Did I get your attention, Disney on a Budget really is a myth, but thought many may try to Google such a wish and low and behold - find this post - a testament to the Truth!!! Disney is pricey, but I dare say - worth every penny! It was a long awaited trip, but due to my health, just not possible until now and I am happy we waited. Greta had an amazing time, I truly believe she enjoyed every single thing about her vacation. A lot of firsts - First Plane Ride, First Royal encounter (surely Disney Princesses count as Royalty), First Hot Climate (Hot is underestimating just slightly - I think the Devil may live in Florida and was having a fairly pissed off week), First time having her own money to spend.... I am happy to say, all was a success, but I must do my duty to the blog followers and fill you in on what I found as a Newbie Disney Traveler. While I expect those who frequent Disney would be certainly better advisers on planning a trip, here are my observations:
1) Walt Disney World - Magical, exciting, the aroma of cotton candy and caramel apples seemed to fill the air, truly a stunning place and you actually feel like you are living in a dream-like fantasy world - but then you snap out of it and realize you are in the land of everyone fighting. Yes folks, heat, walking, exhaustion makes people yell, fight, lose their temper. While I am pleased to say Darren and I are not planning a divorce over this trip, I dare say many couples were brought to the breaking point and have to admit, Darren and I had words as well. Go here, go there, mad because the maps don't quite make sense or standing in lines was not part of the jam packed day (and I must admit, we hardly had to encounter a line, so I can only speak to going at a slow period "September") I can imagine the yelling around Spring Break would be worth a reality show- umm, I think I may approach NBC with this idea!!!! And, then there was the kids, I was given a lot of advice as we were planning and tried to soak it all in, but one thing stuck in my head, "manage your expectations"... So very true. We did our best to go with the flow, to understand that the heat and fast pace of the day would be a lot on a little 4 year old, and she was truly remarkable and absolutely exceeding our expectations, I dare say she may have been able to keep going when we were at the point of passing out, but there were a few "stop acting or we are going back to the hotel" moments...But nothing compared to what we witnessed. Parents everywhere were yelling, at each other, at kids, forcing them to eat at restaurants, just truly losing it. I many times wanted to jump in and say - manage your expectations...the kid doesn't want that stupid chicken nugget so stop telling her you will be leaving (as for sure you know they would not be) ... while I felt bad each time I heard someone fighting or getting frustrated, I know it could have easily been me/us - but we took a step back and realized we had a full week, and if we missed things, we nor Greta would know the difference!
2) It is an expensive place but there are ways to make your days a bit less expensive. One thing I did was I took snacks, I will admit, I took way too many, but we did go through a smaller rubbermaid container of granola bars, rice krispie squares, gummies and gold fish crackers. Each day, we traveled to the respective parks with goodies in our bags, we bought Frozen Strawberry Bars each day (delicious and cold), but when the hunger struck, it was wonderful to have snacks on hand and not have to pay an insane amount of money for a bar or chips or junk! Water, I'm sure if $3 or $4 a bottle, but plan on buying a few each day. While there are water fountains to replenish your bottle, if you are traveling when the temperatures are in the 40s, that cool water is well worth the money, we found the water fountains while great to quench the thirst was warm and just not refreshing.
3) The meal plan was wonderful - but in our case was free as part of our package...we took full advantage of it and booked all of our table service meals as Character Meals. It was a wonderful way to meet the characters, get autographs and pics without having to stand in line to meet them (granted lines were so slow when we visited, we saw characters multiple times - but if not on a meal plan, they would be extremely pricey...each meal (breakfast lunch and dinner) ranged from $85 to $150 -I can tell you, in a million years, we would never spend $150 on a breakfast, but you are paying for the experience to meet the characters...while all of our meals were quite good, here are my two suggestions - 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian Hotel (first of all, an amazing resort) was the best character dinner and meal we had, dinner was with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Step Mother and Step Sisters. It was entertaining, fun, the food was delicious (we went for supper) and each of the "actors" spent time with each child, it was a great experience and certainly set our week off on a positive note. If princesses are not your main objective, my next favorite experience was Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary hotel, we went for Breakfast (Breakfast are the cheaper of the meals), it was a wonderful buffet of fruits, pastries, various breakfast foods, including Mickey Waffles and the Fab 5 of Characters were there (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto).
4) Now the nitty gritty - here are my key suggestions:
- As mentioned above - manage your expectations when it comes to spouses, kids, and other patrons - people are going to get grumpy
- Buy and take the most comfortable pair of sneakers you can find - insane amount of walking. I was shocked to see many weirdo's walking around in heals - seriously, it is a damn theme park, you really don't need to wear short leather shorts and 5 inch heals (true story and sighting)...fashion out the window, sneakers and comfy clothes go on!
- You will sweat in places you didn't think was possible. After the 2nd day, I learned to put antiperspirant on my entire body, I actually think this would be a time to purchase spray deodorant (surely that is still on the market) - take it with you to the parks, it is something you shouldn't leave home without.
- It rains - all the time (or so I was told and experienced) during the summer / fall months...could be just a freak shower, or could be off and on rains. Out of 8 days, we saw one day (not including night time) that is did not rain between the hours of 9-5, every other day, it rained, and the skies would open up - while some rain was lovely, others were so hard you couldn't see across the road - so, head to the Dollar Store and take rain ponchos for the entire family. They sell them at the parks and from the 1000s of people I saw wearing them, are making a fine penny off of them, sure they have the lovely theme park name on them, but spend your $15 on cold water, not a piece of plastic
- when you are at the Dollar store - pick up a spray bottle - they sell lovely spray bottles with fans on them for $18, again, weighs nothing in the suitcase, smaller in size then the giant ones they sell and you can fill the water spray bottle up at the fountains and have a lovely cool mist all day. Greta at times would ask for the bottle to spray herself.
- a Comfy backpack - that hubby can carry! Had to laugh, as there were not many women carrying a backpack! Take a change of clothes (especially if you fancy the water rides) and there are a few areas that have wonderful splash pads for the kids - Greta was soaked and no amount of heat was going to dry her off, a towel and spare clothes came in very handy!
- the Memory Maker - is a photo service, throughout the park, there are photographers who will take your picture and give you a card that you can buy photos, individually they are very pricey, but the package if bought in advance is $150 and will allow you to all be in pics...I hate my picture taken, but very thankful to have nicer photos, with everyone in them...I was encouraged to purchase this product and very happy I did!
- a stroller - other excellent advice I received - despite Greta being 4 years old and probably hasn't been in a stroller since she was 2, we convinced her it was a resting spot...best thing ever! I can't imagine little legs walking the parks, and didn't see many, I am sure our park visits would have been cut in half if she had to walk, or we would have ended up carrying her around. You can rent them at Disney, or there are stroller rental companies, but for younger kids, if you have a stroller that folds up, take it...the plane will sky check in and you will be very thankful to hear less complaining from your kids!
So, those are a few tips and thoughts...Our favorite parks, Magic Kingdom, followed by Animal Kingdom, make sure you get a USA phone / internet service package - great news, all the parks have WIFI !!! Can you imagine, couldn't even make this blog funny....we had a nice trip, exhausting, I could use a vacation to recoup, but alas, the bank account is drained, the credit cards are impaired and my 40 year old body may need a year or two to recoup. One good thing - my medical issues for the most part presented no issues...although my legged puffed up like a 9 month pregnant lady retaining 20 lbs of fluid - no fear, a few days of my leg elevated and a trip to the Dr when I go home to confirm I didn't have a blood clot (I know, I was on Google again...) happy to say, I will survive - it was yet another age thing...heat, walking, flights - legs puffed up. I did say, if I hear one more comment that starts off with "well, when you get past 40 ...." GRRR, who ever said 40 is the new 30 isn't living in my body and are delusional. Exhaustion is setting in, sorry for the boring post for those not traveling to Disney, but for those that are, hope this will prove helpful. My other public service announcement, I munched on the new Cinnamon Bun Chips that are part of the Lays vote for the new flavour while typing this blog and while they strangely do taste like Cinnamon Buns, I would rather eat a pastry and gain weight then eat the chips. Since I don't have Cinnamon Buns in the house, I must go grab a cookie!
