I’m sick of winter, BUT…
If you’ve never lived with winter, you’ve never had the privilege of seeing hoarfrost like we had this morning, and that would be a shame.
Five things ccap doesn’t know about me
In the comments of the last post, my sister challenged me to come up with five things she doesn’t know about me, which is rather hard since she’s known me all of her life (I’m older, so I had three and a half years of living without her, but I don’t remember those years), lives five minutes away from me, goes to the same church as me, usually sees me twice a week, and then – as though we don’t see enough of each other – she went and married my husband’s brother. So she even knows about the stuff on the “other side of the family”. This is gonna be tough…
1. One of my favourite things to do when I’m sitting in my office deep in thought (or trying to avoid work), is to stare out the window and watch the group of pigeons who always huddle at the top of the chimney on the building across the street. I think perhaps they like the warmth coming out of the chimney. (I have a large window in my office, but the view is not that spectacular – just the tops of a bunch of office towers.)
2. I’m wearing mis-matched socks today, because I didn’t get the laundry done. They’re both black, but one’s a little more faded than the other one. (And now that I look down on them, in a much brighter room than the one I was getting dressed in, I’m thinking I’d better keep my ankles hidden today.) I’m actually a little anal about matching socks, so this is a little tough for me – but I was desperate this morning.
3. I have a sticker that says “”Unleash Infinity” on the filing cabinet beside my desk. I put it there to remind me of the possibilities and the power that is outside of me but always on my side.
4. (This one she might sort of know, but I’m telling it anyway.) One of my very favourite moments in my life was the moment I stepped off the ferry from England to Belgium and I saw my sister’s face in the crowd. I hadn’t seen her in a couple of months, and we were about to begin our back-packing journey around Europe. Talk about possibilities! (The part she probably doesn’t know though, is how proud I was of my bold and independent little sister, teaching English in Romania, and then trekking across Europe alone to come meet me.)
5. I like inukshuks. I have a small one in my bookcase at work – it’s currently functioning as a bookend. It was presented to me at a conference where I was a speaker 4 years ago. I’d like to have more inukshuks.
How’d I do, ccap? Learn anything new about me?
And, just for fun, a few things you might not know about my sister…
1. Of the four siblings in the family, she is the best one at maintaining her finances – both keeping accurate books and saving money. (Yes, bbb, I know you’re good at the first one, but I’m gonna have to say she’s got us all wiped at the second.)
2. She has a new photography business, and I helped design her website. She’s more talented than she usually admits.
3. She has way nicer boobs than me and I’ve always been a little jealous. Mine are more of the “saggy-baggy-elephant” variety. (Too much information?)
4. She may not have walked a 20 mile walkathon, but she DID walk home from school one day (6 miles) without telling my mom. Yes, she scared the pants off my poor mom when she didn’t get off the bus – especially since she’d decided to walk across country with her friend and couldn’t be found on the roads anywhere. (Oh, and the part about me being freakishly stubborn? Well, that’s a trait we happen to share. It was passed down through the generations on my dad’s side.)
5. Although I was proud of her the moment I stepped off that ferry, I wasn’t feeling quite the same way a couple of weeks later in Spain when we couldn’t find the beach, and we both chose the same moment to let our freakishly stubborn natures rear their ugly heads. Fuming, we stormed off in separate directions, but thankfully we got over it, and eventually ended up on the beach together.
And here’s the bonus point…
6. Some day, I hope to backpack around Europe with my sister again – this time with our daughters in tow.
Five things about me (or “just another post where Heather goes on and on about herself”)
I got tagged by Kristin to come up with five things you might not know about me. If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you probably know way more than you want to know about me, since I’m a bit of an open book and I have a tendency toward verbal diarrhea. But here goes anyway…
1. Even though my name is rarely mentioned, I have been “quoted” by hundreds of media sources all across the country and even in other parts of the world. As a professional communicator/media relations person, I’ve written lots of press releases and “media lines” about everything from mad cow disease to world hunger to the commemoration of D-Day. The next time you read or hear that politician or senior bureaucrat so-and-so said such-and-such about this or that, remember that there’s a good chance it was penned by some clever communicator who knows how to “voice-shift”.
2. I love road trips. (Well, almost any kind of trip really, but for now let’s focus on road trips.) I love to drive, even when it’s not a road trip to any particular destination. I could drive and drive for hours and not get bored. I used to go out driving sometimes when I needed quiet time by myself, but now I feel too guilty for burning fossil fuels selfishly. Once in awhile, though, when I’m on my way home from grocery shopping, I “miss” the turn-off and take the long way home.
3. When I was six years old, I completed a 20 (or 22 – I can’t quite remember) mile walkathon, just because I am freakishly stubborn and don’t like to quit. At 40, I am still freakishly stubborn, but I have less to prove, so I don’t know if I’d bother. On second thought, there’s a good chance that, if I got started, you wouldn’t be able to convince me to quit.
4. I don’t like phones. As my husband likes to point out “how can you be a professional communicator and NOT LIKE PHONES?” Weird, I know, but I really don’t. I’m SO happy I no longer need to have a cell phone attached to my hip. If I can avoid using a phone, I will either walk to someone’s office/house if it’s close enough, or send them an email. I’m a much better communicator when I can do it in person or in writing. I would rather talk in front of a room full of thousands of people than use a phone.
5. I once spent a summer dressed as a panda bear at the local zoo. (And you thought those were REAL animals in those cages. Pshaw!) When the pandas were visiting our city’s zoo one year, I got a summer job at the panda photo booth. Half of the time I was the photographer and the other half of the time I was the panda. It was depressingly hot that summer, and I was busy melting in a fur suit with people sitting on my lap. (Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this on another list on this blog, but it’s all I can think of this morning.)
