Saturday, May 7, 2011
Testing - May 7th, 2011
I'm attempting to include my blog within EchoChildrenStories.com. Will it work? We shall see.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Colouring Time
I take care of two very cute girls one day a week. They absolutely love to colour. They colour pictures that I print off the web; they colour pictures they invent themselves; they just love to colour.
When I'm with them, I love to colour too. But what I've noticed is that colouring is to these two little girls what tea or coffee time is to me. Suddenly, after I've brought out the box of many coloured sticks of wax, the words begin to flow. I hear stories of friends and family that have impacted these two. I learn probably more than their parents would like me to know about their home life. We invent stories and laugh at ridiculous three and five year old jokes. It's a special time. It doesn't matter what we are actually drawing. Many times the wonderfully coloured pictures are covered in swirls of gold or silver to indicate a wind storm or something similar.
As they colour I learn where they are at in their learning. Suddenly there are words on their pages, or numbers, or pictures of stick people with hooks in the place of arms. We frequently sing songs and give hand motions to them. Inevitably I end up with the three year old on my lap giving me hugs and both of them telling me they are practically starving to death asking me for a snack.
It's a special time. And although these little girls are not my own, I feel very close to them and very honoured to spend this time with them. I hope one day they will be coming to visit me and we really will have a cup of tea or coffee and little grandma biscuits. Then I hope we will laugh and share stories and I will remind them of the colouring times we had when they were five and three.
When I'm with them, I love to colour too. But what I've noticed is that colouring is to these two little girls what tea or coffee time is to me. Suddenly, after I've brought out the box of many coloured sticks of wax, the words begin to flow. I hear stories of friends and family that have impacted these two. I learn probably more than their parents would like me to know about their home life. We invent stories and laugh at ridiculous three and five year old jokes. It's a special time. It doesn't matter what we are actually drawing. Many times the wonderfully coloured pictures are covered in swirls of gold or silver to indicate a wind storm or something similar.
As they colour I learn where they are at in their learning. Suddenly there are words on their pages, or numbers, or pictures of stick people with hooks in the place of arms. We frequently sing songs and give hand motions to them. Inevitably I end up with the three year old on my lap giving me hugs and both of them telling me they are practically starving to death asking me for a snack.
It's a special time. And although these little girls are not my own, I feel very close to them and very honoured to spend this time with them. I hope one day they will be coming to visit me and we really will have a cup of tea or coffee and little grandma biscuits. Then I hope we will laugh and share stories and I will remind them of the colouring times we had when they were five and three.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Fear of Fifty by Erica Jong
It's been awhile since I've tickeld this keyboard for an article here on this blog. What have I been doing this while? I've been reading an amazing book among other things. It's a book I think all you femenistic matriarcs would enjoy - if you kept your mind open, that is.
Author Erica Jong covers all types of political incorrectness in her book Fear of Fifty. The book was published over ten years ago and speaks about the authors life experiences. It is a fabulous read. She is funny and informative and, I found, spoke much to me. Her life would make the most addictable of soap operas seem dull in comparison. Somehow she pulls this reader in and I leave it with regret.
What have I learned? Well, I've some incite into early feminists. My own memories of my feministic university days were stirred. I definitely related to the findings of those motherhood genes and understand the dilemma of maintaining my own identity in the midst of helping give a child their own. Add to that the challenge of being in partnership with a man - or woman, as Erica would point out - and the struggle to maintain self is quite a journey. But Ms.Jong takes us through that journey with grace and style.
Many times I have felt uplifted and encouraged by her story. Life is pretty challenging at times and there are so many roads open to us, it was good to be reminded that those roads opened because of the struggles of mothers and aunts and friends now dead. And those challenges we face never need be faced alone.
Thanks Ms.Jong, for sharing your story. It helped. :)
Author Erica Jong covers all types of political incorrectness in her book Fear of Fifty. The book was published over ten years ago and speaks about the authors life experiences. It is a fabulous read. She is funny and informative and, I found, spoke much to me. Her life would make the most addictable of soap operas seem dull in comparison. Somehow she pulls this reader in and I leave it with regret.
What have I learned? Well, I've some incite into early feminists. My own memories of my feministic university days were stirred. I definitely related to the findings of those motherhood genes and understand the dilemma of maintaining my own identity in the midst of helping give a child their own. Add to that the challenge of being in partnership with a man - or woman, as Erica would point out - and the struggle to maintain self is quite a journey. But Ms.Jong takes us through that journey with grace and style.
