what more could a girl ask for at 35? an amazing daughter, great partner with my hubby, cool step-son, supportive family and friends, a broad network of inspiring colleagues and role models, an evolving sustainable lifestyle, a few 'hats' that enable me to pursue my passion for positive change in public education, goals to keep striving for, a wonderful home in our co-op, some family income stability for the next 6 months with my job share renewed, living in a peaceful and beautiful corner of the world...I feel it is a huge understatement to simply say "I am full of gratitude for this abundant wealth in my life"!!!!
in short, grateful and happy is what i am :)
now some tales from the past few weeks:
first to update on the 2 appointments for Sasha. She had her 2nd follow up ultrasound and a visit with the urologist, and the good news is her kidneys have grown and it still looks like the deflux procedure did the trick. Her right kidney is a bit smaller, but he was happy enough with her progress that he doesn't feel a need to see her again until she is 4 and potty-trained. aside from her blood pressure being a bit high (which may have just been because it was taken after the ultrasound and being at the hospital for a couple of hours), which he wants us to monitor with our family doctor, it seems all is well internally. however, as some kids have a tendency to hold it in too long when learning how to toilet train, if Sasha develops this habit it could cause damage...so this is something for us to keep in mind when she actually starts potty training.
which should be soon! Now that she is settling in at the new childcare (and loving it), we're able to introduce another routine to the mix. She is also using all the right language, and asking to sit on toilet (though not 'cuz she needs to - only cuz she wants to flush the toilet. hehe. smart as she is, she hasn't yet grasped the concept of wasting water), etc...so I actually think we've already begun...we just need to get the potty here at home!! as the past year was quite unstable we kept putting it off. I didn't want to start while we were moving, then she started one childcare, then we went away, then she started another childcare. That's a lot of change in a short while, and I figured it would be much easier for her to start using potty when all was stable...or as stable as things get for us ;)
the other appointment she was supposed to have was with the eye specialist...but they canceled last minute, and has been rescheduled to july 10th. so the next post will have some more info on the corrective surgery, if it's needed (which we think it will be).
Sasha does a whole lot of talking and singing now (see video clip below). Incredibly sweet to listen to her voice, and she is blowing our minds with how quickly she is learning to articulate new words and speak in full sentences. She copies everything you say, and will repeat it over and over if it is the first she has tried it out. She has also added counting to 5 in spanish to her list of faves, and also having extended conversations on the phone...unless a real person is on the other end...then she just wispers and smiles. LOL
one thing we have spent a lot of time on, since Sasha and I returned from Ontario, is our patio! While we were away, Mark had started the work by clearing a space in one of the tiers (there are 5 in total) to begin an herb garden. mmmmmmm...fresh yummy herbs! rosemary, dill, oregano, and chives oh my
as a family, we spent a day doing more work together. a few days later we had another family work party with mum and Heath to help out too, a bit more work scattered throughout...and within a couple of weeks we have turned our patio into an awesome outdoor living space. Put up a couple of bamboo blinds we had lying around to add a touch more privacy. Laid another 4 ft of patio stone to increase the seating area (it was just dirt before). used the stones scattered around to create a design around the flower bed on the ground. We've had plant contributions from Penny's garden, and from one of our fabu neighbours here in the co-op. edible additions we have added to the mix are tomatoes, basil, cucumber, zucchini, carrots, mint, and swiss chard. still some work to do, but overall we are very very sastified with the work so far, and have been enjoying it on the really hot days lately! things are growing, and all is groovy...and I have developed a tremendous love of diggin in the dirt!!! maintaining the garden is also turning into a daily family ritual now...sweet :)
Aside from the fixin up of our outdoors, I've also had a couple of things to do outside the home. The PEPpers united for a sunny afternoon meeting to continue our dialogue on influencing a progressive slate of candidates in the upcoming school board/civic elections. I always feel so empowered and informed after meeting with these folks, and they have become a big dose of positive support and inspiration in my life! And I'm still hope-full we will succeed in efforts.
