Life’s Too Short

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..fill in the blank “life’s too short to____________”

Today’s Daily Post on WordPress is very timely. Last Sunday my 88 year aunt passed away. Now some of you may say she lived a good long life and you would be correct. My realization was that I shouldn’t have waited so long to get to know her better.

We tend to put things off until tomorrow but sometimes tomorrow is too late. Case in point: One year ago a group of friends from high school had finally reconnected after 30 years. We all wondered about one friend who wasn’t at our reunion so we investigated and found her. A letter was sent and then a few weeks later we were informed that she had just died. She was 60. At the funeral we learned that she had received the letter and was looking forward to our next get together. It was a few days later that she learned she only had a couple of weeks to live.

This past summer another friend at the age of 61 also passed away. Her 7 year battle with cancer finally took her life. It was her serious health condition that brought all of us together in the first place and I feel blessed for having been able to get together when we did. When my friend L called me in June to tell me that our friend was no longer seeing people and preferred to receive mail I decided to write her a card. Unfortunately I put it off (only for a couple of weeks) and she died before I made that final communication.

I am grateful for the time I spent with my aunt when she was in the hospital and the nursing home. For the last four months I saw her at least two to three times a week. My only regret is that we didn’t spend more time together when she was healthier but as my husband said it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Communication is a two way street. My aunt was always happy to see us but we were always the ones to initiate the visits.

In conclusion I leave you with these important words…..life’s too short to waste, don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

Pace – Slow or Fast?

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..I immediately wanted to say slow but fast has some benefits as well

As I get older I want life to slow down but sitting in traffic is a drag. If I could put a fast forward on traffic congestion without losing precious minutes of my life I would love that. Besides people waste way too much time talking about how bad traffic is.

We all need to slow down, smell the roses, appreciate the beauty around us and not wish our lives away. I remember as a child wishing I was 16. Then I wanted to be 21 and be married. Then I couldn’t wait to have children.

Now I wish I could turn the clock back and relive those moments when my children were babies. My babies are now in their 30s and my son lives across the ‘pond’. He’s coming home on a business trip next week but only has one day to spend with us. We’re going to make the most of that day.

I want to savour each day I have left on this earth: spending time with my 88 year old Dad, visiting my sisters who live hours away, enjoying my husband’s company, sharing meals with my children and their significant others and enjoying time with old and new friends.

Thank you Daily Post for making me reflect on what’s important in life.

Ready, Set, Done – Off To the Vets We Go

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..today’s Daily Prompt

Today, write about anything — but you must write for exactly ten minutes, no more, no less.

Three weeks ago we took our dog, Frances to the vet to have a couple of teeth removed. Two hours later and a bill for almost $800.00 we were informed that the x-ray showed a root floating around in her gums that our vet couldn’t remove so we were advised to see a vet that specialized in dental procedures.

The appointment was made, time off from work arranged and we drove to the hospital this morning. When we got there, in plenty of time for our appointment, we waited for almost an hour and a half before the vet could see us. She looked at the x-rays done by our vet and was a little concerned about the bone structure on the one side of Frances’ jaw but she couldn’t really tell what the problem was and could only make some educated guesses at this point.

When discussing our options, she said that if it were her dog she would probably wait and see and maybe start a course of antibiotics. She left us for a few minutes to write up the estimate if we chose to go the surgery route. When she returned she presented us with the estimate that ranged from $2000. to $2900. The option of going the medication route didn’t come up again.

We asked if we could have a few minutes to go over the numbers before making our decision. The dog wasn’t in any pain, there were no visible signs of stress or inflammation and she seemed content. What to do? $400. for meds or a possible $3000. for surgery?

The 10 minute buzzer just went off. I guess you’ll never know what we decided.

For more Daily Prompts check out Ready, Set, Done.

Strike a Chord

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..Do you play an instrument? Is there a musical instrument whose sound you find particularly pleasing? Tell us a story about your experience or relationship with an instrument of your choice.