Too tired to check for grammar and spelling, so for all those that pay attention to such things - suck it up, there will no doubt be errors and poor sentence structure! Main fact is, Disney truly is magical and I dare say, a four year old little girls dreams came true, which made the trip worth every single achy muscle, stress, worry and penny spent. Total different experience to go with a child, I enjoyed Florida as an adult previously, but to see the park and characters and rides through a child's eye changes the experience...so I encourage you, head there with friends, or family, or a spouse ....and when and if the time comes that kids are part of your lives, go again! My goal was to be there to see Greta's face before my illness made such a trip impossible, lovely to have been able to reach this goal and actually be able to enjoy the trip as well. Special thanks to our friends and family for your support (taking care of our furry kids, looking after our home and ensuring our vehicle was picked up and delivered back to the airport and to Mom for assisting with Greta's new found spending habit - that little gal can shop - can't imagine where she learned that skill from!)
Toodles
Someday my prince will come, but Daddy will always be King!
Daddy's Girl
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
Dear Younger self...
Well, I have hit a goal, while many may sigh and say I am a pessimist, I like to think I am a realist. When you are told you have one disease, you say - that royally sucks, but I'll survive, then disease number two arrives, and while life altering and scary, you think - I can learn to live with this despite crohns not having a cure, but when disease number three has a terminal aspect, as there is no cure and continuous deterioration is reality and most importantly your future relies, and depends, on someone else dying so his/her family can make a difficult decision and donate their liver so my life can be prolonged - you really don't see everything as warm and fuzzy. I am not a fool, I have great Dr's who try to sugar coat everything and then I have another Dr, namely a transplant Dr who held nothing back, I heard that they may have to remove my entire bowel, that they will continue to check for cancer in my bile ducts every month, and that while transplantation will prolong my life if I am able to get a new organ - it is not a cure, as the disease can return and donated livers do not last forever - now that I think about it - wow, was she ever bold! So, while many days I can pretend I don't have an illness and I put a smile on my face, each time I walk buy the medicine cabinet that houses two rubbermaid containers of medicine, or the bi-weekly medical appointments I have to attend, or perhaps the pain that radiates through my entire body - I sometimes break - I get upset, I get scared and I vent, as being sick during these rough times can consume me, not because I want to dwell on being sick, but because I very much understand the reality of what my future is and it scares me (is it appropriate at this point to say "to death"). So, until you walk in my shoes, and feel the pain, and realize the fear, or share in the annoyance, it really isn't the place to judge, yet so many do ... but that isn't my post...the goal I have hit - EEKS, I'm turning 40.
While I definitely think I have aged, and being sick made me miss a hair appointment last week, which means my hair is showing signs of grey, and there are cracks and limps my body never quite experienced before - I really can't believe my 40th is within single digits! I recall fondly my Mother turning 40 - okay, perhaps not fondly, I think it was the first day she took off in 20 years - and she cried the entire day (sorry Mom, you did!)... So, to mark the occasion, I present to you a blog I have been thinking about for some time - a Note from my 40 year old self to my younger self....
Dear Younger Self,
Welcome to the World, you were born on a Tuesday, the same day the French President died. Chatham, Ontario will be your home, but only for a short while, as your life of moving starts in two weeks...Ontario until you are six, then off to Nova Scotia, then New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, but don't sweat it, you won't "really move yourself" until you are 18 so you have an entire childhood to get through leaving friends, starting new schools, hating your parents for making you move - the adults will do the moving, you just have to suffer through it...so relax.
While you may end up fairly petite and skinny through school and in adult hood, you kind of look chubby during your first year, and good lord the cheeks and round face on you ... get use to it, the round face will be with you forever, not much you can do about it - well, you can, but plastic surgery has risks, think about it perhaps at 40!
Six -Twelve Year old Self, you will have a great childhood growing up in Truro, Nova Scotia and when you get older, you will realize some of the best friendships you had were from Salmon River Elementary School. How fun to play in the woods and make forts, to attend birthday parties, to have great pets and a big orange canopy bed. You won't believe what Santa will bring in 1986, a Cabbage Patch Doll, people will fight to get their hands on that ugly doll, literally kicking and steam rolling other humans, even more shocking, they will last for generations to come, keep things in good shape, it may be worth something some day! Sadly future generations will want to go grow so fast, so enjoy your Barbies and Dolls, as the Grade 6 kid in 2014 will be closer to what you were like at 16. You will live in a safe environment, where families don't lock the doors, perhaps some don't even have a key if the door was locked, the cars are huge, you could have a party for 12 in these boats, believe me, the cars of the future get smaller and more compact, and you won't believe this, but the party line phones will truly change, one day, you will drive and there will be a speaker in the vehicle - imagine, a phone ... in your car. Not only that, you will be able to press a button from inside a house and the car will start, I'm not joking, you just wait and see. As the sun goes down each night, parents scream from the front step to come in, their voices will be heard for blocks, you will walk home, through the yards until you find your way to your house, you don't know what danger is, you don't know terms like kidnapping, pedophiles, sure you know what a stranger is, but in the future, your kids won't be so lucky and free. Now lets talk about hair, were you not brave enough to stand up to your mother when she "tried" to cut you hair, seriously, zig zag bangs and a bowl cut just isn't cool. Never, ever cut someones hair with a bowl, dull scissors and for goodness sake, the person who said, just twist the bangs and cut did not know what they were talking about. But you will survive the hair cuts, and be thankful you have thick hair, you will appreciate having a little extra when you are older. And perhaps, don't be such a sassy brat, someday, you may realize how much your mother really does know and will appreciate that knowledge - but you still have a few more years before you figure that out, okay, so you may not really figure this out until you are 20, but it will happen. And the braces, my goodness, those teeth need some work, not only will you be blessed with the pain of one set of braces, but because you didn't wear your retainer, you will need a second set at 16, you will officially have a smile that cost $10,000 before you are done, and the darn teeth will still be a tad off as you get older...but what an improvement. So smile will yah!
13 year old self, what a rough year, not only did you move at Christmas time, in the middle of a school year, but you are going to start a new school, a bilingual school...in Grade 7. While you think your life is over, you will survive and things will work out. You will stay in touch with something we in 2014 will call snail mail, it will be so exciting to see the mail arrive with a letter from your friend, while you may think that Texas Instrument "thing is cool" and wow, impressive, your Mom has one of the first Apple Computers, wait to you see what 2007 will bring - a thing called Facebook where you will reconnect with so many you left behind. You will have a computer than can sit on your lap, even more crazy, you will have screens you can touch and find out up to the minute news around the world. Of course, that doesn't matter - because you moved in the middle of Grade 7 -and you think your life just sucks. You will quickly realize, French Class in Truro, NS has allowed you to successfully ask to go to the bathroom, you are not quite ready for verbs and full conversations with your Moncton classmates. And the teacher will tell the class - do not rock your chair on two legs, or it will tip - you really should listen to this advice - but since you won't, don't worry you will get over the embarrassment by the end of the school year, but falling back in your chair will feel like your life will be over for quite a few months! This is almost as embarrassing as the fact that you are in a school that is Grades 1-9 and despite being in Grade 7, you are small and the Grade 3 student you see wearing the same outfit as you - will be devastating, this too shall pass and when you get older, you will greatly appreciate your size and figure.
