We're waking up and right on time. . .

January 27, 2012




SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Second one this week!


Okay Tuesday was more of a the-mild-temps-melted-the-snow-but-the-perma-ice-underneath-was-slick-and-dangerous-day.


And I didn't get a snow day because my classes went ahead as scheduled. 


You can't risk the lives of grade school children, but universities can risk the lives of their students, staff and faculty.

So off to class I went.

But THIS morning. . . .


Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. . . . . . .


No Em to battle with.


Although in fairness, she's been much better of late. 


No classes on my Friday agenda.


Nope. 


Meeting already postponed in advance of the storm.


Meaning . . . .


Today I am the master of my destiny.


And destiny is leading me into work this morning with Stephen as he joyfully, willingly embraces the gloriousness of a 9.00 am class.


I will be ensconced in my office writing the remaining reference letters plaguing my existence. 


But then, I will be done.


And upon returning home, the entire snow-filled day will be mine. 


All mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!






Em had her second tattoo done Wednesday afternoon.


A five and a half hour affair that has left her happy, with a slight feeling of sunburn.


Okay, strong feeling of sunburn is probably a bit more accurate.


In the midst of her being tattooed, she texted me:


Owowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Yup.


But the end result was, in my mind, so worth it.

Jealous I am.


Enough maybe to get a smaller version. 






Early, early morning yesterday I am sitting at the kitchen table working.


Frankie at my feet under the table.


Fynnigan lying beside me on the floor.


Dibley sleeping in front of me, but blissfully he decided not to nestle into my papers.


Goblet in my spot in my bed. 


Reilley snuggled in tight with Em.


Which leaves Jasper.


Whose sense of time is as skewed for him as everything else. 


Not caring what time it was, he was bouncing off the walls, dashing and darting here, there and everywhere, reckless, wild, out of control as only a nine month old kitten can be.


All while carrying in his mouth his favourite cat toy.


Sort of the shape of an egg.


Heavy bottom, light top.


So when he made a stunning and superhero like leap onto the kitchen table, exhausted from his efforts and dropping as hard as he could the heavy bottomed cat toy, it's contact with the table was hard and loud enough to waken the sleeping Frankie with such force he immediately jumped up and whacked the top of his head on the underside of the table.


Emerging from underneath the table, hackles raised, him ready to battle, beat, consume whatever had the audacity to wake him from his slumber, with me imagining cartoon like stars and little birdies dancing around his head, he looked at me with an expression on his face that said one thing, and one thing only:


WHAT THE F*** WAS THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And in the time he took to express, fully, how he felt about being abruptly awakened, Jasper had settled himself in beside Dibley, resting fitfully from his frenzied frolicking. 


I dunno, I replied to Frankie, who was still shaking his head trying to put everything back in it's rightful place. 


Fynn?


Didn't budge.


Not even an eyebrow twitch.


He has the perfect temperament to live in this loony bin.


Now if I could only extract some to inject into Stephen, life would be grand. 






Our neighbour sent me this joke.


I peed my pants.


Honest.


It's that funny.


Happy weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


A newfie woman of advanced age visited her physician to ask his advice in reviving her husband's libido.
'What about trying Viagra?' asked the doctor. 
“Not a chance', she said. 'He won't even take an aspirin.' 
'Not a problem,' replied the doctor. 'Give him an 'Irish Viagra'. It's when you drop the Viagra tablet into his coffee. He won't even taste it. Give it a try and call me in a week to let me know how things went.'
It wasn't a week later when she called the doctor, who directly inquired as to her progress. The poor dear exclaimed, 'Oh, faith, bejaysus and begorrah! T'was horrid! Just terrible, doctor!'
'Really? What happened?' asked the doctor.
'Well, I did as you advised and slipped it in his coffee and the effect was almost immediate. He jumped straight up, with a twinkle in his eye and with his pants a-bulging fiercely! With one swoop of his arm, he sent me cups and tablecloth flying, ripped me clothes to tatters and took me then and there passionately on the tabletop! It was a nightmare, I tell you, an absolute nightmare!'
'Why so terrible?' asked the doctor, 'Do you mean the sex your husband provided wasn't good?'
'Feckin jaysus, 'twas the best sex I've had in 25 years! But sure as I'm sittin here, I'll never be able to show me face in Tim Hortons again!'






