by Heather Plett | Aug 7, 2007 | marriage
You want to see what Marcel and I looked like, fourteen years ago when we said “I do”? We looked like most newlyweds look – young and hopeful. 
Little did we know what kind of sometimes wild, sometimes rocky, sometimes ecstatic, sometimes painful, sometimes boring, sometimes peaceful, and sometimes agonizing ride we’d have in the upcoming years. Little did we know that we’d conceive 5 children and get to raise only three of them. Little did we know that we’d say good-bye to some really special people in our lives. Little did we know that we’d get through unbelievable trauma when Marcel’s life almost ended. Little did we know that he’d have to watch me slip into a strange and eery psychosis while pregnant with the son we’d lose. Little did we know how lucky we’d be to still love each other and still find lots of things to talk about fourteen years later.
If I look slightly terrified in this next picture, it’s because I was. This was the moment I dreaded most out of the whole day – our first dance. Not that I didn’t want to dance with my new husband, but I come from good ol’ Mennonite “dancing-is-for-heathens-and-besides-we-have-no-rhythm-anyway” stock and Marcel comes from good solid French Catholic “we-came-out-of-the-womb-dancing-the-Red-River-Jig” stock. I was almost positive I’d trip over his feet in front of all of our friends and family. Fortunately, my fear was ill-founded – I managed to stay upright. But he’s had to put up with my clumsiness ever since.
I sewed my own wedding dress, and the one flaw in the design was that it showed off a little too much cleavage. My sister’s bouquet came in handy when I needed to look more “virtuous”.
My how times have changed! Two of these people (below) are now bloggers (my sister ccap is beside me, and my friend Whippersnapper is next to her), two of these people (other than us) are now married to each other (Marcel’s brother on his left and my sister on my right) though they were far from considering it at that time, one of these people is divorced and remarried, one of these people I have lost touch with (my third bridesmaid, who was my “Little Sister” at the time – through Big Sister’s Association), and most of these people now have children or stepchildren.
The changes don’t end there. Since that day, we’ve had to say some painful good-byes to some of the special people who celebrated the day with us. Looking through the wedding pictures brought back alot of memories, good and bad. Here are some of the people who’ve left us since then…
My Grandma, who was an inspiration to me, doing bold and wonderful things long after life would have slowed down a lesser woman. She traveled to Africa after she’d turned eighty.
One of the most important people in Marcel’s life – his dear Mémère. She was an incredible woman who believed in people even when they didn’t believe in themselves. There were things Marcel confided in her that I don’t think he’d ever have told anyone else. When I was trying to be a writer, she made a special effort to come to one of my plays, even though it was in a grungy little downtown theatre. She bought me my first brand new sewing machine (that I still use) because she knew I liked to sew.
Our crazy friend Brad, who loved to laugh and make people laugh. He lived life on the edge and died the same way. 
And of course, my dad. He died the day after our tenth anniversary. Celebrating our anniversary always has a bittersweet feeling to it, because the next day is an anniversary of a very different sort. I still miss him with a powerful ache. This picture, taken at the cemetery next to the cathedral where we had our wedding pictures taken, seems a rather eery premonition. It’s been four years now, and I still don’t feel like I’m finished saying good-bye to him.
It’s been a full and mostly good life these 14 years. Sometimes, you can’t help but ask yourself – if you could foresee all the pain that the journey will take you through, would you still go? Today, my answer is yes. I can’t imagine this journey without my best friend by my side. He cried with me through the loss of our children, he held me up off the floor when my knees buckled when the phone call came about my dad, I held him close when Mémère slipped away, we grinned at each other when our beautiful daughters came into this world – I wouldn’t want it any other way.
We all know it’s not always easy being married, but for all those times I’ve felt less lonely and less frightened, it’s worth the effort.
by Heather Plett | Aug 7, 2007 | summer
Remember my vacation list from a couple of posts ago? Well, my vacation has only just begun, and I’ve already done almost everything on the list. Plus a few other things like:
– visited the farmers’ market with Julie
– brought home a colourful bouquet of flowers, just for fun
– had a weiner roast with Marcel’s parents
– ate s’mores around a campfire
– went for an evening stroll in the campground with Julie and Maddie
– held hands with Maddie while she drifted off to sleep in the tent beside me
– stared up at a midnight sky blanketed with stars
– pointed out the big dipper to Julie and Maddie
– cooked an absolutely delicious meal on a grate over the fire pit
– waded in the beach while Maddie went for a late evening dip (how delighted she was to be almost the only one in the water!)
