Accents and the Stories they tell!

We were in Montreal over the weekend with my brother and his wife. Like camping, a weekend in Montreal is fast becoming a summer family tradition!

Our primary reason for visiting Montreal is ASid who is in a French immersion program. We believe it is a wonderful opportunity for him to practice his French. As a parent, it is also a means to find out if he has really learned the language!

This time around, I actually took a trip down memory lane to the time ASid first started communicating with us. At that time, I was adamant he would speak NO other language than English. I was afraid he might have an accent like me!

There would be days where I would be reading a book to ASid and would want to skip pronouncing a certain sound since I got it wrong every time...I did not grow up with that sound! There would be days I would wait for Craigley to get home so he could read a book and impart the correct pronunciation to our child.

Now, all that seems excessively unnecessary! Recently, ASid said that something seemed "pho-rein" to him...a few seconds later it hit me that he meant "foreign"! And all those years ago, the lengths I went to get this child to speak proper English - Canadian English...and he speaks it really strangely! At least, he is truly bilingual in a very Canadian sense of the word :)

We will be back in Montreal next summer but I may never know how many words in French ASid is mispronouncing!

Notable Note 1: In the car, ASid complained that his brother “scrinched” him. Apparently, a “scrinch” is a pinch with nails instead of fingers! This pinch has been named “scrinch” since it leaves a scratch afterwards. I actually googled to see if such a word exists and I found “scrinchables”…interesting…

Notable Note 2: In Montreal, twice we came across pianos that have been seemingly abandoned. The first time, we saw such a piano – ASid actually played some music! Only the second time in 2 months…at least, he was inspired at that moment in time. That is probably the point of the seemingly abandoned pianos. I like that!

 

One dozen years

ASid is 12! The day he was born, I looked at him and told myself that I have a good 18 years with him. It has been a glorious dozen years. I hope ASid has enjoyed them as much as I have. Someone once told me that a first child is an experiment for the parents and hence, those children carry the scars of their parents' mistakes. Given that, ASid has never complained about the injustices meted out to him...at least, not yet :) He still gives his Momley a hug at the end of the day.

 

What can I say on this milestone birthday? Well kid, continue to be your awesome self. No matter what, I am proud of you. Never forget that!

 

Happy Birthday!

Love,

Momley

 

Gifts of 3 Magi

Note: No Biblical allusions intended; if anything, I am alluding to one of my favourite short stories.

Another Note: Realized that Momley is a family name! Not very common though. Hopefully, there should be no disputes or issues in the future! As if!!

 

I invited a third friend to read the blog. He will be called "Sir B". Sir B is my brother's best friend. He quit a desirable and stable career to pursue the Fine Arts. In my eyes, he is very brave. He now has a career in the Film Industry and doing quite well for a late entrant. Let me be clear that I have NO aspirations to join the said industry. The reason behind this invitation is the following story.

 

4 and half years ago, during one March Break, Craigley announced a Family Short Story Contest. It involved only 3 contestants – ASid, Craigley and yours truly. 2 judges were recruited – my brother and Sir B. Of course, I totally expected ASid to win the contest…with a maternal uncle and an honourary uncle involved, what else can one expect? What I did NOT expect was to come third in the contest! Both the judges deemed my short story to be incomplete and “invalid” as it did not comply with the conventions of a short story. I was so dejected that I did not attempt to write anything since then (except for this blog; which is less structured and more forgiving).

 

Recently, Sir B sent a birthday email in which he wondered if I have been writing…so I sent him a link to my blog. Perhaps there is still a need for approval; I don’t know.

 

On the other hand, when I mentioned my blog to my friend Smoggy; he sent me a link to a YouTube video on Julia Childs that was hilarious. Smoggy never gives feedback unless I ask him to; he just makes sure I giggle like a little girl, smile like the world belongs to me and laugh out loud like no one is watching me :) He is my best friend and I haven't seen him in over 4 years...life sure does get in the way!

 

Then there is my friend KPF who checks in once in a while; he is my one and only loyal reader. Thanks to his encouragement, I continue to write. Thanks to his kindness, my boys will have a place to visit to "see" their Momley...long long after...

 

 

What does God look like?

The following poignant conversation started off when Hans was playing with the faucet...turning it on and off, and driving me crazy! I don't know why; I said, "God will be mad at you as you are wasting water!" As usual, there was a quick response, "I don't see God anywhere...he is invisible...he is nobody!”

Then a pause later, "Have you seen God, Momley?" I answered rather diplomatically, "Some see God as a woman; some see God as Jesus Christ and some see God as Ganesha...different people see God differently…”

Before I could finish, "I see God as Spiderman, Superman and all superheroes mashed up together!"

That's how my 5 year old sees God and I am OK with it.

 

Coming out of Retirement!