Wow, 15 year old self, you are getting a bit more confidence and you are a cheerleader, and a pretty good one at that. You can get to the top of that pyramid fairly quick and you can certainly belt out a cheer and do a mean kick. And wow, a boy likes you...of course, you will "date" for months before you will hold hands, and you will look like 10 year olds at the Junior Prom, but this boy will be with you for many years, through high school and off to University and the best news, 25 years later, he will be married with two lovely kids, and you will be married with one little girl and you will be the best of friends and each time you get together, you will understand what a true friendship is all about and be so grateful that he came in to your life. And you get your first job, Tim Horton Donuts - while you may not realize this now, that first job taught you more than any other job will - dedication, being kind, money management, customer service, and perhaps, what you don't want to do for the rest of your life - but it was a great first job and having it on your resume will prove to be helpful.
At 16, you lost an amazing Nana, you will hate the word cancer, and you will realize and witness the extent of what losing the matriarch of a family is like. What a devastating loss of someone so young and kind, and thoughtful and wise. From this day forward, you will look at your own mother differently and will try not to take those around you for granted, life can be cruel and this is your first real eye opener. And you will forever believe in ghosts and spirits, as you will be awoken the night of your grandmothers death to the touch of her stroking your hair, and you will keep the secret of this happening until you write a blog to celebrate your 40th.
You survive high school, you make the high school cheer leading squad and attend amazing dance clinics and perform at high profile events, but you sadly lose some great friends this year too, you all don't make the team and it is devastating and worse, you realize for the first time in your life, what it is like to have a friend stab you in the back, sadly, you will experience this again and again, but you are tough and will adopt an interesting attitude, one that holds grudges and keeps things bottled in, and while many will say life is too short to hold a grudge, you adopt a philosophy that life is too short to have people in your life that will hurt you, disrespect you...you get the drift. This isn't a bad thing, just a different view. High School certainly has its ups and downs, but guess what, it will soon be over...all the petty things that happen in the school system are left behind and while you got to travel to England and France, have some great friends, you will move on and not look back. Oh, and don't worry about your hatred for chemistry, you will never, ever have to take another class again, and that suits you just fine.
Now, can we discuss your clothing style 17-18 year old self, green eyeshadow to match your green outfit from Cotton Ginny, with matching socks and necklace really isn't that cool, you will eventually have people asking where you buy your clothes and become quite fashionable, but if I ever see you wearing green pants with green socks, with a pink top and a matching scarf / necklace combo, I am going to have to beat you - of course, those jumpsuits and jeans that you had to roll up to make them small near the ankles will come back in style - who would have thought....but try not to follow the trends, jumpsuits left for a reason, remember that when you see them in the stores in 2014 and think, should I try it on - NO YOU SHOULDN'T.
In 1992, it is fairly cheap to apply to Universities, and in some cases, there are no fees, so you apply to tons and tons of universities, and low and behold, you get in to all - Queens, Acadia, UNB, and because it was free to apply, heck, boost your ego a bit and apply for a little school called UPEI. While Acadia is looking good and you have been accepted in to their 3 year Bachelor Program and think you want to become a teacher - you come to visit UPEI and realize there are bathrooms between every 2 rooms - now, at Acadia, you will be sharing a bathroom with half a floor of girls - you don't like to share - so, the bathroom wins out and you accept UPEI's offer... While you may have been a goodie two shoes in High School - you will be spending a lot of time on that bathroom floor in the UPEI dorms, and what a fun time you will have. You learn to drink - it takes a lot of practice, but you will graduate from Kiwi Coolers to a Quart of Vodka by the end of your first year. You will skip your first class, and your second, third...oh hell, you will skip a lot of classes...while you are darn lucky and you are smart enough to study when you have to, you didn't gain the freshman 25, but your marks certainly dropped by a good 25 marks. But you make it through. You will have your heart broken, and healed again, you will make amazing friends and dance on tables, ring in your 19th year without getting sick, learn how to play a mean game of Asshole and wow, is your liver taking a pounding. University will be an amazing time in your life and while you will flip flop numerous times on what you "want to do when you grow up", you really question your choice of teaching, when you head out to do your practice teaching ... you really won't like kids ... probably should have volunteered more with kids before considering the teaching profession...but don't worry, at the end of the day, it really won't matter what school you received your education from, or what your final marks were, you will have a very successful career ahead and your education will get you in the door, but you are smart in many other ways, you have common sense, you have confidence and you are a nice person - and sometimes, that really does help. You will get far because you are are a hard worker and willing to learn and you will quickly realize, while you are very proud of your years of university, some of the smartest people you will meet never stepped foot in University class, and some of the career University students, lack common sense and personality. Never underestimate the power of common sense and being genuine at an interview!
It is interesting, but 18 year old self, 24 year old self, 27 year old self, 28 year old self, you will be blessed with some amazing relationships and well, some poor ones as well, but you have to live them all, it is just part of the journey, thankfully you will remain friends with almost all of your beau's, but try to avoid the urge to run some of them over, you will learn that landing in jail because of some boy is just not worth it... you lost a little dignity along the journey, and you allowed some mind games and negative energy to enter your life, but no worries, you will be treated with respect and kindness in the end.
Despite not thinking of marriage, you will get married, you will piss off a heck of a lot of people in the process, because you two will chose to elope, but stand tall and proud, you want to do it your way, and you really don't like people well enough to pay $30 a head / per meal... no regrets!
32 year old self, you are leaving a career you love to take a chance at a new job, and you hate it for quite some time, you think you made a mistake, but stick with it, you will succeed and you will work hard and get noticed and move up to where your talents and abilities can shine, you will be happy not to move up further - take your time, a wise person will tell you, don't move up the ladder too quick, as you may be stuck there for 20 years, enjoy the process, and stop when you feel you are not settling, yet can still move up if you wanted to compete. While a new career may be here, you are going to feel unwell, and your health journey will begin, you will be 36-38 before everything truly makes sense in the world of medical mysteries and you are indeed that. Your body will be scanned, poked, invaded, blood will be drained from you veins and your fear of needles will have to take a back seat as Dr's PRACTICING medicine will try to find some answers. It will take a while, and patience is not one of your strong points.
35 - almost 36 year old self - the shock of your life is about to happen, you are pregnant. Now, stop crying, okay, keep crying, but try not to have daily panic attacks, you will be in denial until two days before your beautiful baby girl is born. While you may suffer through 9 months of pre-partum depression, you will survive and you are one heck of a great Mom. 36 year old self, having a baby at 36+ is tough, but you do it! How lucky are you to experience something you never dreamt possible, you had wonderful pets, but wow, you are a mother - to a human - that you created and nurtured. And oh my, she is so smart and beautiful and kind and sweet. Perhaps this was your purpose, you were to be someone's Mom.
You will have a good career, but as you will note, this letter doesn't really address this much, as you will realize at 37, it is not the priority. While your career was number one for so long, your little girl and your health will bump your work down the list, you are fortunate though, you make a good living and it has allowed you to have a lovely home, take trips, provide for your little one but you need to start taking care of you, or all those things won't be yours to enjoy.
And look at you, 38 year old self, you are quite unlucky, but really, you always were, I think it was the mirrors you broke over the years you should have been more careful, your health has been a struggle and you hate being in the hospital, but the Dr's are doing their best to get to the bottom of your ailments. If Auto Immune Hepatitis and Crohns disease wasn't enough, you wanted to hit number 3 and you have a serious liver disease, you need a transplant. You need friends, but many will walk out of your life ... remember that little thing called computers, well, that is how you will stay in tough, and even that won't be to chat, you will just in passing figure out what is happening in their lives and they in yours, but you can't worry about that. You are sick and are focussing on staying away from germs, figuring out the enormous burden medications can bring, you need friends to come to you, and if they don't, that is okay.
