Last Post of 2015

This year has been the year I have posted more moments than any other year in my short history as a blogger. I remember expressing a concern to my friend KPF a couple of years ago; I was worried I wasn't writing as much as I should. KPF, in his calm way, reminded me that quantity shouldn't matter so much to me! Looking back, he is so right. I don't even know why I posted some moments?! They are so badly written. Lessons learned. I actually have 4 moments in various stages of completion that will never see the light of my blog. I don't want the boys to think "Wow! Did our Momley love to blah blah blah!!"

However, here is a moment I want to share and thank Sir B, honourary Uncle to the boys, for making it happen‎.

November 4^th, 2015 was “Take Our Kids to Work” day. It is a day created for Grade 9 students to spend a day with a parent or a relative or anyone with a career. It is an opportunity to get out of their classrooms, observe a person in a work environment and perhaps start planning their own careers or at least start thinking in that direction. ASid was super happy to get a day off from school. He decided that his Dad’s career is not very interesting as it mostly involves sitting at a desk in front of a computer. ASid instead chose to spend the day at home with his Momley. How clever, but no one was endorsing it! He then decided to spend the day with my brother who could be traveling outside of the country for his work around that time! ASid felt that it would be cool to get out of school for a couple of weeks and travel with his uncle and learn all about his work. Obviously, that was out of question. We didn’t want to impose, but we turned to Sir B to help us out.

Sir B studied Engineering in a 5 year program at University of Toronto. He also got a great job after graduating from the program. He gave all that up to pursue his passion of making movies. I may not be capturing his sentiments as well as I should be, but one can understand what it takes to embark on a road less travelled. Sir B was definitely the best possible choice for ASid to spend a day with. ASid spent an exciting day and for the first time in his life, he fell asleep on the TTC on the way back.

It is very tough for a Grade 9 student to think about a career. But it is awesome when they have supportive adults in their lives that they can talk with and learn from. I do believe ASid and Hans are surrounded by many wonderful people, and I hope they are able to make the best choices in their lives. If not, that’s OK. They can always make other choices that best suit their dreams and passions.

…as one "Mother" from a much beloved movie sang...climb every mountain! And Momley would like to add a simple oft repeated phrase to it, NEVER GIVE UP!

Sales vs Sleep

Boxing Day is what some Canadians look forward to more than the Boxing Day eve!

Last year was ASid's first Boxing‎ Day as a newly minted teenager and he showed a profound interest in exploring what it is all about. Craigley decided to sleep the day away and I ended up taking the boys to a nearby mall. We took the TTC as I don't drive; so, the boys had a seriously limited exposure to the frenzy that's associated with the big day. They ended up spending their Christmas money at Chapters and Shoppers. It is amazing how much useless stuff (from a parent's perspective) one can find in a store that is supposed to sell books and the other that is supposed to dispense medication! What has the world come down to!

Fast forward to 2015‎ and ASid looks back on that experience as frustrating and not very satisfying. He pretty much blamed his dad for choosing sleep over driving his first born to various stores on Boxing Day! Such emotional outbursts are usually punishable in Craigley's books by letting the child suffer through a similar day as last year's or worse...forbid any shopping whatsoever!

But Craigley has been a changed man recently. It could be that he has realized he is losing out in the popularity contest for who is the best parent between the 2 of us OR he is simply going through a midlife crisis. He actually asked ASid to pick a store and promised to drive him there! ASid picked 401 Games downtown that is open Boxing Day from 7 am to 9 pm. It is his ultimate dream shopping spree. If he had a million dollars, he would spend it all at this store.

The plan was to pick up a friend and be there by 8 am. ASid set his alarm for 6:30 am. It rang and woke me up. It perhaps rang again 5 or 10 minutes later. I was up by then. I gently knocked on ASid's door at 7:11 am. He just told me that there is still time for 8 am and promptly went back to sleep!

Both father and son are still sleeping, and I got inspired to write this post! It is 7:39 am now.

Addendum: (2 days later)

The father-son duo did manage to leave home around 8:30ish and returned 7 or 8 hours later‎ - the father went back to sleep right away and the son couldn't sleep as he was too excited! The son ended up spending nearly all of his Christmas money on Yu-Gi-Oh cards. The mother wanted to remind the son about Paris and his "budget outburst"; however, she decided to be the mature adult! 

Hope that frontal lobe develops sooner than later!

Battling one monstrosity with another!

There have been only 2 people who ever "voiced" that I was perfect. One whom I call my cousin and I was maybe 14 or 15 when he put a sticker in my high school autograph book that said "U R PURR-FECT" with an illustration of a cute cat beside it! The other was Craigley who said it before we were married and quickly did a 180 afterwards!

