13 Hours of Rain

2013 is coming to a close. So now I reflect on the goals I set for myself in the beginning of this year and see where I have come over the course of twelve months. 1. Post on the 13th and 26th of each month in this virtual space. Yes. Did it. Though, some days I was a day or two late. But Blogger lets you post back in time. :) 2. Compose or create something significant that will bear the year 2013. I originally had dreams of painting a picture. My inspiration went by the wayside because the initial investment to get started was too overwhelming. Instead, I wrote two children’s books for both of you kids as a Christmas gift. Oh, the stories are not award-winning or even that creative. But they document a couple of significant events in your lives. My daughter, you overcame your fear of putting your head underwater during swimming lessons. And my son, you let go of your soother (or do-do has you called it for most of your life) on your own. Anyway, I am excited that I finally did s...

 Major J.D. My dear daughter, you stood bravely in front of your entire school during the Remembrance Day Assembly and spoke these words into the microphone: "This is my Great-Grandfather." Then the Principal of your school proceeded to read about your Great-Grandfather's contributions to both World Wars. War. I have been blessed to live almost four decades without experiencing the loss and agony of war. True, I was born when the Vietnam War was ending. I was a teenager during the Gulf War . And I was an academic when America declared the War on Terror after September 11, 2001. Yet, I've lived in peace in this corner of the prairies. No one in my immediate family has been deployed to fight. Your Daddy's Mennonite heritage includes the right to be a conscientious objector to war. War was not considered an option to global conflicts. Non-violent solutions were preferred. Your Daddy's ancestors have fled countries to avoid being conscripted. ...

The month of August has been filled with many family gatherings to celebrate significant events in people’s lives. While my side has fourteen members, your Daddy’s side has more than double the amount. At our most recent gathering, twenty-six individuals (plus three dogs) ranging from age 3 to 85 partook in a meal together at the many tables in and outside the house. It was a good time. I grew up in a more formal household. The formality was partially due to my East-Indian ethnicity as well as the educational background of your Nana and Nani, who were both teachers. As a result, there were big expectations attached to yearly events such as Christmas and birthdays. And there was even bigger expectations placed on those one-in-a-lifetime occasions like a wedding or a significant anniversary. These events tended to be professional, extravagant, and over-the-top (and if you scored a deal while securing gifts, decorations, or food, it was even better). It seemed like it was a matter...

This is your family on your Mother’s side: Thirteen + 1 (soon-to-be*) members gathered together, f-i-n-a-l-l-y , after more than five years. I believe five languages are spoken fluently amongst us. Plus tidbits of others. English is common to us all. Languages fascinate me. English is my preference, of course. I know key phrases in French and I can read a wee bit (your Daddy is much better than me). I can give a taxi driver instructions in Cantonese. I understand Hindi/Urdu (or better described as Hindustani) and, for the most part, can carry on a decent conversation. In the end, I would say I am fluent in 1.5 languages since I cannot read and write the language of your Nana and Nani as I do with the current Roman script (maybe one day, in the next decade?). For the time being, I converse with you two mostly in English and sparodically in Hindi, hoping you will comprehend my inadequate attempt at teaching some aspect of your Indian heritage. And, for the most part, you do. Sometim...

Summer days are here, accompanied with rolling on sunscreen for swimming lessons; consuming a larger quantity of ice cream and hotdogs; and lounging on our deck under a lush canopy of willow leaves. It is a welcomed break from the structure of the school year. During the months of July and August, I essentially unplug from my social circle and immerse myself with family. This is the time I spend minutes, days, and weeks with my husband, my two children, and my many relatives. Rest assured that I have not dropped off the face of the earth. I’m still here, sitting in the shade from the hot prairie sun. Sometimes this season is a time of reflection on what was, what could have been, what should have happened in the past ten months of my husband’s teaching profession. And I start planning the Fall. But before, I jump ahead, I pause to look back to six months ago, when I composed a list of flexible aims for Year 2013. It is time for some formative assessment. 1. Post on the 13th and...

I am more and more pleased on how this kitchen renovation has been going! My husband grins when I tell him, once again, for the umpteenth time, "I really like this. I am so glad we did it!" It is an added blessing that we are accomplishing it with cash instead of debt (so far, that is). The remodelling of our kitchen hasn't been without its challenges. We've made mistakes. We are dealing with mild plumbing issues. Our fridge and dishwasher, which we bought upon purchasing this home, are giving us issues, again! But lately, it has been more positive than negative. Phase #3 has been resurfacing our kitchen cabinets, door frames, and trim ourselves. As mentioned in a previous blog post , we used Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations in the colour Quilters White (an ivory/creamy white). We updated the hardware from the out-dated brass to brushed bronze. Furthermore, we are in the process of painting the interior of our cabinets a high-gloss white and lining the shelve...

