13 Hours of Rain

I spend yesterday morning digging in dirt. Weeds were removed, little holes were made, delicate roots of bedding plants were embedded, and the soil was firmly patted all around the green growth. Afterwards, fertilizer was mixed in water and the new plants received a refreshing drink courtesy of my dark green watering can. And I said a little prayer afterwards (as silly as it may sound), that my transformed flower bed will grow and thrive and multiply. I am not a professional gardener by any means. Truthfully, I am a novice. But I am learning. And I do enjoy it. There is something therapeutic about planting, pruning, weeding, and harvesting (especially when my kids are under the care of my husband). Plus I have way more conversations with my neighbors when I'm puttering around in the front yard trying to maintain the largest flower bed on the block! And all of this gardening has made me think about my own life, my own spiritual journey. Lately, I have been rediscovering my F...

Dear Kids, Last year, when we were returning from a family holiday in a neighboring province, I realized how much of an oasis our city is in this corner of our world. Just west of our dwelling is bald, rolling prairie. It's dry, dusty, blasted by sun, and whipped by wind. Thus, we welcome the rain. It's raining outside. A cool spring breeze is rustling through our chimes and willow's leaves. An occasional bird tweets a song. The parched grass, blooming shrubs, newly planted perennials and potted plants are soaking up the moisture. You can almost see them grow. We stayed inside. I kept my household tasks to a minimum. And we enjoyed a sabbath from our usual busy week. I wore my comfy cozy clothes. We played board games. You both painted pictures and worked on a puzzle (Son, your recent addiction). I made one of your favorite lunches consisting of cream of broccoli cheese soup (much to your Daddy's chagrin) and toast. Now you are both watching Veggie ...

Today I finally finished a small kitchen project that I started in the month of March: Renovate the Pantry . My overall kitchen renovation plan includes removing three overhanging cabinets to increase the amount of light flow in the shared dining room/kitchen space. But before I call in the pros to tackle the job, I wanted to make sure my other cabinet space could accommodate the dishes from the proposed removal. My theory was that if I relocated almost all of the dry goods that were scattered throughout the other cabinets to one central location, namely, the pantry, the other cabinets would have more room for our plates and cups. My husband was originally skeptical (and some of our friends share his opinion). But I think my work has convinced my husband, at least, that we will not be without space once we open up our kitchen. Here is my pantry before: As you can see, my previous pantry space had two shelves missing. For some ridiculous reason, the shelve...

Dear Children, I sat across from my Mother (your Nani) hearing tales of pioneer adventures in the northern region of our province. This place north of the treeline was labelled the "jungle" in her mind. A wilderness. A desolate place. Oh, yes, there are people there. But not many. Harding working families, nonetheless, who worked the land with passion. She told me stories of lacking water. (Lacking water, here in Canada?) Wells would run dry. Water lines would freeze. And my Father (your Nana) would have to haul blue jugs to and from the Reservation school where he worked so his family could cook, clean, and drink. Meanwhile, my Mother would load up the car with dirty diapers and clothes to wash then at a local laundromat. Your grandparents were truly pioneers. First generation Canadians who sacrificed much for a hope of a better life. For their children. And grandchildren. One day I would like to write their stories down. Their anecdotes are full of joy, pain, so...

Dear Daughter, There comes a time when you fail at something. Either you just can't master a particular skill or you are not mentally, emotionally, or physically ready for the challenge. While our society touts "everyone is a winner" and passes out participation ribbons like candy, there are still domains in which you lose or fail. Like swimming. This weekend you received your Preschool Level 2 Swimming Report Card. Sad to say, you are NOT moving on to the next level. You failed to master the critical skill of submerging your head completely underwater. "I feel awful," your instructor apologized, "But if she doesn't put her head under water, I can't pass her." "I understand," I assured her, "We don't want her to move on to the next level until she is ready. She is a cautious learner when it comes to physical skills. She walked at 17 months. She does not desire to remove her training wheels off her bike. If she has ...

Dear Lord, Today was one of those day. I wished to pack it all in and quit my "job" of stay-at-home-mom. I was weary of carrying all the responsibilities that come with my position. I'm the chef, the cleaner, the housekeeper, the gardener, the nurse, the accountant, the preschool teacher, the secretary, the archive of memories, and the manager of chaos when things go wrong in our basement. And none of what I do has any upfront monetary value. I am a dependant on my husband's tax form. That is my status. Yesterday I attended a year end Mom's supper. I was by far the oldest Mom there. Most of my fellow guests were in their twenties while I'm knocking on forty's door. One vibrant Mom commented on how quiet I was. "I'm tired," came my response, while thinking, "How I wish I could just bottle the energy these young Moms have! I'd be flying high instead of dragging my feet!" And while I did enjoy several laughs during the evenin...