Electronic Notices, a Potluck and The Anniversary of my Birth

Electronic notices, a potluck and the anniversary of my birth, stories from in and around week 18 with the Carr’s

Birthday
There is something to be said about those who thrive on change. A new opportunity transformed into an adventure by moving, or a fearless leap of faith, magically turned into change for the better at work, are all wonderful examples of great things that happen when you are able to benefit from change. Truth be told, I just have never been a big fan of it, in general. Now I am a realist, and understand that things cannot remain the same forever, but it sure is nice when you realize that some things don’t change.

For the last 21 years of my life, my Birthday has basically been the same and I have to thank Nathalie and her family a tremendous amount for that. For as long as I have been with her, all but for one of these 21 years, we have spent it in Whitby at her parents place (one year her parents went to Curacao for Christmas!). Piles of presents fill the living room, with the sound of a crackling, well maintained Opa fire adding warmth to the room, and the joy that comes from taking turns opening presents, one at a time, one by one. Time spent to enjoy and acknowledge the feelings that each gift brings to each receiver.

I get that there is something else happening on the 25th of December, that has a way of taking over things, but for me, the day always seems to be about me. Even my 3 year old niece CC, didn’t want to take a nap this year, saying she was too excited for my birthday! Nathalie and the girls always do a great job of making me feel special and reminding me throughout the day that Jesus may be the reason for the season, but it is little old me, that is the reason for the happiness on this day.

P.S HAPPY birthday to my little twin sister also!

Cake by Lisa Wong - Bakergirl0029@yahoo.ca
Have your Cake
I have spouted off at least three times over the last year or so, about the wonderful “Cake Artist” we count among our friends, Lisa Wong. Now, I get to brag about her again, because Thursday night, just after the kids went to bed, I got to answer the door to a surprise delivery for MY birthday. The whimsical nature, speaks directly to my heart, and I sometimes feel just like a snowman in, sitting around watching the world go by, waiting for a dog to pee on me. Thanks for the gift Lisa, and I am happy to say that it tasted just as wonderful as it looked! To order your own cake for any occasion, send her an email Bakergirl0029@yahoo.ca.


Potluck
This week Nathalie’s company had a pot luck lunch to celebrate the holidays, and it was also to raise some money to help one of the employees who’s daughter has been diagnosed with leukemia. Because I have been helping out with the redesign of the company website, I was able to crash the party, and sample some of the wonderful food prepared with care and love for the occasion and I felt special to take part in the day. Touching was witness to Carlos’s speech about his daughter and how moved he was to be working for such a wonderful company and working with so many caring people who donated money and purchased raffle tickets, all in support of his daughter.

Notice
I LOVE that I received more then 50 wall posts and a couple of messages on Facebook, acknowledging my birthday, as well as several more email messages form various sites I have signed up for memberships over the years. Carnival Cruise lines sent me an animated card, NBA All-Access sent me a 15% off discount coupon, and 680news Insider club sent me 680 points for my fan club account. I even got a message from a site I forgot I signed up for on a whim, using an alias, wishing Jack “a Very Happy Birthday”. I love that people take the time to say hello and happy birthday at this busy time of year, even if it is some automatic message generated by some program, running on a server some place. It makes me feel special, and I just wanted to say a big Thank you to all those who sent along birthday wishes to me. I truly am blessed!

In closing
I once heard a joke that goes something like this… There is a religious guy stranded in a boat in the middle of the ocean, and he starts to pray to God, “Please God, give me a sign that you are there, and help me.” A short time later, a little boat arrives and the man says to his would be rescuers, “Don’t worry, I am fine I have my faith” and so the boat turns away. The man continues to pray and a short time later, a bigger boat arrives, and again, the religious man waves on the crew on, in lieu of a grand sign from his savior. Following more praying, an even bigger boat arrives, and yet again the man tells the crew that he will be OK, because of his belief in a higher power, and again they leave him to his solitude. When his boat later capsizes, and he dies and is greeted in heaven by God, he is crying when he asks the all-important question, “God, why did you not show me that you existed, by helping me?” and all God says is, “I sent you three boats!”

This week, I felt a little like the guy in the boat, and what I thought I would see is some grand sign that my Mom was with us, celebrating Christmas as she always has been, but I saw nothing of the sort. No grand sign or big “Ahh ha” moment of her presence, instead I realized that she WAS with us in the tradition, and smiles, and laughs and stories we all told about her over the last couple of days. All this, in of it self IS a sign that she WAS with us and for that I am truly grateful. Merry Christmas to all and have a great New Year!

Next blog, the year in review!

