New couch and other musings

While looking at the calendar it occurred to me that it has been a long time since I have posted anything. The winter has been good to us with snow to play in and ice to skate on. The big news is that, after many years, we finally decided to replace our more than 30-year-old couch. That old couch held many memories and has been in my family since I was less than 5 years old, but the padding was literally pulverized and the upholstery was so old we couldn’t sew it together anymore, so we had to let it go.  We bought a lovely chocolate colored replacement (not easily stained) and we are enjoying it.

                                         Our new couch

Life remains just on the edge of “too busy”, but I think we are getting better at noticing when we fall off the edge and are correcting the problem before too much exhaustion or grumpiness sets in.  I am proud of this progress, and it is important when one is working a mentally challenging full-time job, sharing the organizing and cooking and unending cleaning involved in raising two kids, and still doing collaborative data analysis and writing in the evenings. All of these aspects of my life are important to me, and balancing it all has become an exercise in mindfulness.

As I work, especially at night, I ask myself “How are you feeling?” “Are you resorting to unhealthy habits to keep yourself awake (e.g. snacking, coffee), or are you cruising along with enough fuel in the energy tank?” I try my best to stop when there is not enough fuel in the tank.

Another trick I use is to pause frequently and take note of all the times when I am literally happily humming along in whatever I am doing, be it editing and writing at work, running around with the kids, or analyzing or writing something at home. It helps me to remember that most of the time I am very happy in my life.

The kids continue to grow. The “little one” officially moved into a big boy bed (no more baby) and he has retained the ability to use his puppy dog eyes to get me to do whatever he wants. The “big one” asks and answers questions, thinks things through aloud, and even attempts humor. Often his attempts at a joke are more amusing than the punch line, but I love that he is trying. He is also getting very good at recognizing sarcasm. I don’t want anyone to think that I shower my kids with sarcasm, but it is one of my main methods of humor. Therefore, it makes me proud when he says “Mommy that was sarcasm, right?” and I can answer, “You got it!”

Life rolls along, we grow a litter older every day, and a little wiser too I hope.

Year in Review 2012

It has been another whirlwind year for us, with minutes that seemed to last forever, but weeks and months that flew by! We have enjoyed many wonderful moments with our boys over the year and they continue to grow and delight us - swimming lessons, hikes, bike trips, holiday markets, solstice festivals, skating, museum visits and even gingerbread tower making! 
 

Our gingerbread CN tower

 

This year we watched our toddler learn to run and jump – seemingly days after learning to walk – he hasn’t stopped moving since! He runs everywhere, and we run after him, marvelling at his endless energy. Yet, when it is time to cuddle, this two-year-old has a remarkable way of curling up, with his head on your shoulder, and his whole body emanating peace and warmth. 

This year our “big boy” lost his first tooth. One evening he told me his tooth was loose. I checked and indeed it moved, but only very slightly. To my utter surprise, when I picked him up from daycare the next day the tooth was gone. Upon asking him where it was, he told me that he wiggled it all day and was so surprised when it fell out that he dropped it. We searched the daycare provider’s floor to no avail. Luckily the Tooth Fairy understood.

Professionally, this year brought much needed stability. I got a very cool job editing and reviewing research proposals and have broadened my understanding of grant writing and of the amazing breadth of research taking place across a spectrum of disciplines. It is also very nice to have extended health benefits. Through this change I have continued the professional introspection I began last year. My new role lets me see which parts of my work experience are governed by my tasks and which parts come from within and will follow me in whatever I choose to do.

Unlike previous years, this year we stayed close to home. We explored our city and found places to hike nearby, but we did not travel far afield. We remain very happy living in our downtown co-op.  As the boys grow older we may require more space, but for now we are happy to deal with this by trying not to accumulate too much “stuff”. This choice allows us to live affordably with doctor, dentist, school, and several public parks, libraries, pools, and even skating rinks within walking distance.

Happy holidays and all the best for 2013!

All I want for the holidays

Life continues to rush by at an alarming pace, despite the best intentions of my last post about taking time to slow down. But this morning I took a moment to pause and I stumbled upon an interesting report by the UK group Family Action.

I am a self-professed Grinch when it comes to consumerism during the holidays (my poor family knows this well). That is why I was heartened to see this report. Apart from my usual rant about consuming less to help preserve what is left of our environment (as David Suzuki put it "A strong economy is important, but the biosphere is more important."), it would seem that presents are not the most important thing to kids during the holidays (despite what the adds would have us believe).

Now if I only liked cooking a bit better ... Well, we can always make cookies. And in the spirit of “everyone is different” perhaps my contribution could be getting everyone out for a holiday hike!