Nicky's Space: May 2013

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Lindsay Erin Elizabeth Byres

DOB: May 28, 1997

1 6 years ago........ 16.........sixteen......

I am not sure if I am more stunned that she is 16 or that I am old enough to have a 16 year old daughter.

I have heard it said that to have a child is to watch your heart walk around outside your body.....and in some ways that makes sense to me..... but in other ways, this beautiful 16 year old girl, is not so much my heart or her fathers heart - although we are both delighted and horrified to so often see so much of ourselves and each other in her..... she is rather, so very much her own heart, her own self.

And I love that self with all my heart.

It would be so easy to slip into all kinds of cliches and quite quickly sound like a crazy mother reeling off a list of attributes, making her sound perfect....which she isn't (close but not quite there yet :)

But I won't.

If you know her, you know who she is.....how she is.... you know the things that make her so uniquely her.

All I really want to say today..... 16 years since I laid my eyes on that tiny girl is that I didn't think it was possible to love the way I love you Sweetheart.

I love all of who you are and I will always and forever love you.

Happy Birthday my beautiful girl.

I love you to the moon and back.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Flummoxed

As I sit here on Sunday afternoon a mere 48 hours since I was at my desk on Friday I am flummoxed by all that has happened in the intervening hours.

Also flummoxed that flummoxed has two m's.

I think the only way to find my way through the flummox is to tell my story in chronological order with a couple of detours.

Buckle up People.......its been a busy weekend!

Friday late afternoon Allan and I headed out to the depths of Surrey with our friends Emily and Fil (and about 20,000 others) to the Mumford and Sons concert. We got there early enough to stake a good piece of real estate. Emily and I were tasked with securing food from the food trucks......after a detour through the beer garden where we are happy to report we were both ID'd.

We enjoyed the opening bands while we ate and chatted and drank more beer.

Then Mumford and Sons came on and the crowd rose to their feet. It was a fantastic concert - with all their great songs. The ever moving crowd was both fascinating and annoying at the same time....we couldn't help but wonder what it all looked like from above.

After we rocked the night the crowd dispersed easily and we were home in short order.

DETOUR: I just want to say that finding friends, couple friends, our age and in more or less our stage of life, with freaksihly similar interests and passions has been a wonderful gift of the last few months and this concert is but one great memory we are sure to make together. Cheers to you Vera's - thanks for hanging out with us!

Saturday morning was uber house cleaning morning. The kids and I cleaned the house from one dust bunnied corner to the other...... Allan mowed the lawn after doing his shift at the Wood Carving show in Steveston. I had coffee with a dear friend who autographed her book for me. Her 80 years of wisdom and insight are always so enlightening and affirming and I was blessed to spend an hour in her company.

The kids had stayed the course with the cleaning and by late afternoon the house was sparkling.

DETOUR: I know they are my kids and I am utterly biased but ...... how cool are they to clean the house? Lindsay even took all the covers off the chairs and laundered them. Take heart my friends with little ones - this day will come.... they are so much help and mostly cheerful about helping downstairs. Their bedrooms are of course absolute black holes of mess and other alien substances...... I guess you can't have it all but I will take what I have. Great kids.

So not wanting to mess up the house and also wanting to acknowledged the great work the kids did we offered to take them out for dinner. Lindsay said BBQ as David said Fish and Chips......Lindsay employed her superior persuasion skills to assure David that the catfish at Memphis Blues BBQ house with fries would be just like regular fish and chips.

Two hours later we stared this down....

Fish and chips long forgotten.

The meatatarians in our house were VERY happy.

Fighting over the last forkful of brisket

Smoked ribs anyone?

We then went in search of ice cream.....which was harder than you might think and after driving around English Bay as the sun was setting we ended up with frozen yogurt with endless toppings......

which we enjoyed in the last of the sunlight

When a serious case of the sillies broke out

DETOUR: Sure we had a great meal out and a nice drive but by far the best part is that we laughed all night. The one liners and jokes were endless and Lindsay's impersonations of people had us in stitches. I was out of breath from laughing. Not every family night out or event goes well but when they do it is SO.MUCH.FUN.

We went to bed full and tired and happy. So so lucky.

I was up early on Sunday morning and Emily picked me with coffee from Starbucks (seriously - what a friend) and we had a beautiful walk at Terra Nova Farm in the freshness of the early morning. We walked and wandered and talked and dreamed.....it was a lovely way to start the day.

I got home and we headed to church. Our other family. It was a great service. Allan and I came home to make sure the house was ready and we hosted new families that have joined our church plus a few people who have been there for a while as well as the Pastors.....18 in all. We had a lovely meal and lots of great chats and connections. The kids played outside and with lego and a great time was had by all. It felt good to be part of something.....we still feel new and are still finding our feet so it was good to do this.

And now we are chilling in the backyard and snacking on leftovers.....with my parents.....letting the weekend slide gently into the new week.

SO much done in so little time....... flummoxed I am ....... but very happy and very blessed.