Hooliganting: Scrapbooking by any other name would be . . .

Hooliganting: Scrapbooking by any other name would be . . .: "Frantic as my day was, I finally remembered that it was scrapbooking night. You may remember from other posts that scrapping night is a week..."

The Full Monty

The first thing that comes to mind is? . . .Ok not that but yes, that movie is up for debate. You see, today I had one of those days that puzzles me. The time warp continuem crossed with my insane desire to do all things and be all things to everyone has jumped up and bitten me, and so I found myself almost thinking. I would suggest that I might have been thinking if I had time to think about anything at all. Are you confused yet? Good. Welcome to my world.

The door of my world opened up today to getting children up and dressed, ready in time to school when they are too tired and cranky to function thanks to Christmas Concert hooliganting last night. The snow was thick on the drive and the roads had sheens of ice as the van rock and rolled its way to school. Thanks to a heads up on bussing delays, I drove home to shovel the drive before rocking and rolling to the other school to drop off child two. Then my morning hit a lull as I scrapped with two friends. Cutting and pasting and recrafting images, and then ranting over the to do lists. By the way...this was not on my list.

So then it was time to get things moving again. I collected the first child and brought her home for lunch. I addressed cards and processed the list of who had moved and who needed cards and still working on who I have missed. If that is you, you need to tell me so I can fix it. Then, I had a couple of project related things to do. So I started by going to the grocery store to stand in line for an hour to get what I needed. One hour in, I had to leave to get the Grade 2 kids from school. The shopping was left in the store as the line was too long.

So, I have my children, but there is still much to do. I drop off one to the childcare as I have to go downtown. I line up at Tim Hortons for the coffee that needs delivery, and then drive to deliver it. The long line of traffic is the next line to navigate and finally the dance studio is in sight. That child goes to dance lessons while I park and go into the post office. You guessed it, I had to line up for another hour just to buy stamps and stop my post from coming during the holidays. I am not the best at getting to the mail box so it is simpler to not have delivery. This is still not my last line . .

I gathered Ailish up and hustled her to the gymnastics line, where we joined other long suffering parents who also line up every 3 months so that their children have the chance to be the next Nadia. Thankfully, Ailish was rescued and I continued to wait. I finished my evening with lining up at Extra Foods (to get stuff) and Walmart (to get stuff) and now the children are in bed and I am still sympathizing with those characters in the Full Monty's EI line.

At Walmart tonight, I finally got the stuff and I think I might nearly be done Christmas shopping. I could answer that in the definitive if I decided to think about it but it is definately too late to think about it. While in line, I caught myself shuffling my feet and tap dancing. People were swaying in the lines. Slipping their feet back and forth in time to Christmas music, people were trying to be patient as they waited for those cashiers to meet their needs. I couldn't help it. By this time, I was so tired and groggy, forgetful and really not with it, so the best thing my tired self could do was dance. What does that say about me? Do I even need an answer. So instead of resting, I am blogging.

At this moment, I am going to sleep. Good night and sweet dreams. Might I refer you to the Full Monty?

That's More Like It

You see, together we have this thing. You know, the thing that we all do once a week, whether we have had a good day or bad day. Whether the weather is wonderful or completely dismal and hole up hibernation mode cold. There is that thing that we have been doing for years . . .. The terrible thing is that our regulars have been missing in action for a few weeks due to trips, work and other hiccups that have meant that the thing was abandoned for a bit.

However, today was the day that the stars aligned and circumstances worked that we were all together for the first time in weeks. All four of us, plus a newbie. For the first time in weeks, the kitchen table was plastered with scraps of paper, scissors, photographs in various stages of cut, glue and mounts. The tea cups were sloshed along with the wine and conversation flowed. I hadn't realized how much I had missed this.

While we get the sense that we are being productive by creating the art that is our scrapbooks, this time is so much more than the scrapbooks. It is the memories that are shared as we travel back in time. The stories are part of our selective and collective history. Having been friends for years now, we have those stories from our past and we have the stories from our shared moments.

On the cold wintery nights like tonight, there is a sense that we can relax and chat. We can vent over the trials of the day. We can celebrate fabulous achievements. There is the support of a friend whether it is needed or not. This is the thread of community that centres us and keeps us returning week after week. Sometimes, it is nice to slow down and appreciate the subleties of friendship.

I am blessed....and I know it. So to those of you in my community . . .thank you! I blow you a kiss!