My parents wanted me to play an instrument but they couldn’t afford to buy a piano. I remember someone coming to the house with an accordion when I was about 8 years old and trying to get me to manipulate this big, heavy and awkward music box. I’m sure that the cost was too prohibitive, never mind that I had no interest in being an accordion player. In the end my Dad bought me a Hohner melodica.

Oh, how I disliked this thing. Image courtesy of https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6014/5927778569_5a0e7458c5_z.jpg

I didn’t like this instrument either.

When I was in grade 7, our school had a school band and everyone was welcome to participate but you had to rent your instruments. Again my parents couldn’t afford the cost of the rental. Instead I took part in the class where we learned how to play the recorder. That instrument my parents could afford. In fact I was pretty good at it. Years later, when I started teaching grade 5, I took a refresher course and started teaching my students how to play. It’s not my favourite instrument but I did take some pride in knowing I could play an instrument and pass on my limited talent to my students.

In high school I was very limited as to what elective courses I could take. As much as I loved the arts I couldn’t fit any arts programs into my curriculum. I think this is one of the reasons why I was so happy that my own children had the opportunity to attend the arts high school and they all studied a musical instrument. When our son was 10 years old he expressed an interest in the piano and we started with an old clunker and then quickly moved on to a beautiful baby grand when we realized that he had a natural gift.

Once our children reached middle school they all played instruments in the school orchestra and band. Two of them played the cello and one the saxophone and they continued to play in high school.

I think one of my favourite instruments is the guitar. I can’t play it but my husband can and over the years, off and on, he had fine tuned his skills. He started playing when he was 14 and even gave lessons at this early age. I never heard him play until he was well into his 30s and in his 40s he played with our daughter at a school recital. He’s pretty much self taught but for a couple of years he did take lessons. He’s added a couple of guitars to his collection over the years and I bought him a strum stick several years ago.

Image courtesy of: http://www.baconworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/strumstick2.jpg

Recently he’s added a mandolin to his collection and every day I hear the sweet sounds of his new acquisition wafting up from his office in the basement.

I’ve tried to learn how to play a musical instrument on my own. I tried to play the piano and I started to feel somewhat comfortable with it but then the piano needed tuning and I stopped. I know it’s a pretty dumb reason to stop but our children also no longer played, mostly because they had all moved out or were away at school and I guess I felt I wasn’t worthy of spending the money to have it tuned. Hmmm? Money seems to be a reoccurring theme in this post.

An instrument that I have taken an interest in lately is the ukulele. I bought my first uke some years ago when we were considering teaching it to our students. I think the one thing that put us off was that we would spend most of our time tuning it, leaving us very little time to actually play.

My love for the ukulele, however, continues and for Mother’s Day this year my husband bought me a new concert ukulele. It’s a little bit bigger and the tone is so mellow. I love it and I keep plunking away. I bought my friend, who is also the music teacher at my school, a ukulele last Christmas. We’re hoping to spend some time this summer honing our skills together.

Maybe some day we’ll form our own ukulele orchestra. LOL!

For more ‘Strike a Chord’ entries check out

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/strike-a-chord/

Writing Lists – Jobs I’ve had since I was 10

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Mama Cormier

… Anna Fonté challenges you to write a list that transcends its orderly or numbered format

I’ve always had a job as long as I can remember. I remember my first paying job was to babysit my neighbours disabled daughter for an hour or so when I was just eight years old.

1. Babysitting

2. Paper route

3. Cashier in my parents’ milk store

4. Working in Woolworths keeping shelves tidy

5. Sales clerk in my parents’ fabric store

6. Embossing metal address plates at Pitney Bowes

7. Factory worker – vacuum packing perfume samples

8. Cashier at Dominion

9. Waitress

10. Assembly line at Mattell Toy Co. making Barbie tents

11. Chamber maid at a small hotel in Germany

12. Office clerk at Ontario Produce

13. Family Studies Teacher

14. Delivering Flowers

15. Selling Regal products

16. Selling and demonstrating needlecraft kits

17. Doing house parties for a line of clothing

18. Colour consultant and make-up artist

19. Making and selling crafts at local craft shows

20. Guidance counsellor

21. On a writing panel creating an educational document

22. Census taker for election lists

23. Delivering flyers

24. Teaching knitting classes at the community school

25. Chairperson and grade 5 homeroom teacher

26. Librarian and art teacher

All these jobs were paid positions. I’m sure I’ve missed one or two along the way. As I head towards retirement I’m already thinking about my next career.