And, because Robin asked, I thought I’d throw in a bonus point. (And, you know, there’s that verbal diarrhea thing.)
6. Robin wanted to know what I do for a living. So, because I am an open book (which you probably occasionally wish you could slam the pages on), here it is. I am the “Director of Resources and Communication” at a Canadian non-profit organization “working to end hunger in developing countries.” (That’s part of the mission statement I just helped re-write.) I lead the team responsible for all kinds of interesting things like public relations, community/church relations, media relations, fundraising, education, and public engagement. On the fun days, I get to travel to interesting countries and take pictures and tell stories of fascinating people who have to cope with hunger but often have greater joy and more interesting stories than many of the people I meet in “rich” countries. On other days, I develop material (brochures, website, posters, videos, press releases, newsletters, etc.) to help the organization communicate hunger issues. On the least fun days, I deal with human relations issues that come with having a staff of nine people. (This is where my phone albatross becomes a bit of a hindrance, because most of my staff lives in other provinces than I do.)
Here’s me on one of those fun days (well, except for the fly that’s trying to crawl into my eye – it may be one of the 5 that committed suicide in my tea that afternoon):
(Kristin – by the way, that’s me in Kenya. I threw that in because you mentioned Kenya in your list of 5.)
Now go ahead, tag yourself. Tell me something I don’t know about YOU.
This is how parents spell “freedom”
Tonight Marcel and I went for a walk – JUST BECAUSE WE CAN! After eleven years of parenting, we have reached a new milestone. We can leave our children at home for short periods of time without a babysitter. Wow!
There were so many days in those eleven years when we felt like we would NEVER reach that magical day when the kids would be capable of staying home without us. All those nights when we dreamed of just going for a short walk together after a long day, and those weekends when we knew the best thing for our relationship would be date night but we hadn’t thought ahead to book a babysitter – well, they’re fading away and now it feels like barely any time at all has passed in between.
Just as we’d begun our walk, we passed the house of our neighbours M&J. Their drapes were open and we could see J trying on a new snuggli. M&J just gave birth to their first baby a few weeks ago. Marcel and I smiled as we walked past. Even though some days it felt like our kids would be dependent FOREVER and we’d never go for a walk alone again, other days it feels like just yesterday when we were in their shoes – trying on snugglis and rocking our new baby to sleep.
In the blink of an eye, it all changes and we enter a new stage in our lives. I love this stage just like I loved all the others. I don’t want to go back to where M&J are, nor do I want to rush ahead to where Linda is. I will enjoy this moment while it lasts.
P.S. Speaking of our firstborn, if anyone feels so inclined, you could wander on over to her blog (yes, she’s finally posted) and leave her a friendly comment – she’s feeling pretty disappointed about not making the developmental soccer league. She’s a pretty good soccer player, and (trying to be unbiased) I was a little surprised she didn’t make it too. Even her old coach was sure she should have made it.
Pretty close to perfect
Last night was one of those nights. Lovely from start to finish. It started out with Winterlude at St. Vital Park, organized by the girls’ school. Skating, sleigh rides, hot chocolate, and a big roaring fire in the fire pit. (Yes, I know that SOME of you live in climates that are way past the winter sports stage, but this is Winnipeg. We’re still buried in snow with a solid ice skating surface on the duck pond.)
It was the perfect “end of winter” kind of night – with temperatures hovering around 0 celsius (freezing point) – pleasant enough to spend over two hours out of doors without having to chip the ice off your eyelashes. Nikki and Julie disappeared with their friends, Marcel went to do the “good parent” thing (volunteering to help serve hot chocolate, or something like that), and I hung out with Maddie while she skated/shuffled around the duck pond.
After awhile, when she’d had enough with skating, Maddie and I lined up for the sleigh ride. It was magical, sitting on the sleigh, listening to the tinkling bells on the horses’ bridles, watching the children skate on the pond, while Maddie leaned comfortably on me. Straight out of a winter postcard! I breathed deeply when the smell of horses wafted across the air. I felt the old familiar longing to ride again. One of these days, I want to either own a horse again, or at least rent one for awhile. (When I told Marcel later that I liked the smell of horses, he looked at me incredulously and said “you like the smell of horse shit? Yeah, I guess he doesn’t really get it.)
Towards the end of the evening, when most of the kids had grown tired of skating, I left Maddie in Marcel’s care and put on my own skates. With few other people left on the ice, I skated round and round and round the duck pond. It felt SO good. I think I could have done it for hours if Nikki hadn’t found me to report that she had a huge blister on her foot and was hoping I had some solution for her discomfort. (I didn’t, but I had to at least sit with her and offer sympathy.)
When we got home from Winterlude, I ran a hot bath, lit some candles, made myself a cup of chai latte, brought a cd player into the bathroom, and climbed into the tub. I even locked the door and didn’t let any children guilt me into opening it! Aaaahhhh… half an hour of uninterupted bath time! THAT’S about as close to perfection as any mother can get!
Before climbing into the tub, I tore open my new Andrew Norsworthy cd, which I got compliments of Jen Lemen. (Thanks Jen! Thanks Andrew!) It is purely delicious! Before the end of the evening, I’d listened to the whole thing twice. I think I have a new musician to add to my list of favourites.
After slathering myself in lotion, I put on my favourite luxurious pajamas (thanks AP – I still wear them), and climbed into bed, content.