39 year old self you will worry, ALOT, and despite people saying you shouldn't, being sick is scary, having a 3 year old and being sick is terrifying. Until someone has to have monthly blood work to see if cancer may have struck, or have to sit in a chair for 4 hours to allow an IV infusion to flow through their veins, of have to heat a magic bag constantly in an effort to relieve pain, they won't truly understand what it is like to be you. They won't understand what fear of leaving a 3 year old little girl is, or feel the emotion of what it is like to truly be terrified of what the next day will bring, or truly understand the true scope of your frustration with Dr's. You will take upwards of 1000 pills a year, and $32,000 of medicine will run through your body. But do you know what, you don't care....no one has to understand, no one has to offer support, no one has to provide a kind word, because the people that really matter - already have you figured out - you worry, you give, you show kindness, you care, you can be a bitch, you can be a really really big bitch, you are still here and you are 40.
So younger self, you will do pretty good, sure you will have bones that crack, and grey hair poking through, and have your fair share of medical shit, and lord, that shopping habit you have will rack up some impressive bills, but you have survived and have had a pretty darn good life. You have been given opportunities to travel, to learn, to help others, to be a wife and mother and friend and you know what, you look pretty damn good for 40. Happy Birthday 40 year old self, you reached your goal, everything from here on out is gravy ... ummm Gravy - on that delicious yummy poutine you are craving right now - and thanks to your great metobolism, you can still eat that and not gain an ounce. YAHOO!
Toodles
(I will edit later, too tired to fix grammar and spelling tonight - heck, my grammar is never good - I pretty much scraped by in University English - see above - I drank and skipped class!)
While I definitely think I have aged, and being sick made me miss a hair appointment last week, which means my hair is showing signs of grey, and there are cracks and limps my body never quite experienced before - I really can't believe my 40th is within single digits! I recall fondly my Mother turning 40 - okay, perhaps not fondly, I think it was the first day she took off in 20 years - and she cried the entire day (sorry Mom, you did!)... So, to mark the occasion, I present to you a blog I have been thinking about for some time - a Note from my 40 year old self to my younger self....
Dear Younger Self,
Welcome to the World, you were born on a Tuesday, the same day the French President died. Chatham, Ontario will be your home, but only for a short while, as your life of moving starts in two weeks...Ontario until you are six, then off to Nova Scotia, then New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, but don't sweat it, you won't "really move yourself" until you are 18 so you have an entire childhood to get through leaving friends, starting new schools, hating your parents for making you move - the adults will do the moving, you just have to suffer through it...so relax.
While you may end up fairly petite and skinny through school and in adult hood, you kind of look chubby during your first year, and good lord the cheeks and round face on you ... get use to it, the round face will be with you forever, not much you can do about it - well, you can, but plastic surgery has risks, think about it perhaps at 40!
Six -Twelve Year old Self, you will have a great childhood growing up in Truro, Nova Scotia and when you get older, you will realize some of the best friendships you had were from Salmon River Elementary School. How fun to play in the woods and make forts, to attend birthday parties, to have great pets and a big orange canopy bed. You won't believe what Santa will bring in 1986, a Cabbage Patch Doll, people will fight to get their hands on that ugly doll, literally kicking and steam rolling other humans, even more shocking, they will last for generations to come, keep things in good shape, it may be worth something some day! Sadly future generations will want to go grow so fast, so enjoy your Barbies and Dolls, as the Grade 6 kid in 2014 will be closer to what you were like at 16. You will live in a safe environment, where families don't lock the doors, perhaps some don't even have a key if the door was locked, the cars are huge, you could have a party for 12 in these boats, believe me, the cars of the future get smaller and more compact, and you won't believe this, but the party line phones will truly change, one day, you will drive and there will be a speaker in the vehicle - imagine, a phone ... in your car. Not only that, you will be able to press a button from inside a house and the car will start, I'm not joking, you just wait and see. As the sun goes down each night, parents scream from the front step to come in, their voices will be heard for blocks, you will walk home, through the yards until you find your way to your house, you don't know what danger is, you don't know terms like kidnapping, pedophiles, sure you know what a stranger is, but in the future, your kids won't be so lucky and free. Now lets talk about hair, were you not brave enough to stand up to your mother when she "tried" to cut you hair, seriously, zig zag bangs and a bowl cut just isn't cool. Never, ever cut someones hair with a bowl, dull scissors and for goodness sake, the person who said, just twist the bangs and cut did not know what they were talking about. But you will survive the hair cuts, and be thankful you have thick hair, you will appreciate having a little extra when you are older. And perhaps, don't be such a sassy brat, someday, you may realize how much your mother really does know and will appreciate that knowledge - but you still have a few more years before you figure that out, okay, so you may not really figure this out until you are 20, but it will happen. And the braces, my goodness, those teeth need some work, not only will you be blessed with the pain of one set of braces, but because you didn't wear your retainer, you will need a second set at 16, you will officially have a smile that cost $10,000 before you are done, and the darn teeth will still be a tad off as you get older...but what an improvement. So smile will yah!
13 year old self, what a rough year, not only did you move at Christmas time, in the middle of a school year, but you are going to start a new school, a bilingual school...in Grade 7. While you think your life is over, you will survive and things will work out. You will stay in touch with something we in 2014 will call snail mail, it will be so exciting to see the mail arrive with a letter from your friend, while you may think that Texas Instrument "thing is cool" and wow, impressive, your Mom has one of the first Apple Computers, wait to you see what 2007 will bring - a thing called Facebook where you will reconnect with so many you left behind. You will have a computer than can sit on your lap, even more crazy, you will have screens you can touch and find out up to the minute news around the world. Of course, that doesn't matter - because you moved in the middle of Grade 7 -and you think your life just sucks. You will quickly realize, French Class in Truro, NS has allowed you to successfully ask to go to the bathroom, you are not quite ready for verbs and full conversations with your Moncton classmates. And the teacher will tell the class - do not rock your chair on two legs, or it will tip - you really should listen to this advice - but since you won't, don't worry you will get over the embarrassment by the end of the school year, but falling back in your chair will feel like your life will be over for quite a few months! This is almost as embarrassing as the fact that you are in a school that is Grades 1-9 and despite being in Grade 7, you are small and the Grade 3 student you see wearing the same outfit as you - will be devastating, this too shall pass and when you get older, you will greatly appreciate your size and figure.
Wow, 15 year old self, you are getting a bit more confidence and you are a cheerleader, and a pretty good one at that. You can get to the top of that pyramid fairly quick and you can certainly belt out a cheer and do a mean kick. And wow, a boy likes you...of course, you will "date" for months before you will hold hands, and you will look like 10 year olds at the Junior Prom, but this boy will be with you for many years, through high school and off to University and the best news, 25 years later, he will be married with two lovely kids, and you will be married with one little girl and you will be the best of friends and each time you get together, you will understand what a true friendship is all about and be so grateful that he came in to your life. And you get your first job, Tim Horton Donuts - while you may not realize this now, that first job taught you more than any other job will - dedication, being kind, money management, customer service, and perhaps, what you don't want to do for the rest of your life - but it was a great first job and having it on your resume will prove to be helpful.
At 16, you lost an amazing Nana, you will hate the word cancer, and you will realize and witness the extent of what losing the matriarch of a family is like. What a devastating loss of someone so young and kind, and thoughtful and wise. From this day forward, you will look at your own mother differently and will try not to take those around you for granted, life can be cruel and this is your first real eye opener. And you will forever believe in ghosts and spirits, as you will be awoken the night of your grandmothers death to the touch of her stroking your hair, and you will keep the secret of this happening until you write a blog to celebrate your 40th.
