After
Last Monday, my mom took me back to her old neighbourhood in Toronto - 225 Atlas Ave. I had been there many times before, but this time we were saddened at the state of her childhood home! This house needs to be "flipped" to restore it back to its former glory! Maybe one day when we take another trip down memory lane, we will be pleasantly surprised!
I was in Toronto for the weekend with three of my friends for our Girl's Weekend Away, celebrating friendship, sisterhood and 40th birthdays! We had many special moments, but I wanted to share about the above experience which opened my eyes to their world of raising teenagers in 2007! What parents , especially mothers, won't do for their children!! They had requests from their teenage girls to go to the Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister stores in the Eaton's Centre and purchase something for them. As we entered the Ambercrombie and Fitch store, we were greeted by a half -naked male model - I guess it is their version of a "Walmart Greeter." I knew at that moment I was soon turning 40 because I was appalled at the exploitation! Yet, I realized it was clever marketing. I had a quick look around the crowded, cologne- infested (they spray cologne/perfume all over the store at regular intervals and the scent literally has you tasting it. For those of you that know I suffer from perfume allergies, I was not happy) store and quickly made my exit, satisfied I gained a bit more insight into why teenagers loved this store. While I waited a very long time for my friends to emerge, (they were standing in line for a very long time:)) I wanted to sneak a picture of this male model. As you see in the above photo, he was somewhat of a celebrity with the young girls! Finally, my friends emerged with their purchases knowing their girls would be ecstatic with their gifts. Ah, but our shopping expedition was not over -we had to venture over to the Hollister store, which looked very much like Abercrombie and Fitch store minus the live male model. I did venture into the store, but soon became claustrophobic and made a quick exit before I would hyperventilate from the strong scent!! About 45 minutes later, my friends emerged exasperated! What mothers won't do for their children! I am glad I was able to experience this shopping phenomenon with the "sista's" although I am still disturbed by the almost pornographic photos of women and men hanging in these stores geared for teenagers. What will be next?
Mom and her brother Jim and family!
Father's Day at Milestone's Restaurant.
Sunday Best on the front porch!
Dad's 74th birthday at Teddy's Restaurant...enjoying their famous strawberry pie!
Facebook has almost taken over my life - well not quite- but enough that my blogging has lapsed. Now that I am off for the summer and have my parent's 50th wedding anniversary under my belt, I am trying to catch up on my correspondence. First, I should update those who are interested to know of my dad's prognosis. It still remains a mystery. All of the tests came back negative for all the afformentioned possible diseases! What a relief! Dad's family doctor felt it was an infection that was causing the swelling so he put him on an antibiotic IV for 10 days. The swelling went down considerably as well as the pain in his legs. We can conclude his family doctor was correct...it was some kind of infection. As of today, his legs are 99% better but still swell up if he is on them for extended periods of time. No one knows what caused this strange medical condition, but are grateful it is nothing serious and he is back to his normal self! I have a feeling "Dr. House" would have solved this mystery!:) Summer is here and I am looking forward to enjoying it to the fullest. I want to intentