6th Day of June

Sorry Alisa, didn't mean to extend Father's Day any longer than Mother's Day!!! I'm not sure if today is a good day to be expressing myself in my blog or not..... I am house bound for a few days. The son and his friends left Monday for their year end camping trip. It took everything in my power not to help them organize the two vehicles. There are six of them camping (sorry Andrew couldn't make it - he was my hope for not worrying too much - but probably not a good idea to send another young male with a broken collar bone, out to rescue 6 other young males) Needless to say, one of the vehicles was mine and another boy was taking his truck. For six guys, they had 5 coolers, 4 of which were empty when they left. I finally had to go into the house while they finished packing. My sister made a very good point, and I'll try to phrase it the same way she did. "What a good learning experience for these teens. Usually going on a holiday is a breeze because mom and/or dad do all the planning and preparation. They will actually (hopefully sooner than later) figure out, it's not that easy and having a good time, comes with a little work and organization. Maybe even throw in a little appreciation for what parents do before a holiday happens."
So I have spent the last two days cleaning, decluttering and organizing this house. I started upstairs yesterday; and today was the basement. I even made it into Patrick's room. Really, how many t-shirts is too many. 10, 20, 30, 40, 50.. I stopped counting and started recycling. Really, do we need to keep every orange blizzard soccer shirt that we have received for the last 8 seaons? I'm willing to bet, he won't even realize anything is missing. And another question - his exact comment to me, was don't throw out any school papers yet. He may need them. Does that include the papers in a back from from Grade 10 sitting in his corner? And what about all the papers under his bed, that were never used for studying anyways? Again, I don't think he'll even realize anything is missing.
Onto the third thing that is currently bugging me. I can't go into much detail, because of obvious reasons, but I'm having a difficult time in deciding if I want to continue having a relationship with a certain individual. I am finding that I cannot be myself; I can't joke (for fear of offending); I can't be generous; (for their fear of making it a competition); and I can't be open about my concern (because this person is clueless that they are like this) K, that really doesn't help; guess I'll have to make another phone call to get that one off my chest.
Other than that last "situation"; life is good. No, life is great. I have more energy than I have had in a long time. I am at a great place; (the weather helps).
Just picked up the mail, so I guess I better get some paper work up to date.
Have a great evening; I'm planning on it!
Stacey

Day 5 of June

Some times I can go days without writing in the blog (De) and other times, there seems like things need to be put in.
This is one of those times.....
I crossed another item off my 50 list last night. I played an entire game of Monopoly until the very end. I could only convince Patrick to play - Ashley went to bed and Bill was watching a movie. The game didn't last as long as I thought (I really shouldn't have traded in my Granville Iland - Cdn version - which is like Park Place in the original version) to Patrick. The brat put up hotels on the two properties and I had to pay between 1500 and 2000 every time I landed there. Talk about stress. Every time I got close, I was wishing, sending out vibes to land on go... you name it. Well in the end, I had to sell my houses, mortgage my properties and eventually I went bankrupt. So the only positive thing to come out of the game for me was - it has been crossed off my list, and I can move on to other games. Actually getting my son to play a game with me was also a bonus. I hope Patrick is as thrifty and smart minded with real assets as he was in the game.
Well we are off for tea with Bill's Dad for Father's Day! Happy Father's Day to all the Father's out there.
Stacey

Day 4 of June

I can't believe June is almost over. I can't believe Patrick is almost finished high school. Five diplomas down and two more to go. Let's just say, he hasn't been the most sociable family member - actually I take that back, even in his studying mode, he's been more sociable than most in the family. hahahaha
I have actually started counting down days to my train trip. Less than a month...
I've decided to discontinue with our family weekly family meetings. Much to my dismay, they just don't seem to be effective. We gather - we all look at our schedules (or apparently only i do as I have found out this past week), and let the rest of the family know what is going on that could affect people in the family. Needless to say I was a bit surprised on Thursday night, to find out Bill was taking my car in to get a lock remote fixed (yes, yes I am thankful and greatful to him for doing this) Not that I mind taking the bus to pre-school, but when I have six other things planned to get done afterwards - it's certainly not convenient. Now I know what you're thinking (de and robin) "old timers" must be kicking in for me.. I too considered that possiblity. But then I am confused as to why I wrote on my calendar that Bill had a golf tournament Thursday in Kananaskas (hence why it rained the entire day) and I also recorded that Bill had Friday off. So my new plan. I am going to post my calendar on the pantry door, and if anyone wants to know what I am doing or needs me to know what they are doing, it is their responsibility to mark it on my calendar!!!!!! K, I got that off my chest - this blog really does come in handy for getting things off my chest (doesn't change the size thoug - of the chest!!!!!)
I also wanted to give a "compliment" to my son. We were having a discussion last night, where I was voicing some concerns I have. He's listening, and listening; then he asks me if I'm done; then he says "Mom, I think I hear what your are saying... and it sounds like......" When did he get to be sooo intuitive? He is going to make someone a great husband some day!!!!!
So Patrick and I are off to pick up Father's Day presents today. Ashley is working, Bill is at the gym, and it's raining again. Hopefully I can find what I'm looking for, as I don't want to have to purchase more golf balls for Bill - although he still loses quite a few, his stash is still pretty big. And for the record the gifts are from the kids, because really - he's not my Dad (although I did bake him his chocolate chip cookies!!!!)
And finally a big hug to my friend Janice. Her Dad passed away last week. It was somewhat of a shock; he had been ill for a long time, but seemed to be pulling his own way around. I'll be heading up to Edmonton for the funeral next weeks. Thoughts and prayers girlfriend.

Stacey

Day 3 of June

"Oh what a night......" Those of you old enough will remember that tune. Had a great Saturday and Saturday evening. Janice picked me up around 1:00 pm on Saturday afternoon and we headed back to her place. Spent most of the afternoon picking up a few odds and ends (well technically I surpervised) After a nice dinner at Tudor's in Panarama (TV's in all the booth's) we headed back to Janices and worked in the yard. Janice looked after mowing the lawn, and I discovered my new found love - picking dandelions. Now, before you think I'm going crazy, Janice had one of those fancy, dancy Fiskar pullers. No more bending down for me, - what an invention. Needless to say, Sunday afternoon I drove staight to Canadian Tire and got me one!!!! Back to Saturday. After all our hard work and supervising, the party began. I am proud to say I have removed another item from my 50 list (I think). I did my first shot of Tequila - you know the tequila, salt and lemon(lime) But according to Bill, we did it wrong, so I'm not sure if this disqualifies my attempt and I'll have to retry... Let me think of that one, because after three of the shots last night, I'm not sure I'm in a hurry to try it again. The evening was filled with lots of munchies; lots of alcohol; lots of socializing; lots of flames in the fire; (a burned bridal veil) and lots of loud music. Apparently the music was too loud, because the police showed up with a complaint of loud music and screaming. Not sure if they were at the correct party, because really, a bunch of over 40 women, with the odd few husbands thrown in, wasn't what I would call rowdy. But I will admit the music was a tad too loud for midnight. By the time everyone left, Janice and I were ready to crash on the couch's. We woke up around 7:00 am - that was unplanned; and while Janice and and showered, I had a quick nap. When I woke up, she was smelling less like camp fire smoke, and more that Tim Hortons. I guess I napped longer than I planned.
Our timing was great, because around 10:00 am some people came to pick up the couch's to take away.
What a wonderful evening - and great memories. Hopefully we won't see any pictures on Facebook. Off for another well earned nap - outside!
Later
Stacey