You survive high school, you make the high school cheer leading squad and attend amazing dance clinics and perform at high profile events, but you sadly lose some great friends this year too, you all don't make the team and it is devastating and worse, you realize for the first time in your life, what it is like to have a friend stab you in the back, sadly, you will experience this again and again, but you are tough and will adopt an interesting attitude, one that holds grudges and keeps things bottled in, and while many will say life is too short to hold a grudge, you adopt a philosophy that life is too short to have people in your life that will hurt you, disrespect you...you get the drift. This isn't a bad thing, just a different view. High School certainly has its ups and downs, but guess what, it will soon be over...all the petty things that happen in the school system are left behind and while you got to travel to England and France, have some great friends, you will move on and not look back. Oh, and don't worry about your hatred for chemistry, you will never, ever have to take another class again, and that suits you just fine.
Now, can we discuss your clothing style 17-18 year old self, green eyeshadow to match your green outfit from Cotton Ginny, with matching socks and necklace really isn't that cool, you will eventually have people asking where you buy your clothes and become quite fashionable, but if I ever see you wearing green pants with green socks, with a pink top and a matching scarf / necklace combo, I am going to have to beat you - of course, those jumpsuits and jeans that you had to roll up to make them small near the ankles will come back in style - who would have thought....but try not to follow the trends, jumpsuits left for a reason, remember that when you see them in the stores in 2014 and think, should I try it on - NO YOU SHOULDN'T.
In 1992, it is fairly cheap to apply to Universities, and in some cases, there are no fees, so you apply to tons and tons of universities, and low and behold, you get in to all - Queens, Acadia, UNB, and because it was free to apply, heck, boost your ego a bit and apply for a little school called UPEI. While Acadia is looking good and you have been accepted in to their 3 year Bachelor Program and think you want to become a teacher - you come to visit UPEI and realize there are bathrooms between every 2 rooms - now, at Acadia, you will be sharing a bathroom with half a floor of girls - you don't like to share - so, the bathroom wins out and you accept UPEI's offer... While you may have been a goodie two shoes in High School - you will be spending a lot of time on that bathroom floor in the UPEI dorms, and what a fun time you will have. You learn to drink - it takes a lot of practice, but you will graduate from Kiwi Coolers to a Quart of Vodka by the end of your first year. You will skip your first class, and your second, third...oh hell, you will skip a lot of classes...while you are darn lucky and you are smart enough to study when you have to, you didn't gain the freshman 25, but your marks certainly dropped by a good 25 marks. But you make it through. You will have your heart broken, and healed again, you will make amazing friends and dance on tables, ring in your 19th year without getting sick, learn how to play a mean game of Asshole and wow, is your liver taking a pounding. University will be an amazing time in your life and while you will flip flop numerous times on what you "want to do when you grow up", you really question your choice of teaching, when you head out to do your practice teaching ... you really won't like kids ... probably should have volunteered more with kids before considering the teaching profession...but don't worry, at the end of the day, it really won't matter what school you received your education from, or what your final marks were, you will have a very successful career ahead and your education will get you in the door, but you are smart in many other ways, you have common sense, you have confidence and you are a nice person - and sometimes, that really does help. You will get far because you are are a hard worker and willing to learn and you will quickly realize, while you are very proud of your years of university, some of the smartest people you will meet never stepped foot in University class, and some of the career University students, lack common sense and personality. Never underestimate the power of common sense and being genuine at an interview!
It is interesting, but 18 year old self, 24 year old self, 27 year old self, 28 year old self, you will be blessed with some amazing relationships and well, some poor ones as well, but you have to live them all, it is just part of the journey, thankfully you will remain friends with almost all of your beau's, but try to avoid the urge to run some of them over, you will learn that landing in jail because of some boy is just not worth it... you lost a little dignity along the journey, and you allowed some mind games and negative energy to enter your life, but no worries, you will be treated with respect and kindness in the end.
Despite not thinking of marriage, you will get married, you will piss off a heck of a lot of people in the process, because you two will chose to elope, but stand tall and proud, you want to do it your way, and you really don't like people well enough to pay $30 a head / per meal... no regrets!
32 year old self, you are leaving a career you love to take a chance at a new job, and you hate it for quite some time, you think you made a mistake, but stick with it, you will succeed and you will work hard and get noticed and move up to where your talents and abilities can shine, you will be happy not to move up further - take your time, a wise person will tell you, don't move up the ladder too quick, as you may be stuck there for 20 years, enjoy the process, and stop when you feel you are not settling, yet can still move up if you wanted to compete. While a new career may be here, you are going to feel unwell, and your health journey will begin, you will be 36-38 before everything truly makes sense in the world of medical mysteries and you are indeed that. Your body will be scanned, poked, invaded, blood will be drained from you veins and your fear of needles will have to take a back seat as Dr's PRACTICING medicine will try to find some answers. It will take a while, and patience is not one of your strong points.
35 - almost 36 year old self - the shock of your life is about to happen, you are pregnant. Now, stop crying, okay, keep crying, but try not to have daily panic attacks, you will be in denial until two days before your beautiful baby girl is born. While you may suffer through 9 months of pre-partum depression, you will survive and you are one heck of a great Mom. 36 year old self, having a baby at 36+ is tough, but you do it! How lucky are you to experience something you never dreamt possible, you had wonderful pets, but wow, you are a mother - to a human - that you created and nurtured. And oh my, she is so smart and beautiful and kind and sweet. Perhaps this was your purpose, you were to be someone's Mom.
You will have a good career, but as you will note, this letter doesn't really address this much, as you will realize at 37, it is not the priority. While your career was number one for so long, your little girl and your health will bump your work down the list, you are fortunate though, you make a good living and it has allowed you to have a lovely home, take trips, provide for your little one but you need to start taking care of you, or all those things won't be yours to enjoy.
And look at you, 38 year old self, you are quite unlucky, but really, you always were, I think it was the mirrors you broke over the years you should have been more careful, your health has been a struggle and you hate being in the hospital, but the Dr's are doing their best to get to the bottom of your ailments. If Auto Immune Hepatitis and Crohns disease wasn't enough, you wanted to hit number 3 and you have a serious liver disease, you need a transplant. You need friends, but many will walk out of your life ... remember that little thing called computers, well, that is how you will stay in tough, and even that won't be to chat, you will just in passing figure out what is happening in their lives and they in yours, but you can't worry about that. You are sick and are focussing on staying away from germs, figuring out the enormous burden medications can bring, you need friends to come to you, and if they don't, that is okay.
39 year old self you will worry, ALOT, and despite people saying you shouldn't, being sick is scary, having a 3 year old and being sick is terrifying. Until someone has to have monthly blood work to see if cancer may have struck, or have to sit in a chair for 4 hours to allow an IV infusion to flow through their veins, of have to heat a magic bag constantly in an effort to relieve pain, they won't truly understand what it is like to be you. They won't understand what fear of leaving a 3 year old little girl is, or feel the emotion of what it is like to truly be terrified of what the next day will bring, or truly understand the true scope of your frustration with Dr's. You will take upwards of 1000 pills a year, and $32,000 of medicine will run through your body. But do you know what, you don't care....no one has to understand, no one has to offer support, no one has to provide a kind word, because the people that really matter - already have you figured out - you worry, you give, you show kindness, you care, you can be a bitch, you can be a really really big bitch, you are still here and you are 40.
