by Heather Plett | Jun 9, 2006 | Uncategorized
We’re throwing a big party tonight. An outdoor party. At Marcel’s parents place out in the country. We’ve invited almost everyone we know – work friends, church friends, siblings, cousins and aunts and uncles, friends from old work places, our kids’ friends, neighbours – you name it. It could be 100 people… or it could be 10. Who knows? We didn’t ask for RSVPs.
We’re celebrating Marcel’s graduation and my 40th birthday. But REALLY it’s more about Marcel’s grad, because turning 40 takes NO effort compared to three and a half years in university. He NEVER lets me throw parties in his honour, because he’s an introvert and hates to be the centre of attention. I like throwing parties, but I’ve honoured his request so far. When he started university, he told me that the one and only time I could throw him a party would be for his grad. I never forgot and now I’m holding him to it. In the end, though, the only way he’d agree to it was if I offered to share the spotlight. So, ostensibly, it’s for both of us.
It’s a big party, but because our budget is dreadfully tight, it’s pretty low-brow. No steak or lobsters or even chicken drumsticks on the barbecue. Nope, the best they’re gonna get tonight is hot dogs and chips and cake and ice cream. (Did I scare anyone off yet?)
I have no idea who will come. I have no idea if we have enough food (but, as my sister says “You have ENOUGH. When the food runs out, people are done eating.”) I don’t know if we should have planned entertaining games, or just assumed people will have enough fun just chatting with each other. I went with the latter, ‘cause I couldn’t think of any games and didn’t feel much like planning any anyway.
I didn’t think I was stressed out about it, but last night I lay awake wondering if we’d thought of everything. Weiners? Check. Buns? Pick them up this afternoon. Plates, cups, napkins? Check. Coffee urn? Check. Fireworks? Pick them up this afternoon. Condiments? Check. Table cloth? Check. And the list went on and on through my head.
I suppose, in the end, we’ll be ready. Now if only people will show up and we won’t be left, forlorn and neglected, with 100 hot dogs!
by Heather Plett | Jun 7, 2006 | Uncategorized
I live…in a simple bungalow with an attached garage full of bicycles and a red car in the driveway.
I live…with my husband and three daughters.
I live…just a block from the mighty Red River.
I live…within easy walking distance of a grocery store, a drugstore, a dollar store, a bank, two gas stations with convenience stores, a GREAT wine store, Licks ice cream, a poster store, and a few other stores I’ve never been in yet.
I live…in the shade of a giant maple tree.
I live…within easy biking distance of St. Vital Park, where there’s a duck pond, a boat launch where we’ve put our boat in the water, and lots of picnic space.
I live…in a house with ugly multi-colour carpeting in the basement, and a kitchen that’s too small for a family of five.
I live…next door to a bunch of university football players who are polite and friendly and don’t party too much.
I live…a 2 hour’s drive from the farm where I grew up and the cemetery where my dad is buried.
I live…within easy biking distance of Ten Thousand Villages, the best store on earth.
I live…across the street from a housing co-op and the daycare centre my kids don’t have to go to anymore.
I live…just a 5 minute drive from the edge of the city and open sky and prairie fields.
I live…in the province where I was born.
I live…in a country that is known for its politeness, its cold north, its peacekeeping, and its multiculturalism.
I live…about 10 blocks (which is much too close) away from a shopping mall.
I live…in a house with a rotting deck and a play structure that’s almost too small for my children.
I live…within biking distance of my church.
I live…in the house with the wooden deck chairs in the front yard instead of on our deck, because we like to sit and watch the world go by.
I live…close enough to my sister and brother-in-law and little niece that we get to see them every week.
I live…further away from my brothers and their families than I’d like.
I live…closer to my mom than I used to, but further than I’d like.
I live…far from where my mother is right now.
I live…close enough to Marcel’s family that we can see them nearly every week.
I live…in a bedroom that has one dark burgundy wall, and three white walls that I wish I’d painted burgundy too.
I live…just far enough from my office that I get a good workout biking there.
I live…across the river from the University I attended nearly twenty years ago.
I live…with contentment and enough of almost everything.
I live…in a country where my children can grow up without fear or discrimination or poverty.
I live…in a world that’s getting smaller, but that’s big enough to offer me lots of places and opportunities to explore.
I live…in a house that’s never quite as clean as I’d like it to be, but clean enough to be comfortable.
Where do YOU live?
