Fun Skating

The other day the kids and I decided to take advantage of the free skating at the community rink. We just recently found the kids some skates at my sister’s place so we were all set. I was under the impression the skating was in the morning but was wrong and we had to wait until after lunch. Another one of those long waits with PM regularly asking WHEN…

I was wondering if this would be one of those experiences where he is so anxious to do it and then when the time comes it doesn’t work for him.

We made it to the rink and got our skates on among the crowds of others there to enjoy some skating as well. The kids were pretty steady on their skates and we all walked towards the ice. LB stepped onto the ice, her feet went out from underneath her, she started to cry, and decided that was enough for her. She would wait on land while PM and I did a few rounds.

Ya don’t really realize how hard it is to stand on skates when you finally have it down – kind of like riding a bicycle I guess. PM spend more time on his knees and butt than he did his feet. He was hanging off me but still couldn’t stand up. Feet flying every which way.

We did a round and a half when I realized there was a little rink next door meant for those just starting out – much better for us to be there. PM walked over and I skated around to retrieve LB. She did another step on the ice when we got the kiddy rink but then decided she would sit and watch. By this time PM was getting the hang of walking/running on skates and was falling much less often. He was doing better when he wasn’t hanging on to me. He was having fun and kept trying and has said he wants to go back regularly so he can learn to skate.

We were leaving and I had LB on the ice for a few feet and then we walked back to our shoes. She’s whining saying that she wants to skate now. OK, we walk back to the rink so she can have a turn. She goes a few feet on her skates and decides that is enough. I think she’ll get there eventually. She watches and takes it in and when she’s ready she will participate…

Mojo gets fixed

Last week Mojo had a trip to the vet to get fixed. Though still not quite 5 months he is growing quickly and we do not want him to get into trouble with his sister. Luckily for the boys it is a day in and out operation. When we picked him up in the evening he looked so drugged the poor guy. By the time we got him home he was much more alive and then was going and going for hours afterwards.

Star meanwhile was crashed by the time Mojo came home. She had spent the day awake and stressed and harassing Thomas. I guess she wanted Thomas to go get Mojo for her and the kids and I were off elsewhere. It took her longer to recuperate from Mojo’s operation than it did him. She does tend to be the more sensitive and fearful one.

So now all is back to normal and Mojo’s nails are growing back (poor guy – they clipped his nails as well so he can’t climb trees and has lost much of his ‘grip’). In another month or so Star will have her turn. And again I have no doubt it will be harder on her than it is on him but she will be allowed to keep her claws. Such is life I suppose.

It’s going to be a long 24 hours

When I was a kid Halloween day seemed to be a looong day. I wondered if darkness would ever come so we could go outside for trick-or-treating. Since that time I have wondered why it was so difficult. The days fly by and from lunch until dark it seems like a few minutes. OK – life as seen by an adult with many years behind her.

I am reminded of this big-time as the days have seemed to be crawling by at a snail’s pace for PM as he anticipates Christmas. Yesterday as he was bouncing off the walls I figured it was going to be a loooonnnngggg 24 hours. And yes it was. Sometimes he was ok but a lot of the time it was non-stop talking about the gifts, talking about what he was going to do, planning how things were going to be and of course asking how much longer till dark and till dinner.

Somehow it seems anticlimactic. That excitement that has been growing for well over a month and the big dinner and the presents and mess and then it is over – well sort of, as there are of course some other things saved for Christmas morning.

I guess that’s just part of being a kid. And it reminds me of how I have downplayed many events in my life as they approach for fear they won’t turn out the way I would like and because I don’t want to be let down.

For myself I find Christmas a more lonely time of year. I remember feeling lonely on many a Christmas when it was just me and my parents and all of our celebrating was over. We would go for a walk together but my siblings and friends would all be off doing other things with other people and I ‘only’ had my parents. And here I am an adult with her own family and it is just us and I still feel extra lonely at this time of year. Ha – there was a time when I had no compassion for those that felt lonely. If you feel lonely because of others you just need to create a better life on the inside. It comes back at ya!

