Saturday, September 6, 2008
Red, Yellow and Green
Some days things just don't go right. Bad news, stubbed toes, broken glass, etc, etc. Nothing goes right from the moment you get out of bed until the moment you get back in. This year, the end of summer and beginning of school collided into a few of the those days for me. Too much to do, do little time to do it.
My down days accumulated into a near-breakdown at the local school supplies store.
I needed exactly 9 duotangs for the little guys school suppliers, all different colours. One red, one yellow, one green, one purple, one dark blue, one light blue... oh, you get the idea. Why anyone would want to make a parents life more difficult by forcing them to buy 9 different colours of the same thing is beyond me, but we do what we need to do, and then make sure there are no peanuts around in case of allergies and that all our shoelaces are tight in double knots.
Of course, the local store only had 6 of the 9 colours, and it was at the end of the day and I was grumpy and it was about the 99th piece of bad news in 3 days and I was about to break down, pull off the best kindergarten-sized tantrum I could muster and then lock myself into the nearest locker I could find.
Just then, miracle of miracles, a shop employee said "excuse me" and proceeded to put on the shelf the exact three colours I needed. One red, one yellow, one green. Just enough for me. Just the colours I needed. And she didn't even know it! Divine intervention, I love you.
Needless to say I managed to brush myself off and head home with a smile on my face. Sort of.
Perhaps things would go better tomorrow, I thought.
And then, of course, they did.
My down days accumulated into a near-breakdown at the local school supplies store.
I needed exactly 9 duotangs for the little guys school suppliers, all different colours. One red, one yellow, one green, one purple, one dark blue, one light blue... oh, you get the idea. Why anyone would want to make a parents life more difficult by forcing them to buy 9 different colours of the same thing is beyond me, but we do what we need to do, and then make sure there are no peanuts around in case of allergies and that all our shoelaces are tight in double knots.
Of course, the local store only had 6 of the 9 colours, and it was at the end of the day and I was grumpy and it was about the 99th piece of bad news in 3 days and I was about to break down, pull off the best kindergarten-sized tantrum I could muster and then lock myself into the nearest locker I could find.
Just then, miracle of miracles, a shop employee said "excuse me" and proceeded to put on the shelf the exact three colours I needed. One red, one yellow, one green. Just enough for me. Just the colours I needed. And she didn't even know it! Divine intervention, I love you.
Needless to say I managed to brush myself off and head home with a smile on my face. Sort of.
Perhaps things would go better tomorrow, I thought.
And then, of course, they did.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Horse Maneuver
The little guy is reading full chapter books by himself, so I expect these little slip ups won't happen for very much longer. (The big guy is reading about how to protect the family from a zombie breakout.) Life is good.
Me: Where did you go today?
Him: Island Farms.
Dad: The milk place?
Him: Yep, they have a thousand cows. It smelled like olives.
(Dad and I smile at each other. Does he even know what olives smell like?)
Him: And then when you get out of the barn, it smells like horse maneuver.
(We smile again)
Just previous to this conversation, I was on my bike talking to a friend about horses on bike paths. Funny, but we used the word maneuver in our conversation too.
Me: Where did you go today?
Him: Island Farms.
Dad: The milk place?
Him: Yep, they have a thousand cows. It smelled like olives.
(Dad and I smile at each other. Does he even know what olives smell like?)
Him: And then when you get out of the barn, it smells like horse maneuver.
(We smile again)
Just previous to this conversation, I was on my bike talking to a friend about horses on bike paths. Funny, but we used the word maneuver in our conversation too.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Play fair
My favourite route to work takes me by a neat and tidy green sign that says "PLAYFAIR PARK." I love that.
I want to work in a city called CLEAN VILLE in a building called SHARE on a street named BENICE DRIVE for a company called DOGOOD LTD.
We would have lunch at the SHAREWITHOTHERS DINER and order HELPOUT BURGERS.
I want to work in a city called CLEAN VILLE in a building called SHARE on a street named BENICE DRIVE for a company called DOGOOD LTD.
We would have lunch at the SHAREWITHOTHERS DINER and order HELPOUT BURGERS.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Insight into a teenage mind
"It's really beginning to feel like home around here. TV, XBOX and even a new tea kettle."
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
New Favourite website
I love this website. Treehouses. Fortune Cookies. Ghost Towns. Beautiful photography. YUM!
Corner Stores
Just a little thank you to all the corner stores out there that make their front doors inviting by greeting me with flowers, that keep the windows clear and clean and free from clutter calling card rates from here to Thailand and Chernobyl and Barcelona, that sell licorice by the piece, that stock magazines and comics with covers my kids can actually see without blushing, that offer cold ice cream sandwiches and 25 cent freezies on hot days for after the swim at the lake, that sell candies in a brown paper bag, that keep cigarettes and zig-zags away from view, that leave water in a dish outside for the dogs, that have bicycle racks, that sell milk not sour and gum not stale, that say welcome and thank you and please come again, that stock their shelves with popcorn and baking soda and brown eggs and good bread and crisp apples and other food essentials that are convenient but still good for us, that cherish their neighbourhood and pick up litter on the street, that remember us, that keep their awnings looking fresh without losing it's aged beauty, that put bells on the door that jingle when we walk in, that continue to live beyond 7-11 and Mac's and all the gas station shops.
Thank you. I will come for licorice and root beer and popcorn and milk and bread as often as I can to support you back.
Thank you. I will come for licorice and root beer and popcorn and milk and bread as often as I can to support you back.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)