So younger self, you will do pretty good, sure you will have bones that crack, and grey hair poking through, and have your fair share of medical shit, and lord, that shopping habit you have will rack up some impressive bills, but you have survived and have had a pretty darn good life. You have been given opportunities to travel, to learn, to help others, to be a wife and mother and friend and you know what, you look pretty damn good for 40. Happy Birthday 40 year old self, you reached your goal, everything from here on out is gravy ... ummm Gravy - on that delicious yummy poutine you are craving right now - and thanks to your great metobolism, you can still eat that and not gain an ounce. YAHOO!
Toodles
(I will edit later, too tired to fix grammar and spelling tonight - heck, my grammar is never good - I pretty much scraped by in University English - see above - I drank and skipped class!)
Thursday, February 27, 2014
5 pounds of snot and counting...
Greetings Blog Followers. It has been a month since my last confession - I mean post, and not much has changed... The snot continues to flow, the voice still sounds like a man, I have annoyed just about everyone on the 3rd and 4th floors of my work building with a dreadful hacking cough and now I type...frustrated and annoyed that month two of being sick is coming to an end and I'm afraid I'll enter a 3rd month still sick.
Not to say I haven't tried every trick in the book, I have pretty much bathed in Vicks Vapo Rub, feet, back, chest, neck, nose...cut up onions (are you imagining the aroma of Vicks and Onion together - it is awesome) ... cool mist humidifier, cough drops, had to break some rules and take over the counter meds, jugs of orange juice, 4 batches of chicken soup, NOTHING WORKED. After 11 Doctors appts (yes, you read correct) I was given a puffer, antibiotics and then finally, 50+ days in to the battle, finally a cough suppressant. While it has improved a tad, and the cough medicine has allowed me to rest and save my poor ribs, to the regular joe, I sound like I'm on my death bed. I can tell you one thing - who needs a gym membership when you can cough for 2 months and blow your nose every minute - surely I have lost at least 5 lbs of snot...and you should see my abs. AMAZING! Perhaps not a 6 pack, but 4 pack for sure!
Poor Greta was the little germ monster who started all of this, and she has fought her own battle, home a few days, back to daycare, then home again, few more days at daycare and what do you know...home again. She still loves it. She has made so many sweet little friends and is excited each morning and night, so very pleased, but oh my the sickness...I have learned however (thanks to a friend) that unless they are barfing - it is off to school...ha. Granted, I will also keep her home if her fever is that crazy that she can't move...but I think we kept her home when she certainly could have gone.
Due to my health, I sadly haven't really had many adventures, for a few weeks my only outings included the Dr's office or a pharmacy - granted, the Dr's and Pharmacist are like family / friends, so in a sense, at least I was seeing friends! Not many have come near (can't blame them for the germs) - UMMM, come to think of it, only 2 friends in 2 months have come to my house....The sad thing, even when I am not sick, I see the Dr and Pharmacist much more often than I see "friends". I won't do another blog on friends, but I did read a great quote today "As we grow up, we realize it is less important to have lots of friends and more important to have real ones". I pray Greta has good friends in her life. I have had so many acquaintances, and a lot of people I thought were friends, but sadly, you do learn who and what matters over time. I strangely, and often wonder, who will come to my funeral...will people who say they are a friend who haven't seen me in years despite living a few minutes away come through the doors ... I think I may do a funeral by invite...that way I won't have to come back and haunt all those who came to see me in a coffin, but didn't bother to make an effort while I was walking and breathing...I think I would make a good ghost, I may actually have a lot fun ... turning lights on and off, running water in the bathtub, opening closets and turning on appliances. Watch out folks...I may not be convinced there is a heaven, but I definitely believe in ghosts!
I do miss shopping...being sick and going out in public places is just not good this time of year, couple that with the insane bills we have coming in, it has certainly hurt my shopping ability...let me explain.
The scene - I was on my death bed (for the 100th time), fever of 102.9, trying to sleep in amongst coughing up a lung and gasping for breath in between coughs...I needed fresh air, so I asked Darren if he would open the window...he said no, I said "Do IT"...he was ticked, I was more so, I won, the window was open. Fresh air helped and I was able to get some sleep.
The Morning arrived with Greta screaming, "DADDY"...Despite having a bed, Greta rarely will get out of bed on her own and walk through the house, while I do love this aspect of her morning ritual as I hate the idea of her just roaming through the house and us not hearing her, it is rather annoying to hear such a scream at 5:30am. Darren went off to get Greta and brings her to bed. Around 6am, when the alarm clocks are going off announcing it is time to get up and get ready for work, Darren yells, the pipe is frozen. I heard this, but just couldn't figure it out...yes, the window was open, but we had heat...well, I thought we had. When the lights go on, sure enough, water flying in all directions coming from the baseboard heater...water quickly flowing on my lovely hardwood floors that I paid a small fortune for (I picked the floor before I asked the price, but then nothing compared - of course not, because it was the most expensive)...okay, back to the story - we are quickly grabbing towels, and I yell to Darren to shut off the water (okay, perhaps not that calmly and definitely not those words), of course, his response - I don't know how...holy hell (okay, getting closer to the words I used)...Alas, the water is turned off, and I just can't understand how we ended up with a frozen pipe from a window being open for a few hours - and then it is discovered...Mr Cheapo turned the damn heat off in the room, because why waste money ... Oh my nerves...sick, was actually getting up early to go to the ER in hopes of some relief and oxygen, but now, I am cleaning up water and screaming with a squeaky voice. Then, what does someone smart do, oh yes, he jumps in the shower, right beside the room with the broken pipe and the water starts again, sadly, as I'm now getting Greta for her day on the opposite end of the house, I do not realize the new flood of water for 10 minutes, and another leak. Burning hot water, coming out of two cracks in the pipe... So, yet another call to the plumbers...who of course, only get a call from our house before hours or on the weekends. While it would be great to think the story ends there, that would involve someone having a little luck - and since it is me, well, enjoy the next part. The plumber arrives, has to drain all the pipes in the house, I am working from home, so I disappear to review my daily emails and Darren informs him where the leak was (THE - meaning one)...he didn't chose to let him know that I saw a second leak further down on the pipe...Darren leaves to take Greta to school and I am busy working, but a little sound is disturbing, it sounds like a river ... in my house ... I put the lap top down and enter the room, actually the hall, as that is where the water greets me. I try to scream to the plumber who is in the basement, but I can barely squeak, I'm now smashing the door, trying to keep the dog out of hot water...and finally, I get his attention and scream flood. Would have been so wonderful if Darren showed him the second leak - or perhaps believed me when I said there was a second leak...oh well...every towel and blanket we own helped soak up the water, 2nd plumber called in and now we just wait for the bill...they left around 10:30 - should be a great one. Oh yes, Darren survived - I am not quite sure how, I can't really say we have spoken much since that time, but he is alive!
So, that concludes all I can think to share of life in our house the past month. I have been eating a lot of french fries .... and chips, but the weight keeps coming off - while not usually something to complain about, I have been too sick to buy new clothes, so it is getting a tad annoying. Dare say my next specialist appt, coming up in 10 days will include, "I want a full body scan, an MRI and a full blood screen - AGAIN". Find the culprit and fix it.
Toodles.
Not to say I haven't tried every trick in the book, I have pretty much bathed in Vicks Vapo Rub, feet, back, chest, neck, nose...cut up onions (are you imagining the aroma of Vicks and Onion together - it is awesome) ... cool mist humidifier, cough drops, had to break some rules and take over the counter meds, jugs of orange juice, 4 batches of chicken soup, NOTHING WORKED. After 11 Doctors appts (yes, you read correct) I was given a puffer, antibiotics and then finally, 50+ days in to the battle, finally a cough suppressant. While it has improved a tad, and the cough medicine has allowed me to rest and save my poor ribs, to the regular joe, I sound like I'm on my death bed. I can tell you one thing - who needs a gym membership when you can cough for 2 months and blow your nose every minute - surely I have lost at least 5 lbs of snot...and you should see my abs. AMAZING! Perhaps not a 6 pack, but 4 pack for sure!