Many times I have felt uplifted and encouraged by her story. Life is pretty challenging at times and there are so many roads open to us, it was good to be reminded that those roads opened because of the struggles of mothers and aunts and friends now dead. And those challenges we face never need be faced alone.
Thanks Ms.Jong, for sharing your story. It helped. :)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Just a thought about the relationship between a mother and her son
My son is reading a book on pick-up artists and yet he assures me he doesn't want to become a pick-up artist. Hmm. Does he really believe that I believe him on this one? I laugh and ask just what is his purpose for this latest read. He answers that a girl gave him the book thinking he might be interested. So now I'm wondering why this girl thinks my son will be interested in a book about becoming a pick-up artist. Is he not good at picking up girls and she thinks this will help him? Or is he always picking up girls and so she thought he'd like the book?
I don't believe that as a mother I need to know everything about my kids as they get older. The son in question will be twenty years old in less than a week. He still sits down with me every so often and uses me as a bit of a mix between a confessional and a therapist. I have learned to listen to him and not pass judgement - most of the time anyway. I know he only tells me what he wants me to know and that is fine with me. I was almost twenty once myself. Even today, with a fabulous relationship between my mother and myself, I still don't tell my mother everything about myself or my life. In fact part of the reason I live so far from my beloved parents is that I needed space from my mother so I could find my own way. She often tells me how much she and I are alike - and I do see what she means - but there are choices I have made that have been different from hers and so I do not think she would approve of many of the roads I've taken. Although I do believe she would attempt to not judge just as I do with my children.
The relationship between a mother and her children can be such a precious thing. It moves from total dependency to self-sufficiency in a series of childhood experiences influenced both by age and experience. My hope is that as my children leave this nest of mine, they have strong wings and independent thought but not so much that they need to run from me to prove they can use those things. I hope to provide them a refuge from the world in times of troubles and a place where they can tell their thoughts and troubles without fear of judgement or rejection. Am I setting myself up for disappointment? I sure hope not. An important part of this would be to get my husband on board with this goal. As it is, I'm pretty sure his objective is to get the kids out of the house and taking care of themselves financially. Interesting that even in this area of child rearing, the differences between man and woman is evident. Men holding the most important that which is related to finances and women holding the emotional side of a person as the core focus.
So my son sits reading a book he is to tell me is very boring and not at all what he thought it would be. And we discuss what he thought and I somehow don't understand what it is he means. This miscommunication is happening more and more often these days. I understand this is most likely the part where he needs to establish a break between himself and me. My oldest daughter has been doing this for years but my son has taken longer to get to this point of seperating himself from his mother. They write about this in parenting books and it scares every mother of boys that reads the books in the first place. The writers say that these sons that cuddle and confess their undying love on their mothers' laps when they are four will one day look at that same mother with disgust. They will apparently need to break free from their mother's hold in order to go forth and be full productive members of society. I think what they mean is that a man can only handle having one woman with expectations of him to live up to. So if they keep their mother close then having a real lasting relationship with a woman will be impeded.
Is it possible to give your son enough freedom from your continual expectations and judgement that he can still be your friend and have a fulfilling mutual and loving relationship with another woman? It has got to be possible. I've seen men with fabulous relationships with their mothers and still have what appear to be good marriages. Of course I'm not privy to their private lives so I may be wrong. Perhaps I will find a study on this topic and get back to you on it.
There are many relationships in life. I have three sons. My relationship with each one of them is unique and precious to me. I hope to continue those relationships all the days of our lives. I hope the same for you.
I don't believe that as a mother I need to know everything about my kids as they get older. The son in question will be twenty years old in less than a week. He still sits down with me every so often and uses me as a bit of a mix between a confessional and a therapist. I have learned to listen to him and not pass judgement - most of the time anyway. I know he only tells me what he wants me to know and that is fine with me. I was almost twenty once myself. Even today, with a fabulous relationship between my mother and myself, I still don't tell my mother everything about myself or my life. In fact part of the reason I live so far from my beloved parents is that I needed space from my mother so I could find my own way. She often tells me how much she and I are alike - and I do see what she means - but there are choices I have made that have been different from hers and so I do not think she would approve of many of the roads I've taken. Although I do believe she would attempt to not judge just as I do with my children.
