It's Nice That You Can

When my oldest child celebrates her birthday, I also mark my anniversary of becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom.  As I trained my replacement at work, co-workers asked, “Are you planning to come back?”  I answered honestly, “No. Not unless something goes wrong.”  Several women replied wistfully, “It’s nice that you can stay home.  You’re so lucky.”

I’ve often wondered what they meant by that.  Did they think I could stay home because we were well off financially? 

When our daughter was born, we lived on my income in a one-bedroom apartment.  My husband was in his third year of university, paying tuition with a student loan.  We didn’t own a car or a couch.  We walked or took the bus everywhere and relaxed on an old loveseat from my parents.

But that was the plan.  Before we married we decided to do whatever it took to allow me to stay home with the children.  We still believe it’s the best place I can be right now.

It’s a choice all parents must make at some point.  Who will care for your children?  Single or divorced parents have less options – God bless you for working to care for your families.  For the rest of us, it can be a hard decision.

Lately we’ve been contemplating Disneyland.  By the time the baby is old enough to enjoy it, we may have enough saved.  Of course, if I was working outside the home we’d be able to afford it sooner.  But we’ve chosen different priorities.

Yes, it is nice that we can…make choices.

Little Climbers

The first phrase I spoke was “Get down!”  I said this sternly after standing in my high chair.  No doubt I’d heard those words a few times.

Some grandparents secretly – or not so secretly – chuckle to themselves when their escapist child winds up with an escapist child, or their drama queen granddaughter is as dramatic and stubborn as their own daughter once was.  Those grandparents would be laughing at me now too.

“Get down” has been spoken frequently in our home the past thirteen years.  Also “Get off” (the counter, the dresser, the piano) and “Get out” (of the fridge, the pantry, and the dryer).

It’s a sad day for me when the baby learns to drag chairs across rooms.  Nothing is safe any longer.  HE’s not safe any longer.  This morning he climbed on a chair, stuck a knife in the toaster then smeared butter all over it.  That was a new trick.  Dancing on the table and swinging the chandelier is an old one.

All of my children have been climbers.  I’m sure many parents can empathize.  We really should organize a Parents of Climbers support group.

For now, I’m done with chairs.  I’ve stacked them in the sunroom. We’ll bring them in for dinner, or saw the legs off the table.  If you come to visit, bring a pillow.

But it’s worth it.  Someday my chairs will all stay where they belong and I’ll long for little grand-climbers to come and visit.  And I’ll chuckle as I watch my kids pull them down, off, and out.

iPod Game

This winter, my daughter saved up the money she earned dog walking.  Now she has a cute, annoying, iPod.

I must admit, it can be a useful thing, especially when she’s away from home.  She can text, email, find directions, input reminders, take pictures, listen to music, and even play games.  Games.  Bonus.

What I dislike about iPods – or any portable electronic device – is the amount of time spent on them at inappropriate times, a trend that seems to be increasing.

We’ve made some rules for iPod use in our family – like when we should be talking to or listening to other people, or even doing something like watching a movie together – THE GADGET IS OFF!

I’ve started playing my own iPod game – without an iPod.  It’s called, “What Are They Doing With Their iPod?”

When someone stops dead in her tracks at the grocery store and stares into the palm of her hand, what is she doing?  Checking her grocery list?  Calculating price per gram?

Or when he takes his electronic device up to the salad bar, is he texting his wife to see what he’s allowed to eat?  Looking up calories?  Sending a picture and message to his friend: “food looks good tonight – come on down”?

Or when a couple stands together, embracing, looking at their separate iPhones, are they calling other people or texting sweet nothings to each other?  I don’t know, but either one sounds terribly romantic.

What I find most alarming is how often I can play my game.

Celebration Times

We just finished two of my favourite holidays, Valentine’s Day and Family Day.  Two days to celebrate love and togetherness.  I can get on board with that.  I just wonder who decided to put them so close on the calendar.  Why not spread the love throughout the year?

I know some holidays are anniversaries of historic dates – like Canada Day and Remembrance Day – that shouldn’t be changed, but why do we have to stick to dates chosen centuries ago for strange reasons?

Like Halloween.  I’d rather not pretend that spirits have easier access to the mortal world on October 31^st and choose a bright, warm day for a dress-up party so we don’t need to fit costumes over snowsuits.

A few extra holidays would also be nice, like in January.  New Years hardly counts.  It’s more a day to recover from the night before and mourn the end of the holiday season.  We need a “We Made It Through January Day” at the end of the month.

It would make more sense and foster national unity if all the provinces celebrated holidays on the same day and everyone had the option of taking those days off work.

I’m glad we celebrate Thanksgiving at harvest time rather than as a kickoff to the Christmas season.  And even though Jesus wasn’t born on December 25^th, I think observing His birthday then is a nice way to end the year.

It sure is great to have so many things to celebrate!

Yearning To Create

A few weeks ago, while sitting in Emergency waiting for my daughter to get stitches and thinking about an article that was due in a few hours, I realized I needed to cut back.  So I’ll be writing every second week instead of weekly.

I believe this will be my 70^th article for the Town & Country.  Granted, that’s not a lot compared to fulltime journalists but, believe it or not, writing a weekly column does takes a fair bit of time and creativity.

Sometimes I’m full of ideas but low on time.  Sometimes I have time but no ideas.  It seems as though I’m allotted a certain amount of creative juice per week and when I’ve used it up, it’s gone.

I especially noticed this while homeschooling, pregnant, and writing a column in Fort McMurray.  I had to quit the paper because all my creativity was, apparently, going into educating and gestating.

As much as I enjoy writing, I often feel the need create in other ways, like building block towers with my son, learning to compose, or catching up on seven years worth of scrapbooking.

My older sister is very crafty.  She has a blog (yearning to create) with this quote: "The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul." (Dieter F. Uchtdorf)  I think that’s true.  Everyone I know enjoys creating in some way – whether with words, paint, plants, fabric, yarn, wood, hair, furniture, or old cars – the desire is there.

Don’t fight the yearning.  Create.