relationships Archives - Page 8 of 9

Here, Have A Cupcake or Ten

Jul 14 2010

You know the unspoken rule, “Choose ugly friends and end up looking great by comparison.” Well, I obviously forgot this golden rule because my girlfriends are stupidly good looking. Fit, well dressed, dewy skinned, shiny haired bitches. All of them. How can I possibly hope to be the centre of attention with them getting in my way? I was drawn to them for their warm personalities and striking humour. Their good looks however are an unfortunate flaw. In order to clamber back to the top of the attention heap, I have a fool proof plan. No, I’m not going to drink water to improve my skin, choose classic articles of clothing that flatter my curves or even…dare I say, exercise and watch my diet. No, nooooooooooooo, no. I plan to shower my girlfriends with bake goods, Costco sized bags of Ruffles, tasty chocolates and tubs of creamy Haagen Daas. Fortunately, I know each of their weaknesses and I will assign each pal a high cal delight accordingly. The beauty of this plan is not only will I fatten them up and consequently make myself look thinner, but they won’t even see it coming. They will think these gifts come out[…]

Jul 06 2010

The other day my daughter and I took our dog for a walk around a local pond. We explored the reeds, quacked at the ducks and enjoyed just being outside in nature together. Of course I automatically switched into teacher mode. My poor children—everything seems to turn into a “teachable moment.” You can take the girl out of teaching, but you can’t take teacher out of the girl. Sorry, that sounds wrong—in a very “blue pages” kind of way. (Ontario teachers will totally get that reference.) I talked to Avery about the insects and the flowers. She feigned interest for about a minute, but was more interested in leaning beyond the railing of the bridge to get a good look at the ducks. If I hadn’t had a tight grasp on her belt I’m pretty sure there would have been a splash followed by a BayWatch style rescue of some kind. Then in the distance in the marsh, I spotted a Great Blue Heron. I was excited. I squealed, “Avery! Look! It’s a heron. A heron!” She turned immediately. The kid apparently enjoys birds as much as her nerdy mom. She scanned the horizon and strained to see. “Do[…]

May 13 2010

This morning I let Avery watch some vintage Sesame Street clips on the computer. I know it’s weird we don’t have cable. If I had a nickel for every time I was mocked for it, I’d have a butt load of nickels. I’m a sentimental sap and as she sat watching intently, laughing and smiling it brought me back to MY childhood. Avery is now the exact age I was when I watched this same episode for the first time. Watching her enjoyment of this sweet clip below, I felt this gigantic emontional surge of love and nostalgia. I remember watching the little dollhouse girls playing together and wishing that someday I would have a dollhouse like that. Maybe it’s hormones, maybe I’m overtired, but I got a little misty. My mom used to set me up on the couch with a snack (celery stick boats filled with peanut butter usually) and put on Sesame Street for me to watch. She was younger than I am now. She undoubtedly used that time to catch up on housework, talk on the phone, have a little quiet time. All of the same things that I do now. As I watched Avery look at the dollhouse through her little eyes, I[…]

Oct 13 2009

There are so many joyful things in life—a laugh between friends that leaves you breathless is one of them. I can always count on my friend Sarah for one of those laughs. I am thankful she is part of my life. She’s a friend, but also part of our family. Last week her dad died, suddenly and tragically, and way too soon. It’s heart wrenching to watch somebody you love having to face something so painful. Our family stayed with Sarah and her parents last summer in Nova Scotia. Her father Gene, was a warm and funny man. I called him “Gampy Gene.” After laughing hysterically, Sarah corrected me. It was “Grampy.” I liked the sound of Gampy better, so I stuck with it. Gene didn’t seem to mind. When my son heard that Gene had passed away, he was quiet. Then he said, “Gene showed me the deers in his yard. He’s the one who told me what ticks are. You hafta watch out for ticks.” He asked, “Is Sarah sad? Did she cry?” It’s funny how kids gauge the gravity of a situation by how upset adults are and if tears are involved. “Yes. She did.” I[…]

Jul 22 2009

A small rant if I may? One long, deep, cleansing breath. Inhale and… …girlfriends. Can’t live without them. Well you could, but life would be a bore. Plus who would give you the straight-up truth in the RW & Co. change room about what those pants REALLY do to your bum? You really can’t afford to go through life without some solid women by your side. They build you up when you’re low, and come along for the ride when you’re riding high. But what if they don’t? What happens when a friendship takes a turn or just plain fizzles out? We’ve all had our hearts stomped on; our confidence shredded into tiny shards by men in our lives at one time or another. But what about the bosom buddies in our lives? When a friendship turns toxic it can do some pretty serious damage. Life has been stressful since our daughter’s diagnosis. Like hair falling out, stomach ulcer, insomnia, panic attacks, kind of stressful. For the most part friends have rallied and have really been there for us despite their own busy lives. I can’t even begin to thank them for that support. Sadly, there have been disappointments.[…]

Category - relationships

Here, Have A Cupcake or Ten

Birds Of A Feather

My Doll—Vintage Sesame Street Episode

A Message For My Friend

Toxic Friendships