The Mt. Pleasant childcare parent board had it's AGM, and guess who is now a board member at Sasha's childcare - yup, me! This will be even more interesting as this childcare is one of the satellite childcares that Britannia Community Centre (where I work) is the hub for. Yet anothe learning opportunity for me to get a better handle on how the whole thing works ;)
For Canada Day, I was invited to be the MC for the Kengsington Community annual event - soooo much fun! I had been looking forward to seeing my friends and neighbours for the first time since we moved. It really is a great community, and I loved being part of the event which brings the full diversity of the neighbourhood together. It seems I have a nack for the role of MC...and they are trying to get me to committ for life! lol. I'm determined to find another cheeseball in that community to take over at the mic one day...but happy to keep being asked back to help out with good times in our old 'hood! lookin' forward to mc'ing the annual Jones Park family fun day on Aug 9th :)
after the feel good buzz from my fun at KCC wore off, I began reflecting on one particular conversation I had with a former neighbour of ours. I was happy to see this woman at the event, and surprised when she said she had no idea there had been an annual event for 3 years now. I had always assumed she was 'in the know' having lived in that home for over 30 years, and also assumed she used the community centre only a 1/2 block down the hill. She told me she used to come here daily, but not anymore. When I asked her why she had stopped coming for the swimming she had clearly loved, her response was "now the pool is too dirty from all those chinese"
I stopped her right there saying I was sorry she felt that way, but I was not interested in listening to any racial discrimination geared at the chinese, or any other culture for that matter. I expressed concern that she no longer felt welcome in the centre where she had raised her kids. Then I asked if she might consider getting involved on the board, or some other way, to be a part of making the centre a more inclusive place.
She changed the subject to the kids and gave me an update on her grandchildren. Then I had to get back to the stage.
after much thought, I wanted to do something to diffuse the negative emotion that came from my dissatisfaction with my reunion with my neighbour. She is a great lady, and I was fond of her over the years we got to know each other. However, the racial comment was not the worst part of it to me. The bigger challenge is the chasm that exists between the different cultural backgrounds that blend in the Kensington area.
next year, as MC, I am committed to learning a greeting in at least 3 of the languages spoken in that community, as well as inlcuding a traditional greeting to the native territory by a 1st nations member of the community. perhaps that will be another solid step in the right direction, to build on the efforts already being achieved by other people in the Kensington area.
I was thankful that another community member approached me later wanting to know how he could get involved. Recently retired he feels an urge to lend some time to his community and had been inspired by my push for folks to get involved by participating at the centre through programs or volunteering. And he is going to keep me in mind for mc gigs too!
always the ups and downs in life eh?
anyways, on that note I'll finish off with some pics of the good times - aka the 'ups'. Che and I both celebrated our bdays with Dad & Liz. (when I received my gift from the whole family - a new camera!! yippee!) We'll likely have another family gathering some time where everyone can see him at once. He also organized a street hockey party for his 14th - that's right, 14 - to play with his friends - cool! now he is with us for the next 2 weeks (unfortunately not while we have time off work) and we hope to make the most of our summer time with him.
Having connected with my 'Saucy Side' this year I wanted to do something different for my 35th! For so many years I have simply invited people to come sit around the fire in our backyard for laidback BBQ's for my bday...only now we don't have a yard for a fire! And I was dying to see some live music!! So I planned a night out to celebrate being alive at 35...on 'theDrive'. Starting with drinks and food at the Reef with one gathering of peeps. And then on to the Lime for 3 great preformers and plenty of fun with another gathering of peeps! A diverse night - Carribean, Japanese, and R&B/Soul/hip hop/ jazz/ funky music between 3 fantastic artists! As you can see I certainly got sauced, and I'm sure all my elders are just brimming with pride at my ability to still drink 2 drinks at once - lol.
Cheers to all of you for making my life the joy that it is...and caring enough to read about it :)
This months video: Sasha singing E I E I OOOO
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