On July 10, 2013, I officially completed 12 years of staying at home. 3 days later, I turned 39 years old. Somehow, all these wonderful numbers and dates got me to reflect on my life. One of the conversations I had with another stay-at-home mom kept coming back to me, especially the following words:

If only I could take my 2 kids to an interview and show them what I have been doing …

When she mentioned that, I nodded in agreement immediately! Upon further reflection, I felt that any mom could do that! Seriously, what have I done in a dozen years that could be measured on some level? My children are like most other children – healthy and happy! How have I contributed to it? They probably would still be healthy and happy even if I had been working! So, what did I really accomplish? Sadly enough, I don’t know.

So, I am on a rescue mission; I want to rescue myself from this feeling of self-doubt. I want to contribute on a measurable level now. I am going back to work if someone is ready to hire me…

Hello again World!

 

It's OK to be seen with your parents!

I believe I use this blog to vent sometimes. There is a strange sense of security that there is no one else reading my blog except for my 2 friends – KPF and Smoggy J I can be a little petulant and they will be forgiving! However, a part of me understands that once my words are released into “Cyber Space”…anyone can see them and can think anything of me! This fact does not bother me. I want my boys to realize that the freedom of expression invites friendly comments as well as judgmental notes, and sometimes harsh tones! All sorts of feedback should be welcome and there is always room for improvement.

Back to the topic at hand … there is some venting coming your way!

Last Monday, June 24, 2013 was ASid’s Graduation Day. There was a beautiful ceremony followed by a dinner and dance. If anyone has been reading my blog, s/he would know that ASid just completed Grade 6 and thereby his journey through Public School came to an end, and he is off to a Junior High School. And such a fuss was made of this milestone – lots of fundraising and lots of organizing with the money raised from the fundraising! There were only 4 parents involved in these gargantuan tasks – 2 of us in fundraising and 2 of them in spending the funds. 2 of us are coincidentally parents of boys and the other 2 had girls graduating this year. The unnecessary battle of views and words began when the 2 of us mentioned that we would be attending the dinner/dance. The 2 of them looked at us like we were insane and how dared we even thought of such an abomination?!

One of them brought up the oft repeated phrase – rite of passage! Wow! The other said something like her daughter wouldn’t want to see her there. Fair enough; however, I did not understand how much the 2 of them tried to dissuade the 2 of us from attending the dinner/dance. At one point in time, one of the 2 of us felt like there is something wrong with us. If we had been in a movie, it would be “Mean Girls: Grown Up!”. I mean, honestly, these kids are 11 and 12 years old; this is by no means a High School Graduation?! I just decided to ask ASid how he felt about having his mom attend his dinner/dance. I don’t remember the exact words. I will try to capture it from memory …

“You should attend the dinner and dance, Momley! You have worked so hard to raise all the funds and it would be great for you to share the moment with us as we enjoy our dinner and dance.”

“Are you sure? You won’t be embarrassed to have your Momley there?”

“What? Why? No! I am fine. Just don’t try to show your love in front of my friends!”

Whatever that meant! And that was it! So, the 2 of us attended the Graduation dinner/dance. Also present were the Principal and 5 teachers. There were 56 kids. They didn’t care who was there.

 

Brotherly "Clips"

A few weeks ago, Hans' teacher reported that he scratched a classmate. As usual, I felt responsible for the incident. I sent an apology email to the classmate's mother. She was gracious and worried that the scratch shouldn't leave a permanent scar as it heals. I got curious and the next day, I made it a point to see this scratch; it was indeed a little more than a scratch ... A bit deeper than a normal scratch! I felt rather sad ... It reminded me of a time when ASid scratched someone in Grade 3. At that time, the classmate happened to be a good friend as well. The scratch then had been very close to the eye and the parents were (rightfully) quite upset. ASid was apologetic and said that he hadn't meant to do it and it was an accident. His teacher advised us to make sure we clip his nails regularly! ASid was 8 then and responsible for clipping his own nails. Hans, at the time of the incident, was 4 ... That means we are responsible for making sure his nails are clipped! At the end of the day, it is the most basic preventative step for accidental scratching; and of course, letting my child know that scratching is NOT an appropriate behaviour helps as well!

Now, the only thing I never did/do for my boys was/is ... clip their nails! That was/is 100% Craigley's responsibility. So, I reminded him to clip Hans' nails more frequently than usual. Of course, we were on top of things for the first few weeks and lately, we kind of slacked off! Since last week, ASid has been complaining that Hans' nails need to be clipped. Their dad has been quite busy at work and relegated the task to the weekend. Unfortunately, he started feeling a little under the weather over the weekend and I completely forgot about the nail clipping chore!

On Sunday, ASid clipped Hans' nails for him – both finger and toe nails. He did it very patiently and gently. No one asked him to do it. It was a first and it was a pleasant surprise for me. ASid is 11 years old and it is probably an expectation for someone his age in other households or other parts of the world. In our home, it is not an expectation at all; hence, it is a big deal for me. Just watching ASid clip his little brother's nails was a beautiful sight to behold. The best part was when Hans exclaimed, "You are better than dad!" And he followed that with, "You are my best brother!".

A lovely Momley moment! Thank you boys for getting along some days J