by Heather Plett | Jul 10, 2008 | Uncategorized
Our kids have had to stay at home alone for much of this week, because Marcel is taking some French upgrading and I’ve been at work. I wasn’t sure how that was going to go. They’ve been alone at home before, but never for a few days in a row like this.
Well, it turns out I needn’t have worried.
Yesterday I phoned home to find out how Maddie was (she’d been sick during the night), and Julie said, rather matter-of-factly “yeah, she puked this morning. But it’s no big deal. I cleaned it up.” When I asked if I should come home, she said “Nah, we’ve got things under control.”
In the afternoon, I phoned home again, and Nikki said “well, we’ve already cleaned the bathroom and the living room and now we’re working on the basement. We sent Maddie upstairs for a nap because she wasn’t helping.”
Today I phoned home and Julie said “I thought we’d like some treats for the Folk Festival this weekend, so I’ve baked some chocolate chip cookies and now I’m going to make some brownies. For the chocolate chip cookies, I split the recipe in half because I wanted to add white chocolate to some.”
How’dya like that? Despite my many parenting doubts and the occasional screw-ups, they’re turning out alright!
by Heather Plett | Jul 9, 2008 | Uncategorized
I’ve put it off as long as possible, but now I must face the inevitable. I grit my teeth, brace myself, and plunge in. I know I will face rocky seas, disgruntled people, awkward conversations, and lots of uncomfortable moments. I know I will have to say some fairly harsh things, and probably hear a few harsh responses. I will try to be gentle, but I have to balance that out with cold, hard honesty.
It’s performance appraisal time.
This is the moment of every year that I would prefer not to be a manager.
by Heather Plett | Jul 4, 2008 | Uncategorized
1. Maddie learned to ride a two-wheeler bike this week. Based on the less-than-pleasant experiences of teaching her sisters (cringe), I was dreading having to teach her, but she was much more relaxed about it (perhaps it’s a youngest child thing?) and it turned out to be fun and surprisingly easy.
2. I like to think of myself as a fairly tolerant person. I don’t yell at bad drivers (maybe they’re distracted because they just found out a family member died) and I try to give rude salespeople the benefit of the doubt (maybe their mother was never kind to them and they didn’t have a good role model). BUT… there are a few things I just can’t tolerate. Littering is one of them. On Tuesday (Canada Day), I saw three people casually toss garbage on the ground and walk away. COME ON PEOPLE! Let’s not be stupid!
3. Only one week until Folk Festival!
4. Maddie dropped in at the office this morning to donate the bag full of the change she’s been saving for months. She wanted to give it to the poorest country in the world – “because they don’t have enough food and they often have to drink dirty water”. I guess she WAS listening when I came home with stories of the people I’ve met in my travels! Ah, it swells a mother’s heart.
5. A few weeks ago, I went to a blogging workshop at a Christian writers’ conference (without having researched the presenter first). The blogger leading the workshop was shockingly right-wing, and what I’ve seen of her blog since is mostly anti-Muslim (with a little anti-gay thrown in for good measure) rhetoric – some of it frighteningly hateful. She has a large readership and it fills me with uneasiness that there are so many people who sing her praises. It also fills me with uneasiness that she was applauded at a “Christian” writers’ conference. (I could say more about that conference – but I’ll save that for another time.)
6. I’ve actually had time to sew this week. What fun! I’m finally putting my lovely Indian fabric to good use. Nikki has a new dress, and Julie has a shirt and capri pants. Maddie’s next. Watch for the family in the funky Indian tie-died clothes at Folk Festival!
by Heather Plett | Jun 25, 2008 | Uncategorized
We went out for lunch today to celebrate the birthday of our receptionist, a university student who’s working here for her summer job. She just turned 20.
After lunch, it occurred to me that I am wearing a skirt that I got when she was about 2 years old.
Either I’m old, or I keep my clothes too long. Or both.
by Heather Plett | Jun 23, 2008 | Uncategorized
It’s been one of those months. The kind of month that sucks you in at the beginning, chews you up, and then spits you out the other side. There have been very few pauses in this crazy whirlwind of a month. A business trip to Toronto, a week of board meetings, a big event for our organization’s 25th anniversary (which I mc’d and did much of the organizing for), three weekend-long soccer tournaments (two of which were across the border into the States), multiple soccer games and/or practices almost every night of the week, meetings with out-of-town staff… I am exhausted. And chewed up into little bits.
This morning, when it occurred to me that Summer is officially upon us and I barely had a chance to slow down and enjoy Spring, I was left with an unsettled, dissatisfied feeling. It’s all slipping by too fast. I need to hit the pause button.
Fortunately, after this week is over (another busy week), soccer will end, work will slow down, and Folk Festival will be just around the corner.
On another note, I don’t know how much longer I’ll be blogging. It’s becoming less and less of a priority and interest.
by Heather Plett | Jun 10, 2008 | Uncategorized
Make a wish…
