by Heather Plett | Sep 21, 2006 | Uncategorized
Yes (in case you’re looking closely at my face) I screamed. Wouldn’t you?
See the little blue blob above my head? That’s the pilot chute which the instructor releases while you exit the plane. It automatically ejects your main chute.
In case you’ve come late to this party, and don’t know anything about how exciting my life was for that brief period of time, you can see the video here, or read about it here.
And now we go back to our regularly scheduled programming of soccer games, boring days at the office, endless loads of laundry, groggy midnight puke-cleaning-up duties, and all those other riveting moments in my life.
by Heather Plett | Sep 19, 2006 | Uncategorized
In the car the other day, we were listening to a report about a women’s shelter somewhere in the middle east. The woman who runs the shelter was telling the stories of some of the women who’d come to them, desperate and alone. Sometimes, she said, they didn’t get to the women in time. She recounted the story of a young woman who’d gotten pregnant by her lover. Her family had found out and, to uphold their “honour”, her brother had taken it upon himself to kill her and cut her body in pieces. He’d carried her hand with him to proclaim to the community that their family had been cleansed of its sin and that they were honourable once again.
The questions began to flow from the three little listeners in our back seat.
“Did they just say her brother killed her? Why?”
“Did he really cut her hand off?”
“What did they do to the man she slept with? Did he get killed?”
“What about the baby she was pregnant with?”
“Do they ever do that in OUR country?”
“Why are women treated so badly there?”
“Why do they believe men are better than women?”
What do you say to three little girls, who’ve had no reason to believe that their value is any less than that of the boys, that explains the horror of a story like that? How do you say “it’s just not right” without sounding like you’re prejudiced against a whole race of people? How do you make sure they understand that, though things are much different here, we should not become complacent and ignore the plight of the women in places where it is not?
And, perhaps just as importantly, what do we do to help? Because sometimes I feel so helpless.
by Heather Plett | Sep 18, 2006 | Uncategorized
While I was trying to untangle a knot in a string Maddie brought me, she said, “Look on the bright side Mom.” “And what, my dear, IS the bright side?” I asked. “If you can’t do it, Daddy will be able to. ‘Cause he’s stronger than you.”
And then, because I’m stubborn like that, I persevered and untangled the knot. ‘Cause honey, comparing me to Daddy hardly brings out the bright side in me!
by Heather Plett | Sep 18, 2006 | Uncategorized
I think I may need to build an office in the graveyard. Not just any graveyard – the graveyard where my son is buried.
Whenever I need a little peace and quiet, and perhaps some clarity of thought, I visit his grave. It’s become a bit of a ritual. I often take my journal along, and jot down some of the thoughts wandering around my mind. In the past, when I’ve had a public speaking engagement, I’ve gone there to put the finishing touches on my talk, or even practice.
Lately, I’ve had a bit of a semi-regular writing gig for a daily inspiration type of magazine. I’ve written 6 short pieces for it, and 4 out of the six have been written at the graveyard. Today I went there for about half an hour and wrote 2 of them. I’m not sure what it is, but when I sit by his grave, my creative thoughts seem to tumble out in perfect order. The ideas come as if from thin air, and I rarely have to edit.
I think my muse likes to hang out in the graveyard because there are so many stories there to keep it company.
by Heather Plett | Sep 15, 2006 | Uncategorized
Customer Service? Does ANYONE know what that means anymore? (Yes, I AM aware that I’m sounding like a grumpy ninety-year-old.)
1. I have been trying ALL DAY (since about 9:00 this morning) to get through to the federal government’s 1-800 number for the child tax benefit (’cause I’m an idiot and forgot to apply for it back when Maddie was born FOUR AND A HALF YEARS AGO). All day I’ve heard that annoying “beep, beep, beep” which means that either everyone else in Canada is desperate to know when their child tax benefit cheque is arriving (so that they can spend it on beer and popcorn, according to one of our classy politicians), OR everyone at the office is lying on a beach somewhere, with their phone receivers lying abandoned on their desks. And THAT’S what they get the big government bucks for. (Yes, I can say that now, since I’m no longer a government employee.)
2. I went to MTS (the local phone company) at lunch time to make some changes to our account, and the customer service agent behind the desk led me to a little kiosk, handed me the phone receiver, quick-dialed the number for me and said “you’ll have to talk to our customer service agent for that”. Huh? Did I miss something? You have a whole store in the mall just so you can send me to a phone to make the call myself? What are all those fancy computers behind your desk for – SOLITAIRE? To add insult to injury, I was put on hold for 10 minutes. So I sat in this stupid little kiosk while Mr. Customer Service Agent played Solitaire (or something like that). Gee thanks Mister. Why don’t you just go join all those other customer service representatives at the beach?
Yes (in case you’re looking closely at my face) I screamed. Wouldn’t you?