Thanks for reading and have a great and safe week.
Jim

A Letter From Santa, Music and Party, Party Party

A letter from Santa, Music and Party, Party Party, the week 17 Carr family blog is in the books.

Phantom of the Opera
Music of the night
I am not what you would call a huge fan of classical music. I should clarify, I can certainly appreciate the harmonic game that is played by each individual instrument, and the magic that occurs when notes and sounds are woven together to form melodies and counter melodies in this orchestrational style, but it is one of the musical genres that I have to confess I know very little about. I am sure true classical musical fans, would say that the music in modern musicals, although played on the same instruments, is just not quite the same thing. The reason I bring it up is that I am a fan of the music from the Phantom of the Opera.

When Nathalie and I first started dating, at some point in the first couple of years, we went to see the live performance of the Phantom, and our love for the words and music of the show were cemented in our hearts, and still to this day, we both have selections from the play on our respective iPods. Since then, we have seen the play another 3 times and plan on another couple of time for sure. When I am alone in my car, I will often put in the CD and listen to as loud as I can, and I am catapulted back to that first performance, and the shared experience of falling in love with not only the music but the person I was with.

Mushy stuff aside, this week, it was fun listening to the CD in the car again with the girls, who have seen and enjoyed the movie and know the music quite well, but do have some questions about the plot. Jordyn, talking about the movie, says, “I like the whole movie, except that part when he is yelling!” Never turning down an opportunity to wrap a life lesson into a response, I say, “Well Jordyn, the Phantom is so in love with Christina, that when he realizes it is a love that he can not have, he shows us how mad he is by getting that upset and yelling. But the amazing thing is that he shows us how sad he is to loose her, but in the end, he lets her go, because it is the right thing to do. Sometimes, in life you have to let something go that you love and it hurts.” Confident in my response, I sit back with pride to have her reply, “Well whatever, I just don’t like him yelling!” I tried!


Santa letter
Well I guess I have to be proud of the honesty flowing from my little Buglia over the last little while. I only know of this newfound trait, because of the return letter she received from Santa this week. At first, she was a little unsure of sharing it with us, but after she finally did, we discovered that at one point in the letter she sent to the big man himself, she must have just laid it all out on the line and made some kind of confession. “I heard that you have been a little naughty at school and at your babysitters, but don’t worry there is a lot of time to get back on the nice list”, he tells her, and we are sure glad he did. That must not have been easy for an 8 year old, thinking that this year her chance of a nice gift was a lost cause. Thanks also for the confirmation of a somewhat mystery with respect to what it is she wanted for Christmas. Santa acknowledged in his letter, that she had asked him for a “surprise gift”, so that makes us a little more confident that we should be able to meet all the needs of all on our lists, naughty OR nice.

Party
I love this time of year for so many reasons, but certainly one of the biggies is the number of times you are invited to visit and make the rounds of cheer and joy at gatherings of like-minded individuals. One little such gathering, I look forward to each year, is a party to celebrate Christmas, the end of a semester, or as the invitation says, the “Winter Solstice Gathering” at our friends house. This is the 10th annual event of its kind, and although we have not been to all of them, we have been to more then half and the one thing that is always clear is that these friends, have the most dynamic group of friends we have ever seen, and by sheer luck, we must be included in that list, because we were there too. The stories, and laughing and dancing make for a very interesting evening, and thanks to great hosts, the food is wonderful too.

In Closing
Often to pass time during car rides, the girls play word games, and sing and in most cases just laugh. This week, we had a serious case of the giggles, and at the time I looked at Nathalie and said I have to remember to write about it. The art of the knock knock joke is just that, an art and not everyone can either get it, or more importantly give it. I totally get that! Jordyn is a big fan, and when the girls start to giggle and tell each other riddles or stories, inevitably, it is Jordyn that throws in a knock knock joke or two. They, quite often are the same ones, but we still laugh.

This particular time, Jordyn was doing the famous, “Orange you glad I didn’t say Banana” joke, but the only thing was, that she was NOT saying it right. Now it starts by answering the knock knock part with, “Banana” 3 or 4 times, and the funny lies in the fact that FINAL time you are asked, “who’s there?” you don’t say banana, you say orange instead. Now, you can use any fruit you want in the joke, but of course you MUST use “orange” as the last one. This is either lost on Jordyn, OR she knows more then me, and figured arguing the point with me was way more funny then even the line it self. We laughed and laughed, and it sounded like an Abbott and Costello routine with all the back and forth in the car and at one point, the girls both had tears in their eyes, from laughing so much and I think, “It doesn’t get much better then that.”

