2014 - Page 6 of 16 - Forever In Mom Genes

When Friendships Fizzle

Aug 18 2014

I suppose the silver lining to that golden rule is that all bad things must come to an end too. At some point anyway. Even if you’re up to your chin in moist festering crud, the tide of wretched crap will eventually recede. And though treading water in a sea of sludge isn’t pleasant, at least there will ultimately be an end to your suffering. But what about when GOOD things come to an end? Things you don’t want to let go or have torn away. Like friendships— when a relationship is meaningful one day, then missing the next. I’ve been there. You probably have too. Losing a friend is awful at any age. It seriously hurts. But what about children? How do we teach them that it happens to everyone and that’s it’s okay? Or that it will be okay once the sting subsides. This is something we’re working through at the moment. Friends grow apart. Especially when interests begin to vary. Say one friend is creative and loves to read and the other lives and breathes hockey. Once inseparable, the weekly interaction begins to wane until they haven’t spoken in months. Phone calls go unreturned and your child[…]

Aug 13 2014

Our little girl turned eight last week. Eight, not eighteen, but from her recent behaviour the line is somewhat fuzzy. First we caught her hot tubbing in mixed company. Don’t let the water wings fool you, she’s a wild woman. Later that night we found her elbows deep in coins, playing the slots, drinking (apple juice) like a sailor on leave. Then we spotted her wandering around Chicago, coffee in hand (she was probably exhausted from a late night of gambling) mixing with the locals and painting the town red. The next thing we knew, she was on her first date playing coy. Ha! It’s a ruse. She’s such a cheeky little monkey—I’m sure I spotted her playing footsies under the table. Kids these days… Kidding aside, Avery has grown up so much this year. SO. MUCH. Things we never imagined she’d be able to do, she’s doing like a boss. Running, turning a perfect somersault, swimming, talking a blue streak, traveling—the girl knows how to pack a suitcase and has a wanderlust to rival that of any explorer. As for dating, she really did meet her “boyfriend” in Chicago —a sweet ‘younger man’ who up until now, we’ve[…]

Aug 12 2014

I have so many fears that I’m afraid there’s something wrong. It frightens me. I worry about things like Hog Weed, and Lyme Disease, and plane crashes, and nuclear war. I’m scared of penicillin resistant super bugs, and child abduction, and funnel clouds, and pesticides, and GMOs, and solar flares destroying the earth or at the very least, our internet access. And tsunamis (which is dumb because I don’t even live near an ocean, but we occasionally visit the seaside). Oh, and Ebola. But the thing that scares me the most; the one fear that consumes my thoughts on a daily basis, is cancer. It’s the Exorcist of diseases. Gory slasher flicks don’t scare me, but horror movies like Paranormal Activity and the Exorcist terrify me because they could happen. Just like cancer could happen. And it does. Based on 2009 estimates two out of five Canadians (45% of men and 41% of women) are expected to develop cancer during their lifetimes. And one out of four Canadians (29% of men and 24% of women) is expected to die from cancer. Source This is truly frightening. FYI, fretting over every lump, bump and funny mole doesn’t actually help. In[…]

Jul 27 2014

As Canadians we spend a lot of time indoors. This past winter was especially brutal. Spring arrived just in the nick of time because the Thornburys were getting dangerously close to a “The Shining” situation. Rum—good. Red rum—bad. My kids have been itching to get outdoors and back to nature and that’s exactly what we did last week. We spent seven glorious days with family at their cottage on a lake in New Brunswick— sans wifi or television. No iPhone grafted to my hand? I expected it to be difficult. It wasn’t. It was heaven. Here are a few of the activities we enjoyed: On day one of our vacation, thanks to the last remnants of Hurricane Arthur, we had no choice but to make our own indoor fun. To be clear, the dads coordinated the fun. I sat on the covered porch and read for three solid hours. Bliss. So what fun did the guys come up with? First they played a game — “Super Moose” (Reg. $29.99). It’s a wooden puzzle challenge where players take turns balancing antlers on a wobbly moose head. It’s meant for ages 3+. The older more dextrous and patient kids enjoyed it,[…]

Jul 23 2014

As the parent of a child with developmental challenges, delays, cognitive disabilities… however you want to label it, I often flip-flop between two perspectives. 1. Wanting to let my fists fly (which is pretty hysterical if you’ve ever seen me try to punch something) on anyone who uses the word retarded. 2. Simply allowing the word to bounce off me and ricochet back at them. People who use the word retard are outing themselves as people I’d rather not know. Their word choice says everything about them and nothing about my child or anyone with special needs. I seem to be juxtaposed between violence and a “so be it” attitude so instead of choosing a perspective, I’m creating a new one. I’m going to take back the R-Word. Others have done it—taken a word used to discriminate and have claimed it as their own. By doing so they’ve taken the wind out of many biggoty sails. My daughter is retarded… Okay wait, I need to ease my way into this because just typing that made me squirm. Those seven letters pack a punch. Retard means delayed or slow. By definition, my daughter is slow. She’s slow to anger. She’s[…]

Archive - 2014

When Friendships Fizzle

Kids These Days….

Running For The Cure

Super Simple Summer Fun

Taking Back The Word Retarded