Happy Halloween!

Looks like it'll be yet another warm day for our trick or treaters. A global warming perk? Big sis spent hours fine tuning her "corpse bride" outfit and make-up as they are having a dance today at school (such an important event in a pre-teens life) and going trick-or-treating with her friends. Baby girl and baby boy where disappointed that they couldn't wear their Halloween outfits at school this year. Such is their policy. But they are looking forward to tonight. The pumpkin is carved and awaiting to be lit. The bags are ready for our special guests. The spiderman and pink bunny rabbit outfits are ready to go.

Be safe!

classmates

Thanks for your comments guys, you certainly know how to make a girl feel good !

And LOL at the important stuff, like what I wore: long black skirt with slit down the side, sequined black high heel pumps, shimmery blue/purple blouse with rhinestone buttons and matching earrings, small satiny evening clutch, hair done the previous day at the hairdresser, meticulously applied make-up and, ahem, my little secret weapon "a tuck everything in the right place" undergarment ;)All in all an understated elegant look and an inner confidence and happiness radiating through. Oh, and a handsome well-attired and well-groomed hubby on my arm! A winning combination.

This is where we went: amazing food and the best cosmos I've ever had! Had to consume the alcohol early on as we were driving back home right after.

Out of 38 students in our class, 13 where females. The largest percentage ever in the school's history at that time. Many male professors where unhappy about this situation. So we had to prove ourselves even more, work harder than our male counterparts and got scrutinized even more. We didn't have a single female role model in our teachers. We were trailblazers. And we all did really well.

After the reunion, I realized that 7 out of 13 female classmates were still single and another two had gone through nasty divorces. That leaves only 4 of us in long term relationships. These girls went after their careers, but at what cost. Its becoming more and more difficult for them to enter meaningful relationships. It takes a mature, confident man to go out with a successful woman and not feel threatened by that. Much easier for our unmarried male counterparts. Three of them just got married in this past year and started families.

Just made me realize how lucky I am to be in a happy place in my life, because ultimately my friends, that's what its all about.

my other life

I'm a SAHM. And I've grown to love it. BUT if you told me 25 years ago that that's what I'd be doing, I'd have looked at you as if you had two heads.

From my early teenage years, I was focused on a career in the health field specifically. I was going to help people, make them better, discover something important. I had a vision and was intellectually motivated. I studied hard, worked hard and did eventually reach my goal. All is good, right? Not. Something was missing. Something that I'd never honestly given much thought about. But this feeling in the pit of my stomach kept nagging me and grew and grew. I wanted kids. All of a sudden I wanted to be a mom. Which I eventually became but it was a hard road. And to my biggest surprise, being a mom became more important than working hard at my career. All of a sudden my life's aspirations changed. Who would have known.

This past week-end I went to a conference relating to my previous career. Ran into a lot of colleagues, former employees. And the nagging question was always: "Don't you miss your career? When are you going back to work?" As if I'm not working now :~)

Then I attended a very special supper: my 20 year class reunion! Even though I didn't feel like going at first, I'm glad I did. In the matter of a few hours, we reminisced about so many little events. Funny how some people remember certain things so vividly, things that I totally forgot about.



24 years ago, 40 total strangers got thrown together. For 4 years we endured the most stressful situations, we saw each other at our worst and at our best. Good times and bad times. We laughed, we cried, we learned about each other and about ourselves. Needless to say, we got really close, didn't have a choice. Some lifelong friendships were created. Even though we don't all see each other often, our bond is still there. There was a lot of hugging going on. And trying to catch up with what happened with our lives: marriages, divorces, children, illnesses, people spread out all over the country. I was glad to see so many of them and how there lives turned out. But how does one summarize 20 years in a few minutes over drinks? It makes one invariably rethink our stand in our lives. Of course, the question often came up: "so where are you practicing now?" So many where surprised that I, one of the most driven in the class, was actually "retired" and a full time mom. Those with children understood and respected and admired my decision. Others were left quite perplexed. Even though everyone told me that I hadn't changed at all, the person they knew back then feels like someone different than the person I am now.

from one extreme to the next

My last post was all about a fun-loving week-end of quality family time, tranquility, relaxation and appreciation of nature in all of its fall beauty. (By the way, no one seemed to notice that my first picture was taken from the air. Hubby and I went for a half hour flight on a Cessna from Rockliffe airport up towards Camp Fortune and back. Beautiful.) This post describes our past week-end which was fun-loving as well BUT adult-only in a bustling noisy metropolis, tiring with the amount of activities we packed in and the little sleep we got. (Blogger FINALLY let me post some pics!)

We went from one extreme to the other from one week-end to the next. Funny thing is, I REALLY loved both!!! Let's see what's in store for this upcoming week-end ;)

week-ends

This past Thanksgiving week-end was simply spectacular. We had some excellent family time, re-connecting with each other while engaging in some out of the ordinary activities. No schedules, no activities. Lots of free time to sit back and relax and enjoy the magnificence of a Canadian fall. All in all great for the soul. I'll let the pictures elaborate. And stay tuned for details of this upcoming week-end. Another special one ;)

still hurts

Yesterday was my yearly physical and big sis' too. We went together; but she goes in on her own now, sigh, big girl that she is. But the doc then tells me everything that went on ;)

Long story short, I needed an Xray and figured we'd go right away to the lab as it was just down the street and a quiet time of the day we were told. I walked in to that particular lab and right away a major chill went right through me. Last time I was there was precisely 15 years ago. When I checked in, they had my address of 15 years ago which really confirmed it.

That day, in that lab, was not a happy day at all. I had just suffered a miscarriage at 4 months with my first pregnancy. A trip to the hospital confirmed it but they wanted an ultrasound to see if "everything" was expulsed and rule out the need for a D&C. (not sure if they even follow that protocol these days). So off to this lab we went. I hadn't cried at all up until the point where the technician put her probe up you know where. The sobs started coming out uncontrollably. She had the worst bedside manners and was giving me heck for moving so much while she was trying to "see". A black day in my life for sure.

As I was sitting there in the reception room, all those emotions came right back up. I actually had tears in my eyes. Why is it that after all those years it still hurts? I was sitting there looking at my beautiful soon to be 13 year old daughter and thinking how she could have had an older brother or sister. I was also definitely counting my blessings on having healthy and beautiful children.

Oh the heartaches of motherhood.