For more tips on writing lists check out The Daily Post Writing Challenge – List Lesson

Daily Prompts – The Wanderer

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Mama Cormier

……name 5 places you’d like to visit

1. The west and east coasts of Canada. I’ve lived in Canada pretty much all of my life but I’ve never been to any of our coastal areas. I’m very much drawn to water and that’s one of the reasons I’ve lived in Toronto in the same house for over 35 years. I live right next to Lake Ontario and in the summers I spend a great deal of my time at the cottage on Georgian Bay.

2. Italy, the entire boot. I’ve wanted to go to Italy for awhile now. The rolling hills of Tuscany, the history of Rome, the romance of Venice, the mountains in the north and the rugged coastlines tug at my wanderlust. I love the food, the wine and the art and of course the beautiful scenery. What more could a person want?

3. New Zealand and since I’ve travelled so far I might as well hop on over to Australia. I love reading about both countries and I follow several bloggers from ‘down under’.

4. New York City. The last time I was in NYC I was a mere child of 5 years. We drove down to pick up my Oma from the ship that she travelled on from Germany. Everyone should experience this iconic city at least once in their life and take in the shows, the great restaurants, Central Park, Coney Island and of course the Statue of Liberty.

New York City Photo courtesy of http://i.factmonster.com/images/brooklyn-manhatten-bridges.jpg

5. Iceland. My daughter and her partner just came back from Iceland and the rugged scenery intrigues me. The entire country has no more than 300 000 people so the roads are never busy and they are easy to manoeuvre.

Iceland – photo courtesy of http://www.fredolsencruises.com/Places_We_Visit/Iceland/Iceland_2_original.jpg?nid=cf86d55c-3498-43be-acd5-7b3bff02ea48

Daily Prompt: Remembering Summer

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Mama Cormier

Theoretically, summer will return to the polar-vortex-battered Northern Hemisphere. What are you looking forward to doing this summer?

Summer Dreams

Mornings at the cottage

sitting on the deck with a good book

and a cup of coffee

Long walks on the beach

soaking up the sun

running through the waves

Puttering in the garden

turning the warm soil

picking fresh herbs

Starting up the barbeque

sharing food with family and friends

warm evenings with a glass of wine

in the backyard

Painting in the great outdoors

Listening to the CBC

Marathon games of scrabble,

Rummikub and euchre

Car trips to the country

farmers’ markets, antique stores

ice-cream parlours

Dreaming of summer

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/daily-prompt-in-the-summertime/

Daily Prompt: Express Yourself

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Mama Cormier

Do you love to dance, sing, write, sculpt, paint, or debate? What’s your favourite way to express yourself, creatively?

People who have been following me for awhile know that I love to paint and experiment with new art forms. I loved drawing when I was in elementary school, especially when one of my teachers took the time to teach us about perspective and shading. It opened a whole new world for me.

The unfortunate part is that once I went to high school I no longer took art classes. There was no room in my timetable for it. I knew at an very early age that I wanted to be a Family Studies teacher. That meant taking a lot of science classes in high school and of course my one and only elective I had went to Family Studies classes.

Once I started teaching I spent the next 17 years working side by side with the art teachers because we shared an open concept space or were only separated by a door. At the time all middle school students took Unified Arts, which included visual art, shop and family studies. I loved watching the creative process that happened in all three disciplines but I didn’t venture outside my own comfort zone and try my hand at woodworking or painting.

Once my own children approached adulthood the yearning to paint grew stronger and in my late 40s I took my first art class. I loved it. I started with folk art and then moved on to watercolour. In recent years I’ve experimented with acrylics and just recently tried oil painting. This year past I also took a pottery class and loved that as well and last week I attended a 6 hour workshop on dyeing fabrics with indigo dye and of course I’m crazy about that too.