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...

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...

Drama Festivals. Mission Sundays. Swimming Lessons. Birthdays. Renovations. Holidays. Too busy to shovel the ridiculous drift of snow on our brick patio out back. F-i-n-a-l-l-y spring arrives. A sudden change in temperature from the negatives to the plus side. Uh-oh! Water in basement. After a relatively short moment of calm that gave me enough time to (1) call the people I needed to contact (including insurance) and (2) begin disaster control, I started to panic. And fret. Slowly, but surely, my stress levels rose, even though my husband calmly assisted me in the clean-up before his parent-teacher interviews that evening. I almost made it through bedtime stories with our kids. But then my son accidentally jabbed me in the ribs. I yelped, and started blubbering. My husband come home to a distraught wife. Then I started to vent, cry, and, (yes, swear). Not at my husband. Not a God (officially, anyway). Just at the general situation and the potential negative repercussions of th...

Dear Reader, Well, we did it. Sort of. Over the course of a week, my husband and I removed kitchen cabinet doors and spread them over tables and tarp in our kids' basement play room. We scrubbed years of grease and grime off. We patched up holes and sanded plastic wood filler. We painted. Coat one. Two. Three!? And then we brushed on the protective layer. What a helluva lot of work for two amateurs! Our kids were thankfully at their Grandparents' home three hours away. But we had less than a week to get much done. There are still parts of our kitchen that need painting. But we accomplished our main goal: resurface cabinet doors, drawers and visible frames. The product we used was Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations in the colour Quilters White . Here is my quick review of the product. Pros The kit comes with all the main products you will need in one box. You receive a deglosser, scrub pads, paint stir sticks, bond coat, decorative glaze, and pr...

Princess A. Dear Daughter, About two weeks ago, we had planned a little supper celebration at the big yellow M in honor of your brother's potty training accomplishments. I picked up your Dad from school and he asked you: D: "After Mommy's appointment, we will go somewhere for a big surprise. Guess what is it!" A: "A lollipop?" D: "No. It's bigger than that." A: "A very big lollipop?" Your Daddy and I burst out laughing! Lollipops and gum. Pink and purple. Pretty dresses and sparkly shoes. Lip gloss and nail polish. Unicorns and princesses. Jewelry and purses. There is no doubt about it. You are a little girl now. Yesterday, I was cuddling with you. I could barely hold you in my arms. Your sweet frame sprawled beyond my reach. I reminded you in that moment how little you were when I first met you face to face. So little in comparison to now. A precious baby with blue-gray eyes, bundled in pink fleece. Now, you sp...

If you have been following my blog over the past 2.5 years, since I moved into this city, you would know that my kitchen/dining room appearance was definitely on my cons list when my husband and I purchased this house. Deep purple walls coupled with worn, outdated reddish-brown mahogany cabinets screamed, "Ug-ly!" As soon as we settled in, I called in two contractors to present me quotes to completely rip out my old cabinetry and build me something brand spankin' new. Then came the price of such a reno. For about a year and a half I waffled back in forth on the issue. Complete overhaul? Or renovate what we have? Back and forth I went, like a crazy preschooler on a teeter-totter. My poor husband couldn't keep track of what side I was on from day to day! Eventually, I faced my reality. We only have one income. We don't like debt. I don't want to save for ten plus years for a complete re-do. We love our house and we don't want to move just to possess ...

Eirene. Meaning: peace, rest. The Greek word invokes a state of untroubled, undisturbed well-being. It denotes the absence or end of strife. It is synonymous with asphaleia or security. Such a state of peace is the object of divine and saving promise and is brought about by God's mercy, granting deliverance and freedom, from all the distresses that are experienced as a result of sin... Peace as a Messianic blessing is that state brought about by the grace and loving mind of God wherein the derangement and distress of life caused by sin are removed. Hence, the message of salvation is called the Gospel of peace. (Source: Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, NASB, Strong's Lexical Aids to the New Testament) As believers in Christ, we have been admonished by the Apostle Paul to: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. (Colossians 3:15a) We are called to eirene . We are called to live a life free of strife, specifically...