Poor Greta was the little germ monster who started all of this, and she has fought her own battle, home a few days, back to daycare, then home again, few more days at daycare and what do you know...home again. She still loves it. She has made so many sweet little friends and is excited each morning and night, so very pleased, but oh my the sickness...I have learned however (thanks to a friend) that unless they are barfing - it is off to school...ha. Granted, I will also keep her home if her fever is that crazy that she can't move...but I think we kept her home when she certainly could have gone.
Due to my health, I sadly haven't really had many adventures, for a few weeks my only outings included the Dr's office or a pharmacy - granted, the Dr's and Pharmacist are like family / friends, so in a sense, at least I was seeing friends! Not many have come near (can't blame them for the germs) - UMMM, come to think of it, only 2 friends in 2 months have come to my house....The sad thing, even when I am not sick, I see the Dr and Pharmacist much more often than I see "friends". I won't do another blog on friends, but I did read a great quote today "As we grow up, we realize it is less important to have lots of friends and more important to have real ones". I pray Greta has good friends in her life. I have had so many acquaintances, and a lot of people I thought were friends, but sadly, you do learn who and what matters over time. I strangely, and often wonder, who will come to my funeral...will people who say they are a friend who haven't seen me in years despite living a few minutes away come through the doors ... I think I may do a funeral by invite...that way I won't have to come back and haunt all those who came to see me in a coffin, but didn't bother to make an effort while I was walking and breathing...I think I would make a good ghost, I may actually have a lot fun ... turning lights on and off, running water in the bathtub, opening closets and turning on appliances. Watch out folks...I may not be convinced there is a heaven, but I definitely believe in ghosts!
I do miss shopping...being sick and going out in public places is just not good this time of year, couple that with the insane bills we have coming in, it has certainly hurt my shopping ability...let me explain.
The scene - I was on my death bed (for the 100th time), fever of 102.9, trying to sleep in amongst coughing up a lung and gasping for breath in between coughs...I needed fresh air, so I asked Darren if he would open the window...he said no, I said "Do IT"...he was ticked, I was more so, I won, the window was open. Fresh air helped and I was able to get some sleep.
The Morning arrived with Greta screaming, "DADDY"...Despite having a bed, Greta rarely will get out of bed on her own and walk through the house, while I do love this aspect of her morning ritual as I hate the idea of her just roaming through the house and us not hearing her, it is rather annoying to hear such a scream at 5:30am. Darren went off to get Greta and brings her to bed. Around 6am, when the alarm clocks are going off announcing it is time to get up and get ready for work, Darren yells, the pipe is frozen. I heard this, but just couldn't figure it out...yes, the window was open, but we had heat...well, I thought we had. When the lights go on, sure enough, water flying in all directions coming from the baseboard heater...water quickly flowing on my lovely hardwood floors that I paid a small fortune for (I picked the floor before I asked the price, but then nothing compared - of course not, because it was the most expensive)...okay, back to the story - we are quickly grabbing towels, and I yell to Darren to shut off the water (okay, perhaps not that calmly and definitely not those words), of course, his response - I don't know how...holy hell (okay, getting closer to the words I used)...Alas, the water is turned off, and I just can't understand how we ended up with a frozen pipe from a window being open for a few hours - and then it is discovered...Mr Cheapo turned the damn heat off in the room, because why waste money ... Oh my nerves...sick, was actually getting up early to go to the ER in hopes of some relief and oxygen, but now, I am cleaning up water and screaming with a squeaky voice. Then, what does someone smart do, oh yes, he jumps in the shower, right beside the room with the broken pipe and the water starts again, sadly, as I'm now getting Greta for her day on the opposite end of the house, I do not realize the new flood of water for 10 minutes, and another leak. Burning hot water, coming out of two cracks in the pipe... So, yet another call to the plumbers...who of course, only get a call from our house before hours or on the weekends. While it would be great to think the story ends there, that would involve someone having a little luck - and since it is me, well, enjoy the next part. The plumber arrives, has to drain all the pipes in the house, I am working from home, so I disappear to review my daily emails and Darren informs him where the leak was (THE - meaning one)...he didn't chose to let him know that I saw a second leak further down on the pipe...Darren leaves to take Greta to school and I am busy working, but a little sound is disturbing, it sounds like a river ... in my house ... I put the lap top down and enter the room, actually the hall, as that is where the water greets me. I try to scream to the plumber who is in the basement, but I can barely squeak, I'm now smashing the door, trying to keep the dog out of hot water...and finally, I get his attention and scream flood. Would have been so wonderful if Darren showed him the second leak - or perhaps believed me when I said there was a second leak...oh well...every towel and blanket we own helped soak up the water, 2nd plumber called in and now we just wait for the bill...they left around 10:30 - should be a great one. Oh yes, Darren survived - I am not quite sure how, I can't really say we have spoken much since that time, but he is alive!
So, that concludes all I can think to share of life in our house the past month. I have been eating a lot of french fries .... and chips, but the weight keeps coming off - while not usually something to complain about, I have been too sick to buy new clothes, so it is getting a tad annoying. Dare say my next specialist appt, coming up in 10 days will include, "I want a full body scan, an MRI and a full blood screen - AGAIN". Find the culprit and fix it.
Toodles.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Confessions of a Sickie Mommy....
Happy 2014,
Of course, every year I think - this is the year I will blog regularly, at least once a week, perhaps more, but alas, it just never happens.
Unfortunately, 2014 has not started out with many positives. We did have a lovely Christmas Holiday, hard to believe it is here and gone. It took days to get all the Christmas items away and boxed up for another year. I find it is always such a let down after the holidays, the house looks bare, just no life to the walls or rooms. Of course, each time I pack away my holiday items, I wonder if that will be the last time I decorate the house, I wonder if Darren and Greta will decorate as much as I do, or just put one lonely little tree up. Will they take the time to decorate each room, to change the pictures to the holiday ones...it stresses me out. So, this year, I wrote notes that will be there in the Xmas Boxes if for some reason my liver disease decides that 2014 is the last year I will have. Of course, I cried when writing them, but if I am not here next Christmas, hopefully it will be the extra motivation Darren and Greta need to decorate my house the way I always enjoyed! If they don't, I think I will have to come back and haunt the house, until all the decorations are up! I dare say I would make a good ghost, believe me, there are a few I would love to haunt forever!!!
The big update thus far in 2014 is that Greta started pre-school - well, pre-pre school. We were fortunate to get a spot for pre-school in the Fall and they had an opening for her to start in January with the three year old group, so after much agonizing, we took the plunge. I was quite concerned, after hearing so many with stories that it was a tough transition for other little ones - weeks and months of tears, I was terrified. I knew deep down Greta was ready for the activities "school" would bring, but her "dislike" of children, loud noises and busy atmosphere's had me quite frightened. Thankfully, her first day she woke up, was excited to go, picked out her own outfit and while a tad hesitant when Darren dropped her off and a few little tears, she went with her new teacher and had a great day. There were a few tears the first week, but minimal compared to what I had prepared myself for. Now, 3 weeks in, I am happy to say the transition was a success. As she stated today, her favorite part of school is, "painting, coloring, the Music Man, and coming home!". This is a great improvement, as Day three her reply when I asked what was her favorite part of the day was, she stated "coming home". Unfortunately, as I suspected, on Day 4, she caught a flu bug. It was quite the illness, high temperatures that made me feel absolutely inadequate as a parent as I truly had no idea what to do, 5 days of feeling quite sick and as a bonus - she shared it with me! I should have moved out when her fever first struck, as it was just a day after my Remicade Treatment, and with no immunity, 17 days later I am still struggling to get better. Learned my lesson - next time, I'm booking myself a hotel and will chat via Skype with Greta! I won't get in to all the nasty side effects I have had, but can sum things up by saying, it was a few weeks of hell (or what I imagine hell to be like), great diet plan if someone wants to lose weight, but that is about the only benefit. I started to feel as if I was stalking the Specialist, I even suggested he consider adopting me.