Day 2 of June

Good night to do a little reflection!!!
It has been a very busy week. Patrick's grad was the biggest highlight. I must be wearing rose colored glasses, because I thought the grad ceremony and the reception were well organized, and everyone looked amazing; I heard many opposite comments. Then Thursday night, the senior boys soccer team won their quarter final game. This was a big game for them. Their opponents were a strong, tough team - rumor has it that most of the players on that team play for elite club teams. Well the Bulldogs pulled off a 2 -0 win. Sending lots of positive energy for their semi-final game. These boys can do it.
I worked at the preschool Thursday and Friday this week in stead of my usual Tuesday and Thursday. There is one little girl that has been in the class since September. She was very shy; non verbal and hard to make a connection with. Well I think she is over most of those descriptions. Today, she kept trying to put paint on everyone - including me. Now at first glance, one might think she was being naughty - but I believe not only has she come out of her shell; she is talking to me all the time - Mrs. Wee look at this; Mrs. Wee I have a surprise; I think she is trying to make friends with some of the kids, and her lack of socializing skills are making it hard for her. I guess I need to figure out another way for her to do this. The kids are not appreciating paint all over their clothes!!!!!
Looking forward to a wonderful weekend with Janice. It's a girls sleepover at the old house. Sort of camping, but inside with all the amenities.

Night
Stacey

1st Day of June

I almost typed the 5th day of May, and then I realized - ohoh June is here. It is going to be one busy month. But lets cover the last couple of days.
So Tuesday was graduation day for Patrick. And what a day it was. It started with the ceremony at the University. Let me back up a little, it actually started at home when the son brought out the bag with all his new clothes - tags and all. When I suggested he might want to iron them first, he wasn't keen - saying nobody would see them under his gown!!!! (sometimes he is like his Dad) So then we headed to the ceremony. Approximately 680 students to walk across the stage. I was very impressed how fast it went. Of course it went alphabettically - and if we remember the alphabet, W, is fairly close to the end. (could have been worse, he could have been a Z, - oh wait that was me!) But like I said, it went pretty fast. So after some pictures, the ceremony, some socializing, Patrick and I headed home (Bill left before us). Had a little break in the afternoon, and then it was off to the reception at the Telus convention center. Ashley was meeting us there because she was coming directly from work. We picked up the girlfriend, and fought our way through rush hour traffic downtown. We thought we were late, but there was a reason they put 5:30 as the starting date (they mush have known everyone would be late) There were 8 people at our table - our family, the girlfriend; Patrick's friend and his parents. Good thing we put Bill next to Matt's Dad. They talked the entire evening.
And when they weren't talking, Bill was on his phone to work, and Ashley was on her phone working on a project. Father and Daughter bonding - not!
The dinner was wonderful; the service was amazing (especially considering the number of people there). The M.C. was doing his best - I will give him credit for his confidence. But the best part of the evening for me was reconnecting with friends - parents of kids I haven't seen in ages. It sure put the evening into perspective.
So now dinner is over; Bill and the daughter head home (they have jobs in the morning) and I stick around for my first driving tour. The kids head off to the after-grad. I drop them off; head home with my cell phone close at hand. About 2:30 am I get a text the the group is at a friend's place in Edgemont, but they are wanting to head over to Colin's in the Hamptons. A litle bit of irony here. I get the name and address of the friend in Edgemont. The last name is not a common name; so I inquire about the Dad. Is his first name Roy; is he a fireman; Yes to both questions. Turns out this Dad, Roy went to high school with Bill and I. Plus Bill worked with him at the curling rink for awhile. Small world. Anyway I pick up the first group of boys; drop them off at Colin's and head back for the second set of boys. Both times I mention to the boys the rule in my car "If you throw up in my car, not only do you have to clean it up, but you also have to buy me something nice." I didn't come home with any gifts.
The plan is they are all going to stay overnight at Colin's place (with Colin's parents blessing) My mind is at ease; I can now close my eyes without that ear listening to my cell phone. Another grad over and done - .......... Congratulations son!

Stacey