The relationship between a mother and her children can be such a precious thing. It moves from total dependency to self-sufficiency in a series of childhood experiences influenced both by age and experience. My hope is that as my children leave this nest of mine, they have strong wings and independent thought but not so much that they need to run from me to prove they can use those things. I hope to provide them a refuge from the world in times of troubles and a place where they can tell their thoughts and troubles without fear of judgement or rejection. Am I setting myself up for disappointment? I sure hope not. An important part of this would be to get my husband on board with this goal. As it is, I'm pretty sure his objective is to get the kids out of the house and taking care of themselves financially. Interesting that even in this area of child rearing, the differences between man and woman is evident. Men holding the most important that which is related to finances and women holding the emotional side of a person as the core focus.
So my son sits reading a book he is to tell me is very boring and not at all what he thought it would be. And we discuss what he thought and I somehow don't understand what it is he means. This miscommunication is happening more and more often these days. I understand this is most likely the part where he needs to establish a break between himself and me. My oldest daughter has been doing this for years but my son has taken longer to get to this point of seperating himself from his mother. They write about this in parenting books and it scares every mother of boys that reads the books in the first place. The writers say that these sons that cuddle and confess their undying love on their mothers' laps when they are four will one day look at that same mother with disgust. They will apparently need to break free from their mother's hold in order to go forth and be full productive members of society. I think what they mean is that a man can only handle having one woman with expectations of him to live up to. So if they keep their mother close then having a real lasting relationship with a woman will be impeded.
Is it possible to give your son enough freedom from your continual expectations and judgement that he can still be your friend and have a fulfilling mutual and loving relationship with another woman? It has got to be possible. I've seen men with fabulous relationships with their mothers and still have what appear to be good marriages. Of course I'm not privy to their private lives so I may be wrong. Perhaps I will find a study on this topic and get back to you on it.
There are many relationships in life. I have three sons. My relationship with each one of them is unique and precious to me. I hope to continue those relationships all the days of our lives. I hope the same for you.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
December
It's December. A chill is in the air. Christmas lights are on people's houses and the occasional lit Christmas tree can be seen through the curtains in people's living rooms. Now is the time for reflection, outreach and gratitude.
Reflection: There are people everywhere bustling to the stores trying to make Christmas a special time by buying the ultimate gifts and yet their bodies are full of financial and emotional stresses that no amount of buying will cure. They crave the appreciation of the ones their gifts are for and fear that if they do not get the ideal gift, Christmas won't be quite right to those they love.
Outreach: The food banks in our area are low on food. The schools have contests on which class brings in the most non-perishable foods; the kids' hockey teams do the same; some entertainment venues offer free admission with donations of food. Baskets are set up in grocery stores. There are trees waiting for angels to decorate them that signify someone has donated a gift. The appearance of abundance at Christmas is paramount to our Canadian culture. Everyone must have a joyous Christmas where they eat well and receive gifts. In this way we all can enjoy and attempt to spread what people still talk about as being the spirit of Christmas.
Gratitude: Life is good. Even when life is not good, there must be something we can cling to that is good. When life is hard we must focus on those things we do have. At Christmas it may be family. It may be friends. It may be a cozy place to live. It may be the spirit of giving. It may even be what I believe it is intended to be; gratitude for salvation of the spirit and a life after this one has passed and gratitude for a God who loves us still.
Have a happy December!
Reflection: There are people everywhere bustling to the stores trying to make Christmas a special time by buying the ultimate gifts and yet their bodies are full of financial and emotional stresses that no amount of buying will cure. They crave the appreciation of the ones their gifts are for and fear that if they do not get the ideal gift, Christmas won't be quite right to those they love.
Outreach: The food banks in our area are low on food. The schools have contests on which class brings in the most non-perishable foods; the kids' hockey teams do the same; some entertainment venues offer free admission with donations of food. Baskets are set up in grocery stores. There are trees waiting for angels to decorate them that signify someone has donated a gift. The appearance of abundance at Christmas is paramount to our Canadian culture. Everyone must have a joyous Christmas where they eat well and receive gifts. In this way we all can enjoy and attempt to spread what people still talk about as being the spirit of Christmas.
Gratitude: Life is good. Even when life is not good, there must be something we can cling to that is good. When life is hard we must focus on those things we do have. At Christmas it may be family. It may be friends. It may be a cozy place to live. It may be the spirit of giving. It may even be what I believe it is intended to be; gratitude for salvation of the spirit and a life after this one has passed and gratitude for a God who loves us still.
