Category - Uncategorized

1
Cancer Is Crap So Fight Like A Girl
2
Tampax Cowboy!
3
Six
4
Summer Slide Is NOT An Amusement Park Ride
5
Mother Your Mother This Mother’s Day

Cancer Is Crap So Fight Like A Girl

* Originally posted on Yummy Mummy Club September 14, 2010. Reposted today in honour of the amazing women and men who are walking this weekend. Especially Dee.  And for Jan. I love you.  There isn’t anyone who hasn’t been touched in some way by breast, cervical or ovarian cancer. Last weekend I participated for the first time in the Weekend To End Women’s Cancers. Along the 60 km route there were plenty of heart wrenching and heart swelling moments. The experience was, in Jann Arden’s words, a Beautiful Pain. The weekend left me feeling powerful and loved, humbled and hopeful but most of all, grateful; for my family, my health, my friends, my life. And, for amazing people like those who support the walkers. The unsung heros are the volunteers and supporters who come out to cheer, honk and hand out treats, high fives and hugs. We all chose to walk this year for our own personal reasons. I was inspired by my teammate and friend Karen and by two special ladies in my life. You inspire me every day. I would walk a million miles for you… Here is my experience in pictures. *Music: Beautiful Pain by Jann Arden

Read More

Tampax Cowboy!

Yesterday {on my Yummy Mummy Club blog} I wrote about backpacks. Specifically, tips to ensure your child’s spine doesn’t warp under the weight of all the crap they carry around. Plus, I’m giving away a fun Back-to-School-Prize-Pack…just because. As I was writing I had this backpack flashback: I used to teach second grade at a private school. For the sake of time {and the fact that a locker room filled with seven-year-olds is sheer chaos} the children changed out of their uniforms into their gym shorts in the classroom. One afternoon as I sat at my desk “marking papers” (aka…checking my email) while the class changed, I heard a small voice say, “What is this?” as he investigated a mystery item discovered at the bottom of his backpack. “I don’t know what it is,” he said to his friend, “but I can do this with it!” He then held an unwrapped tampon firmly by the string and circled it overhead like a cowboy with a lasso. “Yee-haw!” he exclaimed enthusiastically. I suggested he toss that little doggie in the trash and promptly shooed him off to gym class. When his mother picked him up after school I asked if she[…]

Read More

Six

She’s six years old today.  Our amazing girl is six. She’s sassy and strong. She’s happy and healthy. She’s curious and kind. She’s feisty and funny. She’s full of life. After Avery was hospitalized for the first time, we made a short video. It’s linked here. The song accompanying the video is called, “Amazing”, by Janelle and it’s beautifully perfect, just like our little girl. A few favourite lyics are below. Sappy, I know. I’m quoting songs now. But, my baby’s six today. I can help but be a little sap-imental. Amazing You came like crashing thunder breaking through these walls of stone You came with wide eyed wonder into all this great unknown. Hush now don’t you be afraid I promise you I’ll always stay I’ll never be that far away I’m right here with you… [Chorus] You’re so amazing you shine like the stars You’re so amazing the beauty you are You came blazing right into my heart You’re so amazing you are… You are.  I hope your tears are few and fast I hope your dreams come true at last I hope you find love that goes on and on and on and on and on I[…]

Read More

Summer Slide Is NOT An Amusement Park Ride

It’s July and we’re fully immersed in summer fun: swimming, travelling, frolicking but all the while, my nine year old is slip-sliding away…. specifically, his math skills are. All the progress made in the spring is slipping away. I don’t tell my children this, but I despise arithmetic. Words are my thing. It seems my son has inherited my love of literacy and my distaste for addition, subtraction and all things numerical. As an elementary school teacher I know that though all children have strengths and weaknesses, all children can learn. The key is finding the way best suited for them. So this summer, before we slide any further down this slippery number line, we’re not playing around. Er, well actually we are, playing. Playing math games. We have discovered that our son responds well to math games, puzzles and other FUN problem solving activities. Here are three of the brain games we’re playing this summer: 1. Puzzles like this IcoSoku Game from Recent Toys I hate puzzles more that I detest math, but this turned out to be fun. Easier than a Rubik’s Cube, but harder than doing your taxes. It says it’s designed for ages 5-10 but I’d like to[…]

Read More

Mother Your Mother This Mother’s Day

Lucky for me my mother has strong shoulders, because I cry on them often. Learning how to raise a child with special needs has taken a toll on our family. Of course there’s been joy and plenty of laughter and an insane amount of punning (my mom = the Queen of the Punsters), but I’ve also had to lean on her. I’m a mom now, but I still need to be mothered sometimes too.  Yesterday my mum turned 65. Ever young at heart, retiring from her job was not on her radar. “Retirement?” she balked, “That’s for old people.” We never feel our age, no matter how old we are. But then something inevitably happens that makes you face reality head on. Somebody close to you becomes ill, a sister perhaps, and you are reminded of the tenacity of life and you feel the need to spend time with family now because you know, life goes by too quickly. Suddenly retirement doesn’t seem quite so ridiculous. In fact, leaving a career behind in favour of time spent with loved ones becomes the only thing on your radar.  And so in a few months, my mum is going to join my[…]

Read More

All images and text are copyright © 2020 Forever In Mom Genes