Florida: Traveling there

Traveling with children is no small feat. It takes patience, wisdom and a sense of humor. You have to plan for the things that no one else thinks of and you have plan for hiccups. Yesterday,was the first time in a long time that I have had to travel with children through airports and security by myself. No other friends or family to cast an eye and while it is perfectly doable...there are those moments when you wish you had an extra set of hands.

Our flight left late but arrived on time into Toronto. I maintain, that hands down, if you are going to have flight issues, this is the airport to have them in. We were welcomed at the gate by Air Canada crew and were hustled over to Secure Connections area F for passport control. We arrived at 6:50, were in the area at 7:05. Our boarding passes were scanned and then we waited. Waited. Waited and watched the clock tick over. Boarding for our flight was at 8:05. The girls had done their job by running through the airport with the luggage and were more or less not fighting. Finally, I walked over to the Air Canada desk and said, I have now got 20 minutes to clear customs, security and get to the gate.

In the meantime, we had made friends with another family who was traveling with small children and all the infant gear. Grinning, I just suggested that having us misconnect might cause more problems and could they hold the flight and help? They agreed. Relief, and then our names and numbers came up. Through clearance 3 and to customs. Then, drama ensued as Keelin realized her stuffy was MIA. After tears, and heated argument, I gave up and left the girls in line while I weaved back to look. I was met by a gentleman in a yellow vest who had the stuffy. He was waiting for me to figure it out. Thank you!

Back I weaved to the line, which hadn't moved. It is now 8:00 and our flight is about to board. 8:30 comes and the line has not moved. We are pulled from the line and taken to the front with our other friends. We clear customs and then have to beg and plead to head to the family line. At every security point, our bags, hands and pat downs occured as we were selected. Fabulous. Eyes rolling, I noticed the other family was still struggling with shoes and strollers so again, we ran. It was about 8:45 and our flight was leaving at 8:40. I was never so happy to see a ticket agent just standing there waiting for us.

We flew Air Canada Rouge. It was interesting as it felt like they were trying to be West Jet. They were warm and friendly and really pleasant. The seats are more crowded and not as comfortable but very clean and the seats have way more storage. Food costs a fortune so next time, I am packing a picnic of allowed food before leaving the house. I didn't this time and because our connection was so tight, I had no time to feed the girls in the airport. I spent over 50 dollars on airline food. Ouch. It wasn't bad but ouch. Another note to self, make sure that the Air Canada application is downloaded onto your Ipod/Ipad devices. There are no Air Canada in flight entertainment options if you do not. That leads to bored and cranky children.

We landed into Orlando at midnight and then found and I hop. Pancakes at midnight. That can't be wrong can it?

We are now at our resort: the Mystic Dunes. We have a kitchen and a beautiful spacious suite that comes complete with little buglings in the kitchen. Everything else is gorgeous but not sure about cooking. Maintenance has been called and so we wait and blog. I guess I should explore the resort too but there is a hockey game on. It is the Olymipics after all. The girls love the two queen beds in their room and are in heaven.

Welcome to the Florida blog.

Florida on Dwellable

Hooliganting: Taking All the Time in the World

Hooliganting: Taking All the Time in the World: Living life in the moment is not as easy as it sounds. Remarkably, I have been living life full throttle and intend to continue to do so but...

Taking All the Time in the World

Living life in the moment is not as easy as it sounds. Remarkably, I have been living life full throttle and intend to continue to do so but now and then, I slow down to think, to ponder and take all the time in the world. It might not look like it, in fact I am sure that it doesn't, but I do.

Tomorrow, the great adventures of Florida begin for me and my extended family and friends. I have been plotting and scheming activities and suitcases. I have slowly packed and repacked until I minimized the luggage and maximized the timeline to still allow for relaxing time. The house is going to be well tended and is clean, and for the moment, all those pesky details like laundry and dishes are done. I usually pack the night before but this time, I have taken two weeks to sort and think.