Have a happy December!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Bruno Mars
Every once in a while I'm listening to the radio with my kids and a song I really like comes on. "Grenade" by Bruno Mars appears to be one of those songs. Although I feel like I"m watching Donny Osmond when I watch the video - the guy is just a kid himself it would seem - it's a heart felt song about unrequited love. It's innocently tragic and sweetly melodious. Any of you old fogies out there might want to branch out and check it out. Any of you youngies out there most likely already have.
The video can be viewed at www.brunomars.com. I'll see if I can figure out how to put it on the sidebar of the blog but if not you may check it out on your own.
Enjoy!
The video can be viewed at www.brunomars.com. I'll see if I can figure out how to put it on the sidebar of the blog but if not you may check it out on your own.
Enjoy!
Monday, November 22, 2010
It's Not About The Kids
I am immensely proud of my children. They are fabulous people. I love to hear and see them laugh and get along with each other, their friends, or their dad and me. I enjoy watching them grow and learn. They exasperate me over and over again but I know that much of that is my own impatience and ignorance. I work on that.
Now though, I'm realizing that the stage and place in my life for total absorption in the lives of the children is passing. "There is a time for all seasons and a season for all things." (misquote from a proverb or psalm). I'm not exactly sure what season I'm in right now but I know it is different than before.
Oh, the seasons that I've had. I've had the time of dolls, cars, Easter bunny and Santa clause - childhood wonders and continual discovery. I've idolized my mother and thought my father was as handsome as Elvis Presley (the young one of course). I had the zits and the moodiness, the uncertainty and aloneness of those teenage years. 'I kissed the boys and made them run', exploring a more feminine side of myself. I studied, learned that I knew so much and not much at all. I entered a lifelong love commitment, started a family and lived in babyland for too many years to go into. Now the horizon is a shade of orange - it's a different shade than I've seen before although I've heard talk of it. And it's exciting.
I've done a couple new things lately. I've started running as I mentioned in one of my latest entries. I've taken a stained glass class and discovered that I was correct in thinking I would absolutely love it. One more class to learn to do the welding and then an acid etching bonus class and I'll be on my way to creating my own masterpieces - something I'm looking extremely forward to. I'm writing more and attempting to reignite my latent drawing talents. I guess I feel like I'm on a new road.
Are you on a new road? Which season is it in your life right now? Are you able to live in this moment and enjoy it? You know, I look around my house and see the litter of past seasons. There are still a few baby toys about. There are tons of paper things I have to decide how to organize (how many pictures your three, four, seven, ten year old drew is necessary to keep for those later years when you ... what exactly do people ever do with those drawings?) I have half done crafts from when I was doing crafts; tons of cut outs for quilts when I started my quilting; office supplies from a long dead business; pictures of the past forty-some years of my life. All of these things cluttering up my house and my head. I don't want to ever part with the lessons I've learned or the laughter I hear from the memories those things bring to mind but I also only seem to have room for so much. Are you cluttered with stuff in your living space or only in your head?
Fulfillment - personal fulfillment - seems to be pressing out from within me. I want personal fulfillment. I want a sense of a job well done. I want a sense of time passing in a pleasant whirlwind of achievement and personal satisfaction. I want continued love and laughter surrounding me and I want love and laughter to spring forth from within me - spilling everywhere.
Is that too much to ask?
It doesn't feel like it is right now. I don't care too much if I look sexy - although I love feeling sexy. I don't care too much if what I do meets with 'their' approval - although I want to accomplish things. I feel like right now I`m looking for recognition from myself.
Oprah may be criticized my some and revered my many but recently I read such an interesting article in her magazine about those women who are wanting to unite their own personal calling with their money making abilities. The author of the article said to ask ourselves what we have ever done that we have been utterly happily absorbed in. To make a list of those things and start with that. She goes on to explain how to find that pathway to a career choice from there - for that you can look up Oprah`s November 2010 magazine. I`m still working on that first point. It`s been rather enlightening. I am surprised to find that there are few things that I get totally absorbed in and many things that I get bored with. This is good. Well, it helps narrow things down a bit anyway. I love introspection for one. Which is why I may never get past that first question.
What is it you do that totally absorbs you and leaves you happy? Do you have things you do that fit into that category? Okay, let`s get rid of the sex activity for those of you to whom that`s the first thing circling in your mind. I don`t think the author is suggesting you make money in that area but go on enjoying it for sure.
