Transformations of the best kinds

I have always loved watching my friends and family going through the transformation of parenting. Being the proud auntie of 22 (or somewhere in there, I've stopped counting) neices and nephews, there have been lots of opportunities.

When one of my sisters was expecting her first baby 19 years ago, I remember looking around their house and having trouble picturing it filled with toys, diapers, crayoned pictures, a high chair, crib, walker, etc etc. As you know, the list just goes on and on.

Then the little King came home and took over the palace and the transformation happened overnight. It just all seemed so normal - I wondered how it could ever have been any other way! Since then, their house has morphed through the various stages of parenting - presently being the ever-present stacks of laundry on the stairs going up to the teenagers' bedrooms. My sister keeps believing (silly her) that if she puts their clean and folded clothes on the stairs, completely blocking their way, that they will somehow realize that the clothes need to be transported UP. It doesn't work. They find a toe-hold of space, or just take bigger steps and step over.

Along with the home's tranformation comes the human ones. That's the REAL magic. Having the privilege of developing a relationship with someone as they grow and find their personalities is such a gift.

I am lucky enough to be going through a home/self transformation of my own these days. A dear friend from Korea is staying with me for the next four months, along with her husband and 11-month-old son. Over the past few weeks, my house has been steadily changing. We went through a series of gates at the top of the stairs before finding something sturdy enough to withstand a strong little boy who loves to shake furniture. My book shelf has no books on the bottom 2 shelves, and is now bolted to the wall. There's a colorful plastic baby seat strapped onto one of my newly acquired kitchen chairs. There are bottles all over the kitchen counter. There are toys everywhere. The floor grate in the kitchen is fastened firmly in place with duct tape.

And best of all, I am greeted with a huge smile from a tiny friend when I stumble down the stairs each morning. I have to walk slowly in the kitchen, because I'm often walking in tandem with a little person whose arms are wrapped around my legs. The highlight of this weekend was watching him triumphantly take his first steps across the living room.

Transformations of the best kind.

Peaceful, no terrorism

I've always loved reading the creations of children, whether they be stories, journals, or their opinions of what makes Manitoba a great place to live.

I was in a small rural Manitoba town this morning, waiting beside the school office for the resource teacher. As I waited, I perused the display on the wall. There were multiple maps of Manitoba, accompanied by write-ups of what makes Manitoba wonderful.

Now I happen to be a person who loves where I live - the wide open prairie, the incredible clouds, the sunsets, the variety of landscapes, the people. There's the rugged Canadian shield full of rock, crystal clear lakes, and pine forests, then a prairie desert with dunes and rolling hills.

The descriptions I saw this morning included hunting, wildlife, great communities, and the unexpected mention of affordable housing?! These kids are all of 8 years old!

But the one that took the cake said simply "Peaceful, no terrorism."

A good place to be.

Parking woes

I just read a very funny post by Cherrypie about parking - reminded me of a not-so-stellar parking experience of my own.

I have taken to parking at the far end of any parking lot - gives me more exercise, and there is always loads of space. On one such occasion, I came out with my grocery-laden cart and started the process of emptying everything into my car. As I lifted out the last bin, the wind took my cart and started it rolling off across the lot. Lots of space means the cart had plenty of room in which to get up quite a speed. I leaped after it and caught up with the beast just after it came to rest against a very shiny, very expensive, very sporty silver Acura.

Now, I want you to get the whole picture here. Cars, in my life, are simply something to get you safely from A to B. I buy the cheapest thing possible, and then drive the thing until it is ready for the shredders. So the offending shopping cart was travelling from a dirty rusting 1990 Accord with a drooping back bumper to the above-described "pride of someone's life" type of car.

The people who drive "these" beautiful cars park at the far end of the parking lot to escape the idiots who don't control their shopping carts, who don't know how to enter or exit a parking space, and who don't care if their cars bear the scars of other car doors.

Imagine my chagrine when I see that my offending cart has made a very definite dent in the beautiful shiny silver car. I start to write a note to leave on the car when I see a handsome man with two gorgeous little girls walking towards my end of the lot. Oh great. Not only did I ram your car with my cart, I now have to confess in person!