I do appreciate the excitement and joy of the kids. It brings out more of that desire to do what I can to make their lives fulfilling in so many ways.

I am soooo…

The other morning as we were waking up, PM said to me “Mom…” (as kids have a tendency to do many times a day – often without anything to say in response) and I respond with a “Yes”. He says “I am so…, so…, so…, so…,” (by this time I am wondering what is coming if anything) “so…, sooo excited about Christmas!”.

The days get closer to that magical date. He is preparing and we have had a bit of a family Christmas in Toronto. The kids enjoyed their time and got some nice gifts as well but it isn’t/wasn’t about the gifts. But at the same time it is the gifts and the anticipation that is a big part of it.

Many years ago I stopped doing much about Christmas because I didn’t like how it was about the presents. Many times the kids didn’t even really care what it was they were receiving – they just wanted more. I appreciated and valued the time spent with others.

Now I see it with my kids – that desire for gifts – any gifts. And I am not as closed and judgmental towards it (how many times does that happen? You see something pre-kids and then experience it in a new way with kids). I do like to temper it and at the same time their excitement and joy and anticipation is catching and fun to be around. I don’t like the idea of getting gifts just for the sake of getting gifts but there is something to be said for the novel and practical gifts that excite and that the kids really appreciate.

I notice so many times that places where I am rigid in my beliefs are changed and challenged. Those things I am judgmental about come into my life to change my views. Those beliefs that are one-sided and closed are pushed around until I see the other side and appreciate the variety of humans and the way things work.

So the kids get more excited about Christmas and Santa Claus and decorating and being with others and giving and receiving. Hey it’s not so bad…

Cats and life and kids

The cats seem to be fitting in quite well in the household. And PM does have a way with them as well. Though he can be rough and overbearing with the cats, they do like to be near him and play with him. I have noticed it is best when the kids are playing their own thing and not intent on doing something to the cats. Then it is likely the cats will play along side them.

Same as when we are outside. Mojo is often right there and running with the kids. If PM has a project he is working on and LB is there watching or assisting then it is likely Mojo is nearby. Star may or may not be. I was surprised the other day when it was pouring with rain and the kids were outside playing and when they came in the soaking wet cats came in with them as well – I didn’t think cats hang out in the rain!

Star likes to run with me or to jump out at me. Many a time I will run along and she will come charging across the grass and jump towards me. One time she got me in an ambush. She jumped out from the bushes and came at me in a vertical jump with her front paws outstretched. Ah! Once the momentary shock of attack wore off I was laughing quite a bit. She has a way of coming at me in fun.

Right now Star is asleep in my lap and this hasn’t happened in a while. Lately they have been sleeping mostly in Thomas’ office in a box with some pieces of wood in it. Sure doesn’t look like the most comfortable place to sleep but it is definitely their favourite. I’m sure there are many reasons for this but one is that it is the warmest room in the winter months. Also Thomas will protect the cats from the kids if they want rest and they appreciate being close to Thomas and having people nearby.

I was also thinking that the kids are relatively understanding if the kittens take something apart that isn’t theirs to take apart. This evening after the kids were in bed, Mojo jumped up and pulled PM’s special party bag down and broke it. I said that PM won’t be too happy about that but, though he may moan a bit; he will find another way to hang up the bag and will go on without much complaining. I guess PM is pretty good that way – he just makes do with whatever is thrown at him. As I’m writing this I am wondering what I’m talking about as he can also get so freaked out by simple things – I suppose he embraces flexibility and also rigidity of structure. He’s human.

Wha’dya know? So am I! It is a constant process to forgive myself for not being the perfect parent that I aspire to be. And a growing that allows me to be more compassionate and more understanding and more patient. I too, tend to bop around in the extremes and can seem to be rigidly holding on at times and then the opposite at others.

Ah well at this point this house is inhabited by 4 humans that continue to grow and learn and change and 2 felines that sleep and eat and play and cuddle and various other uninvited ‘guests’ such as spiders and mice and ‘stink bugs’ and whatever else we don’t know about. And we manage to cohabitate sometimes in a peaceful way and others with stress and upset and then back to a peaceful time again…