Dear Lord, It is one of those afternoons when I've got fifty minutes tops to composed something memorable on this space. The breakfast and lunch dishes are still piled on the counter. My husband's laundry is overflowing in his clothes hamper. And my kids are plugged into a Veggie Tales. Yup, I'm not getting top honors in house cleaning or parenting at this moment. Oh well. I've been pondering on the whole area of gift projection, when a person passionately believes that all Christ Followers should be excited or motivated in a particular area of spiritually. You can translate this into the secular world as well. Whether we want to admit it or not, we have certain standards that we impose on others. Take the whole world of Mothering. We live in a world where the blaring voices of the information age bombard our living spaces. Mothers are told that they should do this. Or that. Or else this or that will happen to their precious little one. Anyway, I digress. If I r...

Yummy Brotchen! Dear Kids, To make up for Mommy's-gotta-do-a-lot-of-work-today-so-PLEASE-play-nicely-with-each-other Mornings, I attempt preschool creativity at least once a week. Some days it is a simple craft that gets both of you excited. Other days we don particular colors and celebrate elements of the rainbow. Occasionally, I go all out and have a load of fun with both you. The last couple of days were the later option! Thursday and Friday marked Virtual Travel Days , where we imagined travelling to some faraway destination at very little cost to our family. To coordinate with our church's MB Missions Daily Prayer Guide , our country of choice was Germany. It was an added bonus that your Mausi & Mausa (Maternal Auntie & Uncle) are currently living and studying in Germany, so we could remember them in our prayers as well. Here is what we did: DAY 1: January 24, 2013 ~ Let's Play Together! Put together the Melissa & Doug World Map Puzzle and...

Dear Gracious Healer, Our kids have spent the last 1.5 weeks recovering from various illnesses. Both have been on antibiotics. Both are catching up on sleep from prolonged middle-of-the-night coughing spells. And both are whinnn-y! There were days this last week I was tempted to pack it all in, resign my position as stay-at-home-Mom, and trade jobs with my husband for a good and long while. Hey, I'd happily teach other kids and let someone else deal with two snotty-nosed children who don't seem to understand that increasing their fluid intake will indeed do them a whole lot of good! It is here I pause, re-focus, and look to you, my Gracious Healer. In lieu of reading passages of scriptures for "daily devotions", I have opted to work on scripture memory. God, your Word is powerful! In faith, transform me as I aim to imprint the following words on my mind, my heart, and my soul. Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves w...

Dear Lord and Father, So, I've been diagnosed with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), a condition where the stomach contents spill back into the esophagus, causing heartburn. I've been advised to avoid spicy food, sleep upright, maintain my weight, and reduce my stress. Doctor, please tell me something I don't already know! Here is my annoyance and frustration. (1) I hardly eat spicy food except once or twice a week. And the food isn't really that spicy. Rather, it's flavorful. (2) I try to sleep upright, but it bothers my neck, which is currently under chiropractic treatment for the past year. Thus, I sleep in such a way that is comfortable for my joints but unhealthy for my GI tract. What is a girl to do? (3) I religiously weigh myself and I am twenty pounds lighter than 1.5 years ago. Shouldn't that make things better instead of worse? (4) I try very hard to reduce my stress with exercise, personal time,...

Dear God, I have lived in this urban center for 2.5 years and I believe I am at a crossroads when it comes to experiencing spiritual community in my church. I feel that my relations with others in our family's place of worship have plateaued. For the most part, gone are the initial feelings of excitement in meeting new people and being the object of another family's hospitality. Individuals have become familiar in faces only, since I don't know acquaintances or peripheral friends any better than I did a year ago. I acknowledge that there is a honeymoon period when it comes to church experience. In the beginning, all is refreshing, warm and inviting. The positives of an organization attract you to stay. As time progresses, the negatives begin to stack up like overdue bills. The ugliness of organized (or lack thereof) religion grotesquely masks the beauty that is present. Within time, the niggling thought of checking-out begins to penetrate the shaky wall...

Dear Children, So it begins: 2013. A year to be marked. Signified. Archived with special sentiment. One day, you will discover that thirteen is the favorite number of both your parents. The number has appeared it my life too many times to be a coincidence. Both your birth times contain multiples of thirteen. The church we currently attend is on thirteenth avenue. And in the past, my teaching assignment in the school before your existence placed me in Room 113 with parking stall 13E. Eerily cool, isn't it? Which brings me back to year 2013, the only year in my lifetime that will have my blessed number in its digits. I desire to accomplish something profound this year. Yet, I hesitate to resolve a list of specific "To-Do's" at this moment. On the one hand, I am prone to over-ambition and the resultant guilt (and self-loathing?) when I under-achieve. On the other hand, my realistic nature coupled with skills in logistics often aborts visions in their embryonic st...