail or get too flustered.

Around 8am today, he phoned. Great timing! Not. The kids were still home and making a lot of noise as they prepared to leave the house. Casey quickly caught on that I was talking to his teacher and was hovering to listen in. I was worried that the phone call might consume a serious amount of time leaving me unable to properly see the kids out the door. In the end, I don't think it mattered. The call only lasted a couple of minutes and was a complete waste of those few minutes.

He called knowing that I had some concerns but not knowing what they were. I explained that Casey had been worried about being in this class even well before we knew he would be in this class and the reason being rumours that this teacher is a hard teacher. I also explained that I had told Casey that he very well might need to stay in this class, that changing classes might not be the right decision or even an option. I said that my concern was that Casey might get overwhelmed or lost in the class, and I asked if he understood what I was saying.

No. Quite simply no. He did not understand my point at all. His response was that both grade 6 classes have the same learning outcomes and requirements and course outlines. Gee, I think I knew that! I certainly wasn't implying that his class was doing something totally different, but I know that different teachers teach in different ways. In his opinion, Casey is an average student and should have no difficulties in the class. He was gracious enough to allow me the privilege of having a formal meeting with him, but I declined. What purpose would it serve? There are parent-teacher interviews in a couple of weeks anyway, so I said that I would wait until that time.

So, the conversation ended with me feeling...not taken seriously, dismissed, foolish. I didn't go into the conversation expecting Casey to be moved into the other class. I wasn't insinuating that this teacher was not a good teacher. All I wanted was to make sure that he was aware that Casey might struggle in his class. They've only been back at school for a week and already Casey has mentioned on several occasions how hard some work has been, especially math. Sure, Casey may have average student marks and be average student material, but that doesn't mean that much more than the paper the grades are recorded on. Grades and marks are subjective. I think that Casey can succeed in this class, but it won't happen without a hawkish eye keeping watch on him. The last thing I want is to get his report card in a few months or the next term or two to see him struggling.

September 11

It is already a little past 2pm and I wonder where the day has gone. On the one hand, it feels as if the day is nearly over and I've done nothing, and yet, the flip side is that I have done a lot. The kids were off to school shortly after 8am and by 8:30 I was at City Hall to pay some taxes. Home again before 9am, I started laundry and loaded and ran the dishwasher. A little tidying in the living room, gathering recyclables scattered throughout the house, and taking out garbage...then, I wasted some time on the computer doing nothing remarkable. Fold a load, change a load. Eventually, it was nearly 11:30 and time to take my dad to the hospital for his knee surgery. Dropped him off at the main doors and hurried off to the college to pay Kane's tuition for his apprenticeship class. Of course, I didn't realize that there would be a line-up at the registrar's office, so I eyed the clock like a hawk while waiting my turn. I had to pick my mom up from work at noon. It was noon when I finally left the college and was soon at my mom's place of employment and then on to Superstore for grocery shopping. A full cart and an hour or so later, we made it back home. Groceries are now put away and I've eaten lunch and changed another load of laundry. Casey and Abby will be getting out of school in about fifteen minutes, and thus the reason why my day feels so short.

I still will need to pick my dad up from the hospital whenever they finally release him. It could be anywhere from 4-7pm. Kane and the boys have ball hockey tonight at 7:30 which means there is potentially a vehicle issue to work out. Kane's work van only has two seats and wouldn't be suitable for picking up my dad and his crutches. I'm not going to worry about it yet though; it's only an issue if my dad is released later rather than sooner. The downside is that I will probably miss out on my girls' night. Oh well...

Tomorrow is another day off work and most likely another busy day. I didn't make it to Wal-Mart today to drop off a roll of film, so that will be at the top of my list tomorrow. After my last photo developing experience there, I'm not exactly thrilled about this trip, but the developing won't cost me a pretty penny so I can't complain too much. Unless the service is just as bad as last time. I also need to go to the library. I finished my stack of books a few days ago, and the library called this morning to say a hold is in. Naturally, Wal-mart and the library are at opposite ends of the city and my house is smack dab in the middle of the two. I hate running all over town and back and forth. One other side trip tomorrow to pick up some tickets and drop off the money for them. A friend bought tickets for me so my family can attend a training camp practice/scrimmage session for the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. I am so excited! Casey will be virtually on cloud nine; they are his favourite hockey team. Sam will most likely express his disgust and lament the fact that his beloved Toronto Maple Leafs are so far away, but I doubt that even he will be able to dispute the excitement this opportunity brings. I don't miss baseball anymore, but now the hockey itch is beginning to spread. I love hockey.

On a more somber note, today is the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. I remember that day. Like every other weekday, I was home with the kids. Sam was 8, Casey was 5, and Abby was 3, and those were still homeschooling days for us. Back then, I was heavily involved with an online group of Christian moms, and it was through that group that I first heard anything about the attacks. All it took was one email to send me to the TV where I sat and watched and cried and prayed. That was also the day that I was to meet an online friend in person, and I did. It was a surreal kind of day. It was a terrible day but a stark reminder of the darkness our world is under. I cannot imagine living in a country torn apart by war on a regular basis. I cannot imagine living under fear and persecution. So many people do. I am thankful and blessed to live where I do and to have the freedoms that I have. My country is not perfect and certainly not immune or invulnerable to atrocities, but I do not need to live in fear.

A New Light

I have been thinking about light a lot lately. It all started with a new lightbulb but not just any ordinary lightbulb. Kane had purchased a new type, a fluorescent-style bulb which produces a cool, white light. Into the living room lamp it went. Kane was not overly impressed at first, but it didn't take long to change his first impression. I loved it.

The light was brighter, whiter and yet easier on the eyes. The difference between this white light and a regular lightbulb's light was astounding. I could almost say it was like night and day. Simply moving from the living room into the kitchen was enough to sell us completely on this new bulb. The kitchen light was so yellow, so gloomy and dim. How did we live with such terrible light? Suddenly, the lighting we had never questioned and simply lived with for years was no longer satisfactory. Quite the opposite, we hated it and wanted only the pure white light in every room of the house.

Thinking of lightbulbs and their output has led me to consider how easily we allow ourselves to become complacent or turned astray. The comparison to my lightbulbs can be applied to many aspects of life: religion, personal, relational, and physical. So many religions have the appearance of light, and so many believe that they walk the right path, yet only Jesus Christ is 'the way, the truth, and the life'. Even within Christianity, beliefs and customs take root in individuals or churches which seem to be good and godly until we hold each one up to the pure light of God's truth. Only then can we see the dingy light we've been living in.

We can live day in and out as we always have never knowing that we are missing out on truly seeing and experiencing life. We tend to live under the light of a standard, old lightbulb unaware of the shadows at the edges, the glare upon our eyes, and the discoloured view we have. And then, something compels or forces us to change our lightbulb and discover real light for the first time.

Ephesians 5:13-14 (New Living Translation)
But when the light shines on them, it becomes clear how evil these things are. And where your light shines, it will expose their evil deeds. This is why it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light."



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