I have cautioned the boys to be more honest and realistic with their ‎praise. It is not nice to praise a girl to the highest height and put her on a pedestal, and then push her off of it! It hurts...

Here is an anecdote of a not so perfect Momley!

I am quite positive I mentioned this before...one of my imperfections is this habit of creating paper stacks on top of most flat surfaces including side tables, coffee tables, kitchen tables and dining tables. I only have one of each of those tables, but ‎stating it that way does create a horrific picture that perhaps Craigley carries in his mind's eye every day of his life! Hyperbole does enhance horror.

I will specifically talk about one such surface today. It is the TV stand. Yes, I don't spare any flat surface! So, we got this nice TV stand 4 years and a few weeks ago as a housewarming gift from my parents. After placing our 32 inch TV on it, there was ample space on either side to place other things. Right away, the boys placed the PS3 on one side and I gleefully claimed the other side. Soon, paper started piling up...unopened bank satements‎, communication from schools, receipts from various shopping escapades, some brochures, etc. I just needed time to read them or shred them before recycling them!

Every few months, I would clear out the area along with other areas; but they would get quickly populated again! However, the last couple of months there was a bit of a delay on my end. The paper pile beside the TV started resembling a certain leaning tower and to save it from toppling over, I started spreading out my paper wealth! Soon, there were tiny stacks of paper in front of the TV. We had to hold the remote at a certain height and click for the TV to start. Craigley offered to help me, but his help is to put everything into garbage bags and get rid of them! What about reading and sorting and shredding?

I didn't have time to get that done. A few days ago, a package was delivered to our home. It was a 55 inch TV. Craigley said it was a gift for me. I didn't believe it one bit. He wanted me to clear the TV stand ASAP so I could start enjoying my gift. So, I did. Now, we have a huge TV occupying the entire TV stand's flat surface area. My stacks of paper are down on the floor now!

There is no point or an end to this story. It is just one of those episodes in life. Laugh and move on OR groan and write about it! Happy holidays everyone.

My Blood versus Your Blood

A couple of nights ago, Craigley remembered for the umpteenth time that ASid hit him with a golf club many moons ago! ASid was at a mini golf birthday party and he was around 5 or 6 years old then! In my opinion, it could have been an accident. However, in Craigley's opinion, it was a deliberate hit by ASid!

So,‎ Craigley brought it up again. This time, he made it sound even more melodramatic than ever before. He said something like, "I can't believe my own blood hit me with a golf club…my own blood!". I couldn't resist and I said something to the effect of, "Maybe it is my blood in ASid that took a swing at you!" At which point, ASid had an outburst, "Why can't I have my own blood? Why does it always have to involve you both! I am my own person!".

‎I actually felt for ASid and quickly let him know that his father's and mother's blood does not need to define him! He is his own person. Even as ASid was beginning to appreciate the small gesture of comfort from his mother, Craigley had to have the last word...

If you ever need blood, ‎they first check with family! You still might need my blood!

As much as a child is a product of his or her parents, s/he is indeed a separate entity! I personally believe that ASid is in many ways better than the 2 people who produced him. Life is not a simple mix of a couple of biological factors; it is a bit more complicated than that!

…at least here, I get to have the last word!

Cards and Kids

Craigley and I went on just one "date" and had a 3 month long long distance "courtship"‎, and then, got married! Would not recommend it to anyone if I hadn't known Craigley as a classmate and a friend for about 2 years prior to that! Why am I mentioning it now? Well, I have been thinking about what Craigley said before we got married...he said something to the effect of men don't grow up - men are just big kids! I didn't realize that it would be an excuse he would use for the rest of our married life!!

Disclaimer: Craigley'‎s claims are his and his alone, and definitely do not apply to the rest of mankind. I have a mere readership of 4 individuals whom I consider to be very near and dear to me. They all happen to be men. And of course, I am documenting Momley Moments for my 2 boys who will eventually grow up to be men. So, I am in no way endorsing Craigley's claims.

‎Moving along now...

Craigley started collecting Star Wars cards just before we got married and also actively participated (once a week) in games with other "big kids". At one point in time, I truly believed that Craigley loved his cards more than his legally wedded wife. We were in the States at that point in time. Once we moved back to Canada, Craigley had to put away his cards neatly in a box as there weren't as many avenues in Toronto to engage in Star Wars card games. Also, ASid was born and we got busy with new responsibilities.