So, that is the sickie update. But I thought it was time for a public service announcement. I read a few parent forums, personally I am not sure why, as my goodness, these Mama's are very opinionated and can get vicious. Topics such as food, sugar, vaccinations, discipline...can start mini riots, and of course, with the internet, people seem to be even more cruel, as I have a hard time believing most would dare say some of the things they write to someone face to face. So, if this helps, here is my list of thoughts / opinions - I am not saying I am right (well, perhaps I am), but I am saying that they worked for us, while it may not have been in a baby book, or the popular choice, Greta is a pretty healthy little girl and we are not completely disfunctional.
- I used bumper pads - she survived!
- I heated her formula in the microwave - we shook it - it was fine!
- She ate foods before "6" months - she survived!
- She drinks juice - probably too much - but she is fine, teeth are fine
- She refuses to drink "white milk", she will only drink Chocolate Milk - she is fine - same nutritional value, just with a little color
- She has all her vaccinations - and I am happy she does!
- She doesn't eat much meat - other than chicken. We have tried, and we no longer force it - I grew up eating only french fries (cooked in a deep fryer)- she will be fine!
- Her favorite sandwich is Cheese Whiz Sandwiches - yup, fake cheese - at least she eats something!
- She is spoiled by many people - I don't mind, unless she becomes ungrateful - that will be the day everything is packed up and sent to kids who need / want things. For now, I feel she knows she is very lucky.
- She is a pretty good little girl, so we really haven't had to deal with the "discipline issue" but she has been tapped on the hands - and I don't feel bad - at all. Because of the little taps on the hand, or the forceful "no, don't touch", we never had to baby proof our home, we didn't have to clear off coffee or end tables of houses we visited because she grabbed items, and I have never had one thing break in 3 years 7 months! She was told no, and listened.
So, not a hefty list, but a few topics that seem to be topics on the forums lately that make my blood boil. While I certainly understand the need to eat healthy, and the rights of parents to vaccinate or not - I guess I also know that I am sick, with a chronic and potentially terminal illness and there was no diet in the world that could have stopped my illness, I would love to have a salad, but now I can't...so at the end of the day, when I'm in a hospital bed hooked to IV, believe me - I am some happy I enjoyed my french fries, chicken fingers and pop...and had my daughter vaccinated so she can still be around me when I am at my lowest.
Of course, every year I think - this is the year I will blog regularly, at least once a week, perhaps more, but alas, it just never happens.
Unfortunately, 2014 has not started out with many positives. We did have a lovely Christmas Holiday, hard to believe it is here and gone. It took days to get all the Christmas items away and boxed up for another year. I find it is always such a let down after the holidays, the house looks bare, just no life to the walls or rooms. Of course, each time I pack away my holiday items, I wonder if that will be the last time I decorate the house, I wonder if Darren and Greta will decorate as much as I do, or just put one lonely little tree up. Will they take the time to decorate each room, to change the pictures to the holiday ones...it stresses me out. So, this year, I wrote notes that will be there in the Xmas Boxes if for some reason my liver disease decides that 2014 is the last year I will have. Of course, I cried when writing them, but if I am not here next Christmas, hopefully it will be the extra motivation Darren and Greta need to decorate my house the way I always enjoyed! If they don't, I think I will have to come back and haunt the house, until all the decorations are up! I dare say I would make a good ghost, believe me, there are a few I would love to haunt forever!!!
The big update thus far in 2014 is that Greta started pre-school - well, pre-pre school. We were fortunate to get a spot for pre-school in the Fall and they had an opening for her to start in January with the three year old group, so after much agonizing, we took the plunge. I was quite concerned, after hearing so many with stories that it was a tough transition for other little ones - weeks and months of tears, I was terrified. I knew deep down Greta was ready for the activities "school" would bring, but her "dislike" of children, loud noises and busy atmosphere's had me quite frightened. Thankfully, her first day she woke up, was excited to go, picked out her own outfit and while a tad hesitant when Darren dropped her off and a few little tears, she went with her new teacher and had a great day. There were a few tears the first week, but minimal compared to what I had prepared myself for. Now, 3 weeks in, I am happy to say the transition was a success. As she stated today, her favorite part of school is, "painting, coloring, the Music Man, and coming home!". This is a great improvement, as Day three her reply when I asked what was her favorite part of the day was, she stated "coming home". Unfortunately, as I suspected, on Day 4, she caught a flu bug. It was quite the illness, high temperatures that made me feel absolutely inadequate as a parent as I truly had no idea what to do, 5 days of feeling quite sick and as a bonus - she shared it with me! I should have moved out when her fever first struck, as it was just a day after my Remicade Treatment, and with no immunity, 17 days later I am still struggling to get better. Learned my lesson - next time, I'm booking myself a hotel and will chat via Skype with Greta! I won't get in to all the nasty side effects I have had, but can sum things up by saying, it was a few weeks of hell (or what I imagine hell to be like), great diet plan if someone wants to lose weight, but that is about the only benefit. I started to feel as if I was stalking the Specialist, I even suggested he consider adopting me.
So, that is the sickie update. But I thought it was time for a public service announcement. I read a few parent forums, personally I am not sure why, as my goodness, these Mama's are very opinionated and can get vicious. Topics such as food, sugar, vaccinations, discipline...can start mini riots, and of course, with the internet, people seem to be even more cruel, as I have a hard time believing most would dare say some of the things they write to someone face to face. So, if this helps, here is my list of thoughts / opinions - I am not saying I am right (well, perhaps I am), but I am saying that they worked for us, while it may not have been in a baby book, or the popular choice, Greta is a pretty healthy little girl and we are not completely disfunctional.
- I used bumper pads - she survived!
- I heated her formula in the microwave - we shook it - it was fine!
- She ate foods before "6" months - she survived!
- She drinks juice - probably too much - but she is fine, teeth are fine
- She refuses to drink "white milk", she will only drink Chocolate Milk - she is fine - same nutritional value, just with a little color
- She has all her vaccinations - and I am happy she does!
- She doesn't eat much meat - other than chicken. We have tried, and we no longer force it - I grew up eating only french fries (cooked in a deep fryer)- she will be fine!
- Her favorite sandwich is Cheese Whiz Sandwiches - yup, fake cheese - at least she eats something!
- She is spoiled by many people - I don't mind, unless she becomes ungrateful - that will be the day everything is packed up and sent to kids who need / want things. For now, I feel she knows she is very lucky.
- She is a pretty good little girl, so we really haven't had to deal with the "discipline issue" but she has been tapped on the hands - and I don't feel bad - at all. Because of the little taps on the hand, or the forceful "no, don't touch", we never had to baby proof our home, we didn't have to clear off coffee or end tables of houses we visited because she grabbed items, and I have never had one thing break in 3 years 7 months! She was told no, and listened.
So, not a hefty list, but a few topics that seem to be topics on the forums lately that make my blood boil. While I certainly understand the need to eat healthy, and the rights of parents to vaccinate or not - I guess I also know that I am sick, with a chronic and potentially terminal illness and there was no diet in the world that could have stopped my illness, I would love to have a salad, but now I can't...so at the end of the day, when I'm in a hospital bed hooked to IV, believe me - I am some happy I enjoyed my french fries, chicken fingers and pop...and had my daughter vaccinated so she can still be around me when I am at my lowest.
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