Thursday, March 24, 2011

Half and Half

She wasted time tonight looking for her little blue puppy that went missing because she "just couldn't sleep without it". "She is the littlest of all my animals, mom, and if I don't find her she'll be....lonely."

That's my girl. Still a child in so many ways.

Today she is 9.

She reads books about the famous, historical men of Greece and Rome. She constantly gives me little bits of trivia after she has read these books, which is the third time for each one.

Her interests are that of a girl much older than 9.

She runs her legs off around the racetrack while I play volleyball. In between her laps she (and her brother) stop at an area with a platform and play office, school, church, and any number of games. They then carry on running around the track.

She is a 9-year-old girl again.

She picks my brain about geography, history, Japan, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes.....all in a DAY. Not a week or month. Her intelligence is greater (I believe) than the average girl of her age, simply because of her insatiable curiousity and thirst for knowledge. I tell her constantly that when I was nine, the only thing I cared about was sports and television. I NEVER read.

She seems older than her age.

She encloses herself in her brother's bedroom so the two of them can form their own band: Drums, xylophone, flute, tamborine......all the toys I have stupidly neglected to remove from her brother's room. Yet.

She is once again a carefree girl of 9.

She works hard. She earns her own money delivering flyers. She keeps her little monthly allotment in her purse and carefully chooses what she will spend it on. She is beginning to understand the value of not throwing her money carelessly away now that she has actually earned it herself.

In that regard she is more mature than a lot of adults.

She cleans a part of her room......she runs to the piano to play a tune......she sneakily reads couple of pages in one of her latest books.....she helps her brother fix this or that......she runs down to the freezer to grab me a loaf of bread.....she runs back to her starting point - her bedroom - to try to accomplish a little more.

She is fiercely determined to figure things out on her own - like her dad. She is just as determined to throw in the towel when she hits a road block - like her mom. It depends on the situation and her self-belief.

She is a paradox.

That is my girl. Half child and half teenager. Forgetful AND organized. She walks around in a dreamy state AND compiles lists to help remember things. She loves her brother to distraction AND fights with him passionately. She obeys me most of the time AND completely disobeys......very occasionally.

I get tears writing about her. She is everything my mother's heart could ever hope for. She is loyal. Affectionate. Smart. Determined. Beautiful. Warm-hearted. Kind. Compassionate.

She is 9 today. Jesus knows - I love her so.

Monday, March 14, 2011

New Crush

"I luv Deesree Frum Seth"

(Desiree is a sweet girl at church whom my son had a crush on for months. He drew her pictures and wrote her notes regularly.)

Somewhat surprisingly, yesterday Seth crept into my bedroom to tell me this secret.

"Mom," he informed me very seriously, "I plan to marry either Julie, Shawna, or Cassandra."

And thus his first crush has abruptly.......ended.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

My Granny's Amaryllis

(Photo courtesy of my niece, Rachel)

This wonderful, classy lady is my Granny. At the end of March, she will be 90 years old. Because many people from the church will be gone in the next few weeks to Israel, we decided to have a birthday party for her early so everyone could be there, and so celebrated the wonderful woman who is my Granny this afternoon at the church.

Is she not the most beautiful 90-year-old lady you have ever seen? We went shopping yesterday and bought her that beautiful new light blue jacket you see in the picture and the white shell underneath. Her one request was that her hair be done "special" for the occasion and, since Granny RARELY makes any requests, her favourite hair-doer, Lana, came over especially early to fix her Granny's hair. She was simply stunning.

And now I have a heartwarming story which I only hope I can do justice to.

About a month ago, Sister Dehod was having a chat with my Granny. Knowing how much Sister Dehod loves flowers, Granny told her about the amaryllis she received from one of her sons and how wonderful it looked in full bloom. My Granny told me of her "chat" with Sister Dehod. Several times in fact.....because unfortunately she has become more forgetful lately - as anyone her age would.

"Sister Dehod would like to see my amaryllis," she would tell me. Or, "Sister Dehod might try to plant her own amaryllis after hearing how well mine is doing."

She is very fond of Sister Dehod.

This afternoon at her party we talked about my dear, wonderful Granny. We told stories about some of the things she has experienced in her lifetime.

And then Sister Dehod hit a grand slam.

She ended with her version of my Granny's story. She told us how inspired she was to plant her own amaryllis after hearing about how well Granny's was doing.

And then she brought out the amaryllis she planted - just one month ago.....in FULL BLOOM....and presented it to my Granny as a gift from her. My Granny's eyeballs were a sight to behold. "Is that really for me?" she asked.

This is the heartwarming part of the story: Sister Dehod has been nurturing this plant for a month. She was not sure if it would bloom on time or even at all for this event today. Then, just a few days ago it broke out in full bloom. In a week's time they leave for Israel.

If it didn't bloom when it did, Sister Dehod would have either waited to give it to my Granny, or chosen to present it to her without the beauty of it in full bloom.

And, although my Granny would have appreciated it one way or another, there was really nothing quite so special as seeing the look on her face when she saw the beautiful, fully blossomed plant.

And personally, I think God did that. Just for my Granny. Because my Granny is special and HE loves her.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Just About My Boy

This post is about my boy, whom I've been neglecting in my posts recently. I actually found him funny today. Maybe my vitamins are kicking in.

He began the day teasing Hannah, telling her that "all girls want a beard", which of course got an outrageous reaction from her. I secretly laughed. He so easily knows how to push his sister's buttons.

After overhearing a discussion I was having with my daughter (who is very inquisitive and was asking me about how the white people took the land from the natives, which turned into the very sensitive topic of Residential Schools and how mistreated the native people were at the hands of white people.......), he informed me that if it was him that was taken out of our home, put in a Residential School, the first thing he would request is to go to the park. Then, after the trip to the park, he would turn and THROW STONES AT THE GOVERNMENT!!! Then after that, he would find a digger to come and "dig a home out for us" (because he would leave and find his parents after all) which would, of course, be conveniently located across the street from the park.

The night ended with the discovery of half of his stuffed animals hidden in his coat sleeves, hanging on a hook in his bedroom. I went to get his coat and found it very heavy. As I removed his beloved animals, I couldn't help but chuckle. I could imagine him saying, "wasn't I tricky, mom?! HA HA!! I sure tricked you, mom, didn't I?!"

But then again, maybe he was just trying to take them along to his next destination. You never know.

If this post isn't funny to anyone else, that's okay. It certainly was to me and even more than that, is somewhat of a celebration that my sense of humour just might be returning with regard to my boy. I needed that.