Title Lyric: Waking Up by One Republic

Do you believe in hallucinations?

January 25, 2012

A Wednesday Giggle:

A newfie woman of advanced age visited her physician to ask his advice in reviving her husband's libido.
'What about trying Viagra?' asked the doctor.  
“Not a chance', she said. 'He won't even take an aspirin.' 
'Not a problem,' replied the doctor. 'Give him an 'Irish Viagra'. It's when you drop the Viagra tablet into his coffee. He won't even taste it. Give it a try and call me in a week to let me know how things went.' 
It wasn't a week later when she called the doctor, who directly inquired as to her progress. The poor dear exclaimed, 'Oh, faith, bejaysus and begorrah! T'was horrid! Just terrible, doctor!'  
'Really? What happened?' asked the doctor. 
'Well, I did as you advised and slipped it in his coffee and the effect was almost immediate. He jumped straight up, with a twinkle in his eye and with his pants a-bulging fiercely! With one swoop of his arm, he sent me cups and tablecloth flying, ripped me clothes to tatters and took me then and there passionately on the tabletop! It was a nightmare, I tell you, an absolute nightmare!'  
'Why so terrible?' asked the doctor, 'Do you mean the sex your husband provided wasn't good?' 
'Feckin jaysus, 'twas the best sex I've had in 25 years! But sure as I'm sittin here, I'll never be able to show me face in Tim Hortons again!' 

I need to get my giggles as often and by almost any means possible.

A few precious minutes in between meetings, after class preparations are finally complete (for my 3 hour class, not for any other ones. Let's not lose ourselves in giddiness!) and all I want to do is crawl into the big blue chair and nap until it's time to go home.


Somehow, I don't think my seminar class would find that appropriate, given that I assign them more readings for one class than some profs do for an entire term.


But I so want to sleep!


Hence blogging in the middle of the day as a strategy to prevent sinking into the big blue chair.






Sleep is yet again being elusive.


Issues, traumas, conundrums, dance around in my head like malevolent sugar plums.


I want a pill that will effectively shut my brain down for an entire, solid, uninterrupted eight hours of blissful, refreshing REM sleep.


Not the falling-into-bed-at-9.00 pm-only-to-be-wide-awake-at-1.30 am sleep that has become the pattern of late.


Me, wide awake.


Staring at Stephen.


Whose snoring is enough to move the house at least 5 inches a night if it wasn't so solidly grounded.


Frankie sighing at the end of the bed as I move this way and that in a futile effort to convince my brain that really, sleep is the best option right now.


Jasper, who has taken to reposing with us during the night curled into a grey and white ball of absolute adorableness right up against me, snoring softly. 


At least what I can hear through the cacophony of Stephen's nightmarish reverberations.


If anyone knows of such a pill, over the counter, prescription, black market, I'll take it.






Em's birthday brunch, Saturday at the Diplomat was indeed an event.


Anything is an event if the 5 of us are getting together. 


I didn't say what kind of event. 


Just an event.


We noshed on breakfasts of pancakes, bacon, sausage, ham, toast, eggs, steaks.


Me and the kids.


Stephen: the seafood Caesar salad.


Such a rebel, my hubby.


Afterwards, stuffed with yummy brunch, we went to the grocery store.


CLEARLY my senses were dulled from the consumption of forbidden foods. 


That is the only plausible explanation I can come up with for thinking it would be okay, perhaps even fun to take all three children and Stephen to the grocery store.


On a Saturday. 


There must have been some sort of hallucinogen in my rare steak.