When ASid was about 5 years old in 2006, he discovered cards for the first time. ASid got a Yu-Gi-Oh card in a McDonald's Happy Meal. A few more visits resulted in a small pile of cards. ASid has always been an avid reader. He read all the information on all of the cards and wondered what to do with them afterwards! This was around the same time that Craigley decided that ASid should work on advanced Mathematics in Kindergarten and ASid decided he wasn't really good in Math! It was a crazy time between father and son. So, it was decided that Craigley would teach ASid how to play the Yu-Gi-Oh strategy game and help the little guy learn Math. ASid literally learned to do mental Math (addition and subtraction) within a couple of weeks. He was working with big numbers as well. It was quite impressive.

What was equally impressive was how much money Craigley spent to buy more Yu-Gi-Oh cards to make decks that both of them could play with. All in the name of Mathematics! Both father and son went onto attend some tournaments and Yu-Gi-Oh was an obsession for a good couple of years. Then, peer pressure took over - ASid moved on to Pokémon cards. Even Craigley realized quickly that we just couldn't afford to invest in another card game. Luckily, ASid was happy with a couple of tins of Pokémon cards.

Fast forward to 2015...

This is the year Craigley brought out the Star Wars cards he had neatly boxed away. ASid also brought out his Yu-Gi-Oh cards. Not to be left behind, Hans started his own collection of cards (obviously with some encouragement from his dad, the big kid) - Tim Horton's Hockey cards!

This is what I got to hear in the last few weeks:

Hans: It is not fair that ASid gets to spend his money (allowance) on buying cards he wants!

ASid: ‎It is not fair that Dad can buy as many cards as he wants as he is literally minting money!

Craigley: It is not fair that Tim Horton's only lets you buy one discounted pack of cards per medium coffee‎!

‎Cards and Kids!! The saga continues...

Questioning One's Existence over a spilled Smoothie!

Last weekend, Hans and I decided to take advantage of 20X points at Shoppers Drug Mart. ‎Hans loves walking down aisles and checking out all sorts of merchandise! In preparation for this exciting shopping spree, I decided to get us each a beverage. Usually, I grab a coffee and Hans gets a smoothie. Sometimes, the beverages get in the way of optimum shopping (pun totally intended)! So, I made the executive decision of buying one beverage and sharing it. Hans and I got a large mango smoothie at Baskin Robbins (and it is important to mention this little detail here).

Hans wanted to hold the smoothie immediately and started sipping from his straw. ‎He made sure my straw was untouched and clean. Happily, we made our way to Shoppers. Here is the point in our tale where our happiness was on the brink of being short-lived. Hans has this habit of entering Shoppers through the exit door. It is quite dangerous and one has to wait for another shopper to make an exit to use that particular door to enter. I have warned Hans on many an occasion that if he stood in front of an exit door, it could hit him in the face! Well, he took it as a challenge and always positions himself at a safe distance. It has almost become a non-issue and I have a happy boy who darts in quickly as the exit door is closing and feels like a ninja!

And as we neared this double door adventure, Hans realized that he was holding a large smoothie. So, as I was entering through the "entrance" door, Hans decides to hand me the smoothie before he darted through the "exit" door! Predictably, the smoothie landed on the ground. We were lucky that it came from Baskin Robbins; it was so thick that it stayed a blob where it landed. It is amazing how something that looks so delicious in a container looks so disgusting when it lands on the ground!

I ran in quickly to inform a Shoppers employee. She was very nice and told me not to worry about it and that they would take care of it. All this while, Hans literally walked beside me with a scared look. Once I finished speaking with the employee, he blurted out:

Your life would be so much better if I wasn't born. It is all my fault. I give you so much work.

I looked at Hans and felt like I somehow failed as a mother. It is a spilled smoothie for heaven's sake! ‎Hans' reaction was a bit too intense. I just gave him a hug and told him that I don't care for the spilled smoothie; it can be cleaned up! I would be very sad if he hadn't been born. He makes me so happy. He is more important than any smoothie in the world. Hans cheered up quite a bit. Then, he had this to say:

So, you were always sad before I was born?

Hans is something else. We had the best shopping spree and as we walked out with our bags, I had to warn Hans to not step into the messy pool of mango smoothie right in front of the exit door!

What would I do without you?

Out of the blue, ASid hugged‎ me and said the following:

I love you so much!

What would I do without you?
I would probably go to China and eat a snake...
Then, realize what I ate and would probably eat a monkey!

Who says such strange stuff? A good guess is a14 year old with a developing frontal lobe! But as long as I get a hug out of it, he can talk nonsense anytime! Talking of nonsense, the other day, ASid again quoted some statistics:

Only 30% of teens are honest with their parents. You should be happy that I am honest with you!

Seriously, what would I do without this child of mine?