I have taken time by making appointments with myself to go to the gym and dance, despite the workload and knowing that I need to put more time in at the office. The girls and I had a whole weekend at a hip hop dance convention last weekend that stretched the muscles, mind and imagination. By the end of the weekend, we had learned about house, hip hop, breaking, popping, video choreo versus stage shows and freestyle battles. Wow. Surrounded by talent, I loved the teaching and gentle instruction that was offered. This was time that I borrowed for myself to learn and dance. There is something about the sheer joy of movement and musicality that I appreciate and love. There is a reason that while at Starbucks for coffee, I accidently found myself dancing. Blushing, I said thank you when another lady commented "I like your groove." I hadn't even realized I was dancing in the line. Through dance and the gym, I am focusing on health and mental well being. It is a priority that only happens when I take the time. And it is the easiest time to give away to those that want it.

Sometimes, the to do list can wait. I have taken some time away from writing even, which usually relaxes me and helps me to process my thoughts. However, my usually quirky organized self has had some issues with thinking happy thoughts and quite frankly, I don't usually share the darker shades of blue. Instead, I decided that it was OK to take the time to think and to ponder life. Life is fluid, and full of changes. I have been watching the Canadians participate in the Olympics and have seen some incredible things. I love it when an athlete does their best. The ski being given by the Canadian coach to the Russian skier was amazing. The story of the Swiss skier waiting for the Peruvian skier to finish was tear jerking for me. The sportsmanship and drive is wonderful to watch while the freestyle and snowboarding sports are fun to watch for the tricks and commentary. Only in Canada does our silver medalist apologize. (Read the book How to Be A Canadian by Will Ferguson sometime - there is a whole chapter on how Canadians say sorry). It was a SILVER MEDAL. YAY! I certainly couldn't do it.

Despite the stress of my work week and trying to get ready for a big trip, I still took time with my family to watch my friends' young ladies perform in Les Miserables. The music of the show with the fabulous community acting was tremendous. Sometimes, by being supportive, you are richly blessed and for our town, this was truly a triumph of hard work and dedication. My youngest asked good historical questions and my eldest was fascinated by the sets. In addition, there was an art show and we spent time looking at the lovely prints. My artistic child was so fascinated by one print that it seemed to belong to us, and now it is on our wall. It was titled Corsage from the Secret Garden exhibition.

I think the point is as the winter cold and chills take their toll, and as I have witnessed a wonderful woman navigate her way through grief, and seen others struggle a bit this winter, I have learned the value of thinking things through. For example, before posting lyrics to a fb page, I really listened to my instincts and thought about it for three days before deciding that the message was too good not to share. The words were so resonant with me, that I shared. I have owned my mistakes, and I have made a concious effort to look for the high road. Do or do not, there is no try. Advice has been taken freely and used. I have wise and amazing friends that I really love and appreciate for who they are and as for my girls, sometimes I learn so much from them.

In a wretched debate with my eldest this evening, I found myself losing. She hates her elastics for her braces. They are to be worn when not engaged in eating or sports. The debate raged over breaking the jaw and headgear versus elastics, to which she said she liked her teeth the way they are. Money and health were discussed with vim and the educational qualifications of the orthodontist were showcased to no avail. After all, she doesn't have to wear them for sports. When I stared blankly at her, I was told in no uncertain terms why she didn't have to wear them.

"Life is a Sport."

Ummmm....yeah....I need to think about this some more.

Mom?

Hooliganting: The Elephant in the Room: Pondering Grief

Hooliganting: The Elephant in the Room: Pondering Grief: It is midnight. The house is quiet. Facebook has been meandered through. Chores done and life is pretty normal. Except it isn't. Not for...

The Elephant in the Room: Pondering Grief

It is midnight. The house is quiet. Facebook has been meandered through. Chores done and life is pretty normal. Except it isn't. Not for me, not for a huge number of people that live here. We lost one our own and I am still catching myself thinking about the family left behind and wondering.

First, this was someone who was gone too soon. Secondly, the loss takes me to places that I thought I had already coped with. The accident mirrored drastically the passing of a close family friend when I was turning 17. It was my birthday and the world went dark. The community was swept into grieving the loss of a 14 year old as a mine shaft caved in where I grew up. My brothers were spared...just. The media storm and the commentary was tragic and devestating. It would have been much worse in today's modern world. Like then, it is now...a community mourns.

