The Grateful Mama » holidays

A Conspiracy of Love

Karen — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:00:18 +0000

“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”

- Hamilton Wright Mabi

Now that I have an opportunity to write, I’m realizing that I really missed my daily postings last week! It reminds me of when I moved away from home to go to the University of Alberta and my sister didn’t shed a tear when I left, but she bawled like a baby when I returned home for the Christmas holiday.

Sometimes you don’t realize how much you’ve missed your love, until you are reacquainted.

I have four ideas for posts today, but I’m going to write about my first Santa-photo-shoot because I’m just so excited about the entire experience. Not only was the actual ’shoot’ fun and exciting, but the processing and packaging was fulfilling as well. As I slipped each photo into a greeting card I imagined how the parents would react when they opened the envelopes and saw their little beauties on Santa’s lap. Some images were hilarious, some were sweet, and, as I prepared each photo, I learned that just the idea of providing parents with a lasting image of a precious moment in time really rocks my world!!! My next photo-shoot isn’t until next Saturday, and already I cannot wait to get back at it!!! It’s a good sign.

What I really want to write about is Timothy. He showed up after the shoot was over and Santa had left the building, (with a very happy-looking Mrs. Claus I might add,)

“Is Santa gone?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m afraid so.”

“Will he be here tomorrow?”

“No, but he’ll be here next Saturday,” I said as I packed up my equipment.

“Oh. I won’t be able to come next Saturday. Do you take the pictures of Santa?”

“Yes.”

“Can you give him my list?”

Timothy reached into his pocket and pulled out his carefully written Christmas list. Now, I had anticipated that I would have a good time taking photos of kids, I suspected that I would enjoy watching the magical exchange between Santa and each child he conversed with, but I didn’t expect that a child would consider me a part of that magic. Timothy surprised me by assuming that I had a direct line to Santa.

“Of course,” I said, checking the list, “is your name on it?”

“Nope; my name’s Timothy.”

“Okay Timothy.”

I have the list in my camera bag and will most definitely give it to Santa, along with some special-secret- signal. With any luck, Timothy will make it to the mall one Saturday before Christmas, and wouldn’t it be grand if Santa pulled Timothy’s list out from his pocket?

The Happy Clauses

Hallowe’en Quarantine

Karen — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:00:20 +0000

“I’ll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween.”

Author Unknown

Is there anything more sad than kids being sick for a holiday? I remember having the mumps as a kid one Christmas, but I don’t think I was ever ill on Hallowe’en.

Luckily, Pip and Fig didn’t really know what they were missing. Neither of them remember last Hallowe’en, so when we told Pip about ‘trick-or-treaters’ coming to the door, she was incredibly excited. It didn’t even occur to her that she might go around to other people’s homes.

Our Hallowe’en went down like this:

First, we decorated the house, carved the pumpkin, decorated our front landing and got into costume. Next, we had a little photo shoot and Pip enacted various scenes from The Wizard of Oz.

It was only five o’clock, but the girls started to watch for trick-or-treaters.

They waited, and waited, and finally, their cousins were brave enough to approach the house of illness. Thank you family. That visit was the highlight of our night! Dorothy, the Tin Man and the Wicked Witch of the West had a brief, but exciting visit in our front foyer. They were each asked to utter a few lines from the play and our lovely little witch said, “I love you Dorothy!” Not necessarily the best character study, but certainly a heart-warmer.

After about five minutes, the cousins left our home to continue with the Hallowe’en festivities, and Pip turned to me and said, “That sure was fun, Mama.”

Bless her little heart.

Tall Buildings

Karen — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:00:09 +0000

“All of us have moments in our lives that test our courage. Taking children into a house with a white carpet is one of them.”
Erma Bombeck

During our recent family trip to Vancouver,we were lucky enough to stay in our friend’s beautiful condo at the foot of Denman St., near Stanley Park. The suite was absolutely stunning; gorgeous furnishings, incredibly spacious, and an unbeatable view. We felt as though we were living the lifestyle of the rich and famous. (One slight drawback was that the carpeting was WHITE, but I simply resigned myself to the fact that we would only be bringing white food into the home.)

I had thought that it might be difficult trying to keep the girls entertained in a high-rise in the city, but I needn’t have worried. The girls loved our new digs because there was never a shortage of action to witness; they’d watch float-planes landing every fifteen minutes, rowers practicing, boats galore, runners and cyclists on the seawall, and a plethora of sea birds soaring through the sky. The square footage of the condo was much larger than the main floor of our house, and it was an open design, so Pip and Fig loved playing in such a large space, and I loved that I could keep an eye on them from almost anywhere in the home.

When it came time to pack up our things and leave our lovely accommodations, Pip did not want to go. She was ready to take up residence in the city. ”Mama,” she said, “I used to think that inside tall buildings there was dust and dirt, I didn’t think there was furniture.”

It made sense. Sometimes high-rises can seem rather cold and industrial from the outside. What a revelation it was for Pip to discover that behind every window there existed furniture and people and life!

I love having the opportunity to see things through my daughter’s eyes. She sees the magic in the mundane, and we can all use a little magic now and then.

Holiday after holiday

Karen — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:00:24 +0000

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”

Thornton Wilder

Does anyone else feel as though they need a holiday to recuperate after a holiday? We went ‘away’ for the long weekend. We only drove 10 kms to my parents’ beach house, but let’s face it, packing for a weekend away from home is the same no matter what the distance; you still require an extraordinary amount of gear! The ‘pack and play’ for Fig to sleep in, the high-chair, the dog’s bed and food, the bikes, the toys, books and games, the outer-garments for all weather, the favourite blanket, the plastic dishes, the footwear for all weather…you know the drill. (F.Y.I. the only items that were forgotten were my underwear. Nice.)

We seem to get hit the hardest in the SLEEP department when we’re away from home. On the day of our departure, Fig missed her nap completely for the first time in her life and she never quite recovered. She fussed at the drop of a hat for the better part of three days. Pip had trouble falling asleep each night, but once she was out, she filled her eleven-hour quota without a problem.

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner out a the beach house; everyone pitched in and cooked a dish or two, so the evening was definitely a team-effort, but my husband and I marveled at how fatigued we felt after our gathering of seventeen had dispersed.

All in all, it seemed as though the ratio of ‘preparation for fun’ to ‘actual fun’ was way out of whack. Maybe that’s just the way life is: good things take some effort. When I think to myself, was it worth it? The hours of laundering, packing, unpacking, packing, unpacking and laundering again? The increased sleep deprivation? The cranky baby? The answer is: of course it was worth it!! For starters, we had our first family beach-fire and sang ‘The ants go marching…’ as the crackling fire met the crisp, fall air. The next day, six happy children ate Thanksgiving dinner together, then retired to the family-room for some ‘ring-around-the-rosy’ fun. And how cool was it that my daughter could look ahead down a beautiful forest path and see her two Grandmothers and her dad walking together? Pretty cool.

When my mother-in-law was packing up Monday to head back to her home-town, Pip reassured her, “Don’t worry Grandma, we’ll have another one of these ‘Thank’ days again soon.”

I’m all for it.