– took pictures until Julie was almost ready to swear at me
– ate fresh vegetables from my father-in-law’s garden
– and a bunch of other things that might not make the top-ten-list of ultimate vacations in any travel magazine, but were delightful to me.
About the only thing short of making this the perfect August long weekend was a missing daughter. Nikki spent the weekend at a friend’s cabin. We missed her, but we had fun without her.
Tomorrow brings even more holiday adventure – starting with an anniversary breakfast with my husband. Come back tomorrow and I’ll share our fourteen-year-old wedding pictures, for a good laugh. 🙂
by Heather Plett | Aug 3, 2007 | summer
Tonight at the mall, I let the girls pick out a bathing suit for me. I tried it on and bought it. Just like that.
Do you KNOW how remarkable that is?!? ONE bathing suit! And it was on the clearance rack too! There was no stack of discarded bathing suits taunting me from the fitting room floor, no tears were shed, and I didn’t even need to drown my “I’m WAY too fat for a bathing suit” sorrow in a cinnamon bun dripping with icing in the food court.
Perhaps I need to take my daughters shopping with me more often. It won’t be the most beautiful bathing suit on the beach, but my daughters like it and it’s got support for my ample… um…, well, you know. What more can a girl ask for?
In other news entirely, I took a page from the amazing-spy-lady-Vicki’s book and snapped the following picture, which answers the question you’ve always wondered about – “where do the cops hang out when they’re not at the donut shop? The lemonade stand!”
by Heather Plett | Aug 1, 2007 | Uncategorized
1. Why is it that no matter which direction I’m cycling, the wind always seems to be going the other way? I think while I’m at work, it does a little happy “let’s mess with Heather” dance and then switches directions, just in time for my ride home.
2. Speaking of cycling – aren’t you supposed to lose weight if you exercise in a sauna? Then why haven’t I lost twenty pounds cycling in 30-40 degree (Celsius, that is) heat these past two weeks? Especially against wind?
3. I need a haircut.
4. I tried to check out the liquidation sale at United Army Surplus during my lunch hour today, but the line up of people just waiting to get into the store wrapped all the way around the building. Apparently, lots of people are in the market for cheap camping gear. I’ll pass.
5. Why do hotdogs only taste good when they’re bought from a street vendor outside on a lovely summer day?
6. Do you know how weird it is to live nearly forty years of your life with a mother whose daily longing (not to mention pleading) it is that her children and grandchildren will come to visit, and then suddenly one day you find she can barely fit you into her busy social/travel schedule?
7. At the same time, it is a pleasure to see her so happy after a trip to Alaska.
8. In the final results, Marcel’s dragonboat team came in eighth out of 51 teams. Our team came in twentieth. He claims it’s because of their Metis heritage and all the canoes their ancestors paddled. I claim it’s because he was the oldest person on a team of young, virile university students.
9. Oops – I may get into trouble for calling my husband “old”. He tries to forget that most of the other students in his university classes are young enough to be his children.
10. My children have discovered that if they mix a batch of cookie dough, it’s more fun to eat the batter than to make the cookies.
11. The other day, while I cycled home, I was almost run over by a woman smoking a cigarette AND talking on her cell phone while driving a car. Woman, your lifestyle is NOT compatible with driving a car. Give someone else the keys.
12. Two more days of work before my holidays. Yay!
13. I want to sit on a beach, read a good book, sleep in a tent, hang out with my children, rest from an absolutely insanely busy month at work, help my sister celebrate her new house, go on an anniversary date with my husband, ride my bike WITH wind, glance back in my bike’s rearview mirror and see my children behind me, eat ice cream, enjoy an evening drink on our new little front yard patio, turn off the alarm clock, go on a road trip, sit around a campfire, watch butterflies, get my feet wet, and have a picnic. Not necessarily in that order.