Things proceeded as you would expect they would.


People running all over the place.


The Gimmies and Wants making an extended appearance. 


And they weren't just afflicting the kids.


Stephen managed to snag a jar of Cheez Whiz claiming that Keith wanted it.


I don't see how Keith could have wanted anything. 


All he did was repeat the same question in 5 minute intervals, "Are we done yet? Are we done yet? Are we done yet?"


Em playing the lactose intolerance/milk allergy card. 


"I can't eat that so you should really buy me this" in a bid for a box of Teddy Grahams.


Mer stocking a separate cart for herself.


Milk, eggs, bread, cookie, ginger ale, chips.


You know, the essentials.


She paid for it.


Damn right.  


I couldn't have afforded it if I wanted to.


I spent $411.00.


The sad thing is, we've already been back for milk and green grapes. 


Let's just say that special little trip should last a long, long time.


In fact, you may never see my children and me in the grocery store ever again. 


I may never recover. 


Wandering through the grocery store aisles, hoodie covering my head, dark circles under my eyes, looking over my shoulder to make sure I'm not being followed by anyone I gave birth to, muttering to myself, "no, no! we don't need that in our cart!"








And Happy Birthday Lisa!!!!!!!!!!! May many presents come your way!!!!




Title Lyric: Hallucinations by Angels and Airwaves

And though our separation, it pierced me to the heart, She still lives inside of me, we've never been apart

January 23, 2012




A year ago today Kathryn passed away.


It hardly seems real.


Certainly no more real than when Jerry called to say that she was simply too exhausted to fight any more. 


That she had moved on to the next stop in her journey.


Honestly, even know I struggle to accept that she is no longer here with us, at least physically.


I do believe, however, that she is here spiritually. 


I have to.


Otherwise I don't know if I could have made it through the last year. 






To say that it has been a very difficult year for Jerry is an understatement.


I don't know how he does it, but he manages to put one foot in front of the other every day.


Time is funny that way.


No matter how much pain we are feeling, how much agony is coursing through our being, time moves on.


Continues.


Seconds to minutes to hours to days to weeks to months to years. 


Dragging us along it it's wake whether we want to go or not. 


Whether we think it's fair. 


Or if we want to throw ourselves on the floor, feet pounding, arms crashing, railing against the injustice of it all.


The clock ticks on.






In the midst of all the hurt and anguish, we still have choices.


Again, whether we want them or not.


We can chose to live our lives to the fullest, in celebration of the lives of those who are no longer with us, honouring them by recognizing that each and every second of our lives is a gift.


Something to celebrate.


Because we are here, we are together, we do care and will continue to try and do our best for ourselves and one another.


Knowing we will falter, slip, miss steps, make mistakes.


But always trying.


Or we can surrender our lives to the pain and anguish.


Let the grief continue to control and manage our lives. 


Kathryn loved Jerry more than anything else, anyone else.


I've never encountered such a fierce love in all my life. 


But she would be angry with Jerry for taking one more minute of our precious lives and grieving for her. 


I know she would.


Her primary goal was Jerry's happiness. 


She would be so angry with him right now.


The red V livid on her forehead. (Anyone who knew Kat saw that V!)


Because as strong as her love was for Jerry, so were all the other emotions that manifest themselves in any marriage. 


And when the V was red, you knew you'd crossed a line. 






I miss you so much Kathryn.


Your smile.


Your wild curly brown hair. 


Watching you open presents was a something so distinctly you. 


Having you put me in my place when I needed it. 


Which is a lot.


Not a single day goes by that I don't think of you.


The other day I was flipping through my recipe book and I saw the recipe you dictated to me over the phone.


Kat's Potatoes.


I haven't been able to make them yet.


But I will. 


Soon.






And thanks for being there for Tikka.


I knew you would be.


Hug her for me. 


I love you.






Title Lyric: If You See Her, Say Hello by Bob Dylan