(Seriously… I’d like to hear about it. Consider this a “meme” and do it on your blog and then leave me a link. Don’t worry, Hope, I haven’t forgotten about your tag. 🙂
by Heather Plett | Jun 6, 2006 | Uncategorized
Well, since Marcel is so bound and determined to have a good attitude about all this, I guess I’ll just have to quit sulking and move on. Yeesh – he takes all the fun out of my petulant mood. (Yes, for those who asked, there’s always next year. But at 41, prolonging your education – and subsequent return to work – for an extra year just seems too long to wait.)
Instead of stewing in disappointment, though, I’ll turn to lighter things and give you some of the pictures Michele requested. We had an exceedingly delightful walk along the lovely Seine River. Along the way, we saw lots of wildflowers, a couple of deer and even a fox. The evening was capped off with a fire in Michele’s backyard. Ah, what a way to relax with a bunch of beautiful women. 
On Sunday, while we waited for Marcel’s grad to start, the girls and I did a little more wandering – through downtown Winnipeg. Our favourite part was a photo shoot by the fountain. Maddie was particularly delighted whenever the fountain went shooting up toward the ceiling. (I threw in that last picture because I love the way the light shines on her hair.)
by Heather Plett | Jun 5, 2006 | Uncategorized
After the emotional high of yesterday’s graduation, we got bad news this morning. Really sucky, energy-draining kind of news. Marcel didn’t get accepted into the Education program for the fall. That’s always been his plan – get a 3 year History degree, and then a 2 year Education degree so he could teach High School History. Now the plan has hit the rails.
I’m flabbergasted. I never even let myself CONSIDER the possibility that he wouldn’t get in. I was sure he had EVERYTHING in his favour. He’s mature, he’s male (they always say they want more male teachers), he’s got good marks, he’s dedicated, he’s got lots of experience with kids, he’s French, he had amazing reference letters from highly respected people… I just assumed that would put him leaps and bounds ahead of the average “fresh out of high school” university student.
But apparently I was wrong. Turns out they only let in 5 history students, with a GPA of 3.7 and higher. Did they not READ his portfolio? Doesn’t a 3.2 GPA, after 22 years out of school count for a whole lot more than a 3.7 right out of high school?
Not only that, but it turns out that the integrated students – those who start off at the beginning of their university education taking both their BA and B.ED simultaneously – are a shoe-in regardless of their marks. In other words, if he’d started that way, he would have been fine and wouldn’t have had to compete with the 3.7 and above crowd. But no one told him that when they gave him the option of doing it separately or simultaneously. (And I was there during his initial interview, so I KNOW they didn’t tell him.) He chose the separate option because he was also a stay-at-home dad and couldn’t afford the extra classroom time the integrated program would require. So he gets dinged for his dedication to his kids.
I’m just getting more and more mad as I write this. I think I’ll write a nasty letter to the university. Anyone want to join me? We’ll start a “get Marcel into Education” campaign. He’d make a GREAT teacher. It’s hard to believe he won’t get a shot at it.
by Heather Plett | Jun 5, 2006 | Uncategorized
For three and a half years now, I’ve been sleeping with a university student. Scandalous, eh? What’s a mature woman like me doing hopping into bed with a student? It gets worse… that student fathered my children! And I’m not the least bit ashamed of this love affair.
Well, the truth is, this particular student is one year older than me, and today, he is a graduate. Yes, I’m married to him, so no, it’s not an illicit affair. He is my beloved. I’ve been married to him for nearly thirteen years, and I intend to stay married to him for a whole lot longer.
To the average observer, this might seem like just an ordinary graduation, ending with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in History. But let me tell you, this is no ordinary graduation. Few people attend their first graduation at forty-one years of age – with a GPA of 3.2.
But that’s not all… this graduation represents so much more than three and a half years in school. This graduation represents a great victory. Victory over so many demons of the past. Demons of self doubt and fear. Demons of anxiety disorder and depression. Demons that made him drop out of school before he made it to high school. Demons that made him try to end his own life.
I can hardly describe the wave of emotion I felt as he walked on stage and accepted his diploma. I am so incredibly proud of him – this man that I love so deeply. He’s living out his dream, and teaching his daughters that it’s never too late to “go for the gusto”. He is my hero, and I’ll keep sleeping with him for a long time, even if it means he’s a student for a few more years and I don’t get to retire yet. 🙂
I love you Buddy. 