14. This will be one of the first times I’ll take summer vacation without any “projects” in mind. I don’t plan to renovate any bathrooms, paint any bedrooms, or try to accomplish anything more significant than preparing an occasional meal.
15. One exception to #14 – I’ll help my sister move. But that will be a delight, not a chore.
by Heather Plett | Jul 29, 2007 | Uncategorized
The dragonboat tournament is over. We did fairly well, for a new team. But Marcel’s team did even better. Here they are winning their final heat… (If you listen carefully at the beginning, you’ll hear Julie shout “go Dad!” And if you watch Marcel’s boat cross the finish line, you’ll see Marcel at the back of the boat throw his arms in the air in victory.)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5dT9-SXc8M]
Little did we know what kind of sometimes wild, sometimes rocky, sometimes ecstatic, sometimes painful, sometimes boring, sometimes peaceful, and sometimes agonizing ride we’d have in the upcoming years. Little did we know that we’d conceive 5 children and get to raise only three of them. Little did we know that we’d say good-bye to some really special people in our lives. Little did we know that we’d get through unbelievable trauma when Marcel’s life almost ended. Little did we know that he’d have to watch me slip into a strange and eery psychosis while pregnant with the son we’d lose. Little did we know how lucky we’d be to still love each other and still find lots of things to talk about fourteen years later.
If I look slightly terrified in this next picture, it’s because I was. This was the moment I dreaded most out of the whole day – our first dance. Not that I didn’t want to dance with my new husband, but I come from good ol’ Mennonite “dancing-is-for-heathens-and-besides-we-have-no-rhythm-anyway” stock and Marcel comes from good solid French Catholic “we-came-out-of-the-womb-dancing-the-Red-River-Jig” stock. I was almost positive I’d trip over his feet in front of all of our friends and family. Fortunately, my fear was ill-founded – I managed to stay upright. But he’s had to put up with my clumsiness ever since.
I sewed my own wedding dress, and the one flaw in the design was that it showed off a little too much cleavage. My sister’s bouquet came in handy when I needed to look more “virtuous”.
My how times have changed! Two of these people (below) are now bloggers (my sister ccap is beside me, and my friend Whippersnapper is next to her), two of these people (other than us) are now married to each other (Marcel’s brother on his left and my sister on my right) though they were far from considering it at that time, one of these people is divorced and remarried, one of these people I have lost touch with (my third bridesmaid, who was my “Little Sister” at the time – through Big Sister’s Association), and most of these people now have children or stepchildren.
The changes don’t end there. Since that day, we’ve had to say some painful good-byes to some of the special people who celebrated the day with us. Looking through the wedding pictures brought back alot of memories, good and bad. Here are some of the people who’ve left us since then…
One of the most important people in Marcel’s life – his dear Mémère. She was an incredible woman who believed in people even when they didn’t believe in themselves. There were things Marcel confided in her that I don’t think he’d ever have told anyone else. When I was trying to be a writer, she made a special effort to come to one of my plays, even though it was in a grungy little downtown theatre. She bought me my first brand new sewing machine (that I still use) because she knew I liked to sew.
Our crazy friend Brad, who loved to laugh and make people laugh. He lived life on the edge and died the same way. 
And of course, my dad. He died the day after our tenth anniversary. Celebrating our anniversary always has a bittersweet feeling to it, because the next day is an anniversary of a very different sort. I still miss him with a powerful ache. This picture, taken at the cemetery next to the cathedral where we had our wedding pictures taken, seems a rather eery premonition. It’s been four years now, and I still don’t feel like I’m finished saying good-bye to him.
It’s been a full and mostly good life these 14 years. Sometimes, you can’t help but ask yourself – if you could foresee all the pain that the journey will take you through, would you still go? Today, my answer is yes. I can’t imagine this journey without my best friend by my side. He cried with me through the loss of our children, he held me up off the floor when my knees buckled when the phone call came about my dad, I held him close when Mémère slipped away, we grinned at each other when our beautiful daughters came into this world – I wouldn’t want it any other way.
