…..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.
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.
…..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.
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.
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!
… 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.
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.
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.
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.
Mama Cormier 