I think of him and his shiny car every time I park far far away from a store, and now make sure I also am far far away from beautiful shiny cars.

Parking woes.

Technology - Aughhhhhhhhhhh

I just wrote a piece, and it seems to have disappeared into the great unknown. I was thinking that paper doesn't do that, but in my house it does. This is why tax returns take so long - I spend a lot of time searching for papers.

Here's hoping my last post recovers itself from cyberworld!

Small things still make kids happy

I recently had the pleasure of spending a weekend with 3 neices, aged 10, almost 12, and 15. The plan was to take a road trip to one of the communities I work in regularly, stay at the lovely Bed and Breakfast there, and take in a barbershop concert that a friend of mine was singing in.

The guidelines included:

• No whining at the concert. I promised to leave at intermission if anyone was dying of boredom.
• All meals, except for our decadent breakfast, were going to be picnics.
• All towns with great big greeting mascots were to be stopping points, so we could take pictures and chronicle our journey. We posed with a happy rock, a giant elk, a beaver, a ski bunny, and probably a few more I've forgotten about.

Off we went, a car full of happy females, pillows, special blankies, and lots of other "stuff." The first picnic happened in the car on our way out. We stopped at a grocery store and picked up, among other things, pickled eggs, pickled cucumbers, great bread, cheese curds, and yogurt drinks.

The second picnic was in a park - it was a coolish May day, and we shivered while we munched. The novelty of eating outdoors was starting to wear off.

The concert was great fun, the Bed and Breakfast wonderful, and the girls better company than I could have imagined.

Enter picnic number 3 - Sunday lunch. Someone offered the suggestion that it would be great to eat in a restaurant. I agreed it would be a nice idea, and that each of us could buy our own lunch. Suddenly everyone was game for another picnic (imagine that!) We enjoyed it atop a lookout tower perched at the edge of a ravine, soaking up the warm sunny rays. The girls decided it was the best lunch spot ever.

At the grocery store, Jane had purchased a pack of spicy cinnamon gum with her own money. It was one of those new jumbo packs, that opens up like a wallet to show each piece of gum neatly slotted in. She shared freely with all of us, and delightedly counted (by 10's) how much "money" was left in her gum wallet every time she dispensed a new peice.

When she got home, she realized the gum wallet was still in my car (a 45 minute drive away.) She was devestated. I, in the meantime, had been chewing her gum, thinking nothing of it. I bought her a new pack, took a few pieces out, and gave it to her the next time we got together.

The look of delight on her face was priceless.

Small things still make kids happy.

Multiple tasking

After quite an absence, I've chosen to return to the computer early in the morning rather than leaping straight into house reno projects. You can get a lot done between 6 and 8 a.m. when you are feeling focused!

Good thing, because in my house everything gets done at least 2 or 3 times. Here's a list, because I love lists.

1. Refinishing the floors - redone because the first choice of filler was a horrible shade of gray and did NOT absorb the stain (don't believe everything Minwax tells you.)
2. Painting - get it all done, hang the pictures, then watch as someone cuts 4-inch circles out of every single stud space so as to blow insulation into the walls.
3. Repairing the plaster in the stairwell. The plaster gets gouged in the same predictable spots every time furniture, drywall, or large sheets of plywood get moved up the stairs. This was a job I did again last night after my beautiful dining room furniture moved in. I did it without grumbling, because, after all, they did manage to carry it UP THE STAIRS! Saved me $400.00 because we didn't have to use a scissor lift to take it up through the window.
4. Hanging mirrors. Long story.
5. Cleaning carpets. My hopeless sense of optimism keeps telling me WE ARE DONE WITH DUST NOW so things get cleaned up.
6. Cleaning ducts. See above.
7. Buying cars - okay, I know cars do wear out and need to be replaced, but it irritates me nevertheless.

My mother-in-law door was installed this week, and ended up not being needed for the furniture move. In the end, this is all good. If there was nothing pushing me to do it, the patio would likely never move from the "someday I want....." list. Someone ELSE did the door, so it got done right the first time, and will stay that way!

My style?! Multiple tasking.