As you can see I need to try new things all the time. Recently I took on the job of teaching art to grades 2 to 5 along side my library duties. I have the best job, books and art. What a perfect combination.

Here is a small sampling of some of the art forms I’ve played with:

An earlier attempt at collage.

From Zero to Hero-Day 14

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Mama Cormier

Assignment: Blogger’s Choice

It’s been a crazy couple of days. Yesterday I had book club and didn’t get home till quite late. I tried to add a blogroll but it was taking too much time. Nothing seems to work when you’re in a hurry. Now that I know where to find the help I’ll attempt it again at a later date.

Today I got a phone call at work from my daughter. She called K at home and discovered that he had fallen on the ice and was in a lot of pain. He bought me a new iPhone for Christmas but forgot to put my new number on his contact list. Why he didn’t phone the school was beyond me. Anyway I phoned home and he asked me to come home right away. That’s saying something.

When I got home he was mobile but I could tell he was suffering. I checked his back and there were no bones sticking out or even any inflammation but I thought it was better to be safe than sorry so off to the hospital we went.

The emergency department wasn’t too busy when we got there and we went from triage to the admitting nurse to ambulatory care pretty quickly. We didn’t have to wait too long to see a doctor and he quickly assessed the situation and orders a series of x-rays. Now the wait began and the place quickly filled up.

To make a long story short, after 3 1/2 hours we left with good news that there were on broken bones and a prescription for Tylenol 3. There was also one other bit of new that we weren’t expecting. Apparently K had suffered a broken rib sometime in his life. When, where and how is a mystery to us both.

When we got home I took the dog out and then drove up the street to have the prescription filled and to pick up some dinner. Despite his pain K was hungry and of course nothing had been prepared because of his injury.

Today’s Zero to Hero assignment is the blogger’s choice. I decided to reply to comments made on my last post and to check out the one blog I wasn’t familiar with. Other than that there really hasn’t been enough time for anything else.

Last day of school for me tomorrow. On Friday we take the train to Chatham for my sister’s wedding (hopefully K will be feeling better and will still be able to make the trip).

Cheers!

From Zero to Hero – Day 11 – The House is Completely De-Christmased

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Mama Cormier

Today’s assignment: leave comments on at least three blogs that you’ve never commented on before.

I understand the value of leaving comments on new blogs. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t do that but it’s always good to be reminded of its benefits. Once people start coming to your site you might feel somewhat disappointed when you have a day or two when very few come over to read what you thought was an awesome post. Sometime though, as in my case, no one came over because when I pushed the Publish button (it appeared that the article was sent off and it even showed up on my Facebook page) it didn’t really publish and the next day I discovered that it was still sitting in a Draft file. I still don’t know why that happens but closing all my tabs before publishing usually helps.

Some of you may be uncomfortable leaving a comment but WordPress has all kinds of great suggestions on how to do this successfully. If an article resonates with me I want the writer to know how it affected me. I usually leave highly political or religious commentary alone. Once I got involved in a conversation that made me very uncomfortable and it wasn’t the author that caused the angst but the people who stopped by to comment. In the end I think that blogger had to moderate all her comments before she would publish any of them.

For the most part people appreciate your comments. Just follow the guidelines that WordPress has drawn up.

Day 11 – The Small Task That Ended up Being a Big Job

Earlier in the week I mentioned that I still had to put away my Christmas ornaments and decorations. I tried to do a little bit every day but the bulk of the clean-up happened today. I think it took me over two hours to pack up the remaining signs of Christmas. I even brought in the wreath that was hanging on the front door. The only thing I haven’t taken done is take down the outdoor lights. I’ll save that for another day, probably closer to the end of the month or even February.

Earlier in the day I read a book for school and I completed a sample for my art class. I loved how the day started and how it’s ending. Dinner is out of the way, dishes are done, the bags for the Goodwill are packed and ready to go in the car, two loads of laundry are done, my Zero to Hero post is written, I watched a pilot from the UK called Derek and loved it and it’s not even 6:30. Maybe I’ll have time to write another post about the art project and the book.

Cheers!