The thing that bothers me is that I can't fix this. I can't say anything other than offer quiet sympathy. But there is more to the grieving process. Do we send the flowers on valentines day to show we remember and we care? Will someone take care of the birthday and anniversary that were his to surprise and spoil her on? Will the kids be OK? Does she know from within that dark space of mind at three am that all she needs to do is call and we will be there? I am on the fringe...and I hate the thought of this cheerful, fun-loving dedicated family being wounded. It sucks. It is the elephant in the room.

And yet, I still have the nightly terrors that flash it all back to 1989. Is it valid to acknowledge that or do I stuff that down into the abyss again? Brushed under the carpet is helping me any, but yet it was so long ago that no one really wants to go there. To be fair, I don't. It is the smells, the sounds, a turn of phrase...it is the laughter and bad jokes...it is the not knowing WHY or HOW...and the helplessness of being able to do NOTHING useful.

So, it is midnight. I am exhausted. I don't want to go to bed because I hate what I find there. The dark is not my friend. And out of respect, I am not posting this one to Facebook as that is not the place for this. Ideas on solving insomnia are welcome.

Hooliganting: The Nature of My Oil Sands

Hooliganting: The Nature of My Oil Sands: Living in the frozen north, I think that eventually I get to a point where my mind goes numb. There have been so many things that are going ...

The Nature of My Oil Sands

Living in the frozen north, I think that eventually I get to a point where my mind goes numb. There have been so many things that are going on and yet, finding the time to write seems to be diminshed. I have scrapbooked, visited family, worked and as you can tell, I am working hard at this because for the life of me, I CANNOT remember the darned password to the cloud. It forced me to change it at the end of the day on Wednesday and now - I am stuck. So, break time it is.

Now, some of the biggest posts around Facebook seem to be about Neil Young and Blue Rodeo and their skewed and biased take on the oil sands. Because I know that so many of you have no idea about where I live because you are all far away, I felt inspired to write my own debate response. They referred to my home as being like Hiroshima. Hiroshima? Really? That is insulting to those of us who live here AND to the Japanese that experienced that. I can't imagine oil sands being the same thing as a wasteland of human life and mortality. Have you ever seen a smog map? The air in and around Wood Buffalo is reasonably clear considering the industry. Try looking across the USA, it isn't as nice. Our community is isolated and uniquely challenged. No industry is pretty, I get that. However, please note that the oil was in the water BEFORE people moved here. There are pictures of aboriginal children playing in the river with oily water lapping their legs from the early 1900's. With the sustainable reclaimation programs, I would argue that in some ways, the land is cleaner now and that our companies are mandated to reclaim the land, spending billions on it.  But what would I know? I just live here, camp in the woods, canoe on the river, work in the tourism sector, and raise my kids.

Just as an example, I went skiing today. I drove a short 30 minutes to Vista Ridge and this is what I got to see today.

I have been camping. and attended special events like the Fire Fighters community breakfast and demonstrations.

 I have been walking through the birchwood trails that I love. It is beautiful here.

So, before you trounce a community that I have to live in, respect and appreciate for the good, bad and ugly. Perhaps don't take the oils sands sponsorship for your concerts, or the oils sands money that paid for the tickets. Perhaps you shouldn't be a hypocrite...look in your own back door.

That being said, there have been so many other funny moments this week. All point to the blatant silliness of people. In our community, they do snow removal. Three days before they put out signs that say no parking due to street maintenance. These signs are placed at all intersections and along the roads, and are very hard to miss judging from the number of times cars actually run them over. So, I gleefully took this picture of the people being ticketed and towed for simply not reading the sign or thinking that it didn't apply to them. With all the snow, we need it cleared. People, get out of the way.

The sign is located by the edge of the image and by the far tree. The city is making money. Lol.

What else? Oh, we have had the leaking roof tops and the wind storm. We have had the car break downs and people in the ditch due to icy conditions. There have been the first week back at school shennangians but all of these things are just life. Life anywhere in any place will have some of the same hiccups. Bottom line: do the best you can with what you have. Be positive in your experience and if you don't like it, don't come here and leave us alone. We are just fine thank you. In the north, this is the nature of things and we like it.

Not a smog cloud in the sky.