Orange you glad I didn’t drive off the road?

Thanks for reading and have a great and safe week
Jim

Oh Christmas Tree, Niagara Falls, and Baby it’s Cold Out There

Oh Christmas Tree, Niagara Falls, and Baby it’s Cold Out there, songs laughs and the week that was number 16 in the Carr Family.

I love our Tree!
Tinsel
Christmas has always held a special place in my heart, perhaps because it was the day I was born, but more likely because of the feelings that come from the festivities this time of year. Growing up, the weeks leading up to Christmas, still today are some of my best childhood memories and decorating the family tree is one of my fondest. Last year, we opted not to have a tree at our house, because we were not going to be home Christmas morning, and in retrospect, I am so glad we did it that way. It made this year’s tree setup even more special, by being the first in our new house. So with the Christmas music blaring, and the girls hopped up on way more excitement then anyone should have in those little bodies, we lovingly put up our brand new tree this week.

Over the years we have been together, Nathalie has made it a point to purchase new ornaments each year that are dated, and that represent our life at that time. My Mom caught on to this also, and usually gave us one each year. It was so special this year, unpacking each of the ornaments’ that hold a special place in our hearts and flashing back to the date and time we got each one. Whether it was a little snowman gift received from a friend, or the blue elephant we bought for ourselves or the “Granddaughters first Christmas” teddy bear from my Mom, they again all hold their place of honor on our tree.

All the trees, each year since I was a kid, have always been great, but have always been short just one thing, compared to the trees of my youth and I am happy to say that that has changed this year. For the first time since I lived on Yardley Avenue, tinsel is a part of the decorations and with each shimmer and twinkle, the light catches with this magic string, it seems to flash me back to growing up and I just have to say that I love our tree.

Cold
This week we got our first couple of days, dipping below the ever-important freezing point. It is no big secret; because I have talked about it before, I am not a big fan of the cold, and would much rather not have to put on a coat, let alone a scarf or gloves. Each morning while helping kids out of their parent’s car at my girls school for kiss and ride, I am reminded of my personal feelings on whether the hard way and after my toes stayed cold for most of the morning one day this week, I was thinking about volunteering and why I do it. I help out at the school so that the girls can see that if you pitch in, and help where you can, it makes you feel better and that it does for me. So my frozen toes this week, tell me one thing and it is NOT that I should stop helping out in the morning, it is that I just need to get warmer boots!

Niagara Falls
Well we tried, but failed to sneak out to see some falling water in the form of Niagara Falls this weekend. We had planned to all go with my cousin and her family, but the weather got in the way and so last minute we changed it up and stayed home. I think we will re-schedule sometime in the New Year, and maybe just maybe, as the snow is piled high in January, a trip to a hotel swimming pool for a day away, might just be what the doctor ordered. However, there was no shortage of water, and other liquids around the house for the weekend, with an awesome Greek dinner, time in the hot tub, some sparkling wine and a tremendous amount of laughing, even though it was not a night in Niagara Falls, it turned out better than any other alternative I could’ve dreamed up.

Colby
Congratulations to my littlest nephew, Colby for turning an amazing 7 years old. It hit me like a ton of bricks this week, the realization that all the kids are getting older and it all started with the youngest turning another year older. I was thinking about all our kids running around like little nut bars after each other and in that picture in my minds eye, how young they all looked. It is amazing that as important time is, to the whole process of getting older, we seem to all find it shocking when time passes and we inevitably get older, or at least I do. But that may be just me!

In Closing
I have wanted to tell one of the first texting with my daughter stories for a bit, but always seem to forget it, when it comes time to write my blog. I was reminded about it this week (for whatever reason!), so I will include it in this week’s post. It was 5 or 6 months ago, and either a Saturday or Sunday morning. I know this, because Nathalie and I where nestled in bed still and the girls had made their way downstairs, to start their day by watching TV and eating whatever inappropriate “for breakfast” item they could find. This is not the story, but we have caught them eating anything from chips to salad first thing in the morning, and have always given them a hard time about it. This morning, there must have been a shortage of food the required little effort to make because of what happened next.

After enjoying a bit of a sleep-in and waking in the arms of the person you love, Nathalie and I did what any married couple might do with some extra time to kill in the morning, only to be disturbed by the two beeps and a chirp, signaling a new text message on Nathalie’s phone. From my phone downstairs, Jordyn texted the following message to Nathalie! “Mommy, when you and Daddy are finished jumping on your bed, can you please come and make us breakfast?”

But Jordyn, we still have 4 more monkeys to jump on the bed!

Thanks for reading and have a great and safe week.
Jim