Think about it. Are you at a place in your life where you want to be fulfilled now? Is the thrill of the job you`ve been in totally gone replaced by boredom that has you watching the minute hand of your clock? If not -great - just keep on keeping on. But if so, well, maybe you are where I am. And there is another season after this one, if we`re so blessed.
Enjoy today. Live in this moment while planning on having another. If you`re still in that place where the kids rule, then live there. Know, however, that there are other seasons to come. It can be a pretty exciting life if we let it be.
Now though, I'm realizing that the stage and place in my life for total absorption in the lives of the children is passing. "There is a time for all seasons and a season for all things." (misquote from a proverb or psalm). I'm not exactly sure what season I'm in right now but I know it is different than before.
Oh, the seasons that I've had. I've had the time of dolls, cars, Easter bunny and Santa clause - childhood wonders and continual discovery. I've idolized my mother and thought my father was as handsome as Elvis Presley (the young one of course). I had the zits and the moodiness, the uncertainty and aloneness of those teenage years. 'I kissed the boys and made them run', exploring a more feminine side of myself. I studied, learned that I knew so much and not much at all. I entered a lifelong love commitment, started a family and lived in babyland for too many years to go into. Now the horizon is a shade of orange - it's a different shade than I've seen before although I've heard talk of it. And it's exciting.
I've done a couple new things lately. I've started running as I mentioned in one of my latest entries. I've taken a stained glass class and discovered that I was correct in thinking I would absolutely love it. One more class to learn to do the welding and then an acid etching bonus class and I'll be on my way to creating my own masterpieces - something I'm looking extremely forward to. I'm writing more and attempting to reignite my latent drawing talents. I guess I feel like I'm on a new road.
Are you on a new road? Which season is it in your life right now? Are you able to live in this moment and enjoy it? You know, I look around my house and see the litter of past seasons. There are still a few baby toys about. There are tons of paper things I have to decide how to organize (how many pictures your three, four, seven, ten year old drew is necessary to keep for those later years when you ... what exactly do people ever do with those drawings?) I have half done crafts from when I was doing crafts; tons of cut outs for quilts when I started my quilting; office supplies from a long dead business; pictures of the past forty-some years of my life. All of these things cluttering up my house and my head. I don't want to ever part with the lessons I've learned or the laughter I hear from the memories those things bring to mind but I also only seem to have room for so much. Are you cluttered with stuff in your living space or only in your head?
Fulfillment - personal fulfillment - seems to be pressing out from within me. I want personal fulfillment. I want a sense of a job well done. I want a sense of time passing in a pleasant whirlwind of achievement and personal satisfaction. I want continued love and laughter surrounding me and I want love and laughter to spring forth from within me - spilling everywhere.
Is that too much to ask?
It doesn't feel like it is right now. I don't care too much if I look sexy - although I love feeling sexy. I don't care too much if what I do meets with 'their' approval - although I want to accomplish things. I feel like right now I`m looking for recognition from myself.
Oprah may be criticized my some and revered my many but recently I read such an interesting article in her magazine about those women who are wanting to unite their own personal calling with their money making abilities. The author of the article said to ask ourselves what we have ever done that we have been utterly happily absorbed in. To make a list of those things and start with that. She goes on to explain how to find that pathway to a career choice from there - for that you can look up Oprah`s November 2010 magazine. I`m still working on that first point. It`s been rather enlightening. I am surprised to find that there are few things that I get totally absorbed in and many things that I get bored with. This is good. Well, it helps narrow things down a bit anyway. I love introspection for one. Which is why I may never get past that first question.
What is it you do that totally absorbs you and leaves you happy? Do you have things you do that fit into that category? Okay, let`s get rid of the sex activity for those of you to whom that`s the first thing circling in your mind. I don`t think the author is suggesting you make money in that area but go on enjoying it for sure.
Think about it. Are you at a place in your life where you want to be fulfilled now? Is the thrill of the job you`ve been in totally gone replaced by boredom that has you watching the minute hand of your clock? If not -great - just keep on keeping on. But if so, well, maybe you are where I am. And there is another season after this one, if we`re so blessed.
Enjoy today. Live in this moment while planning on having another. If you`re still in that place where the kids rule, then live there. Know, however, that there are other seasons to come. It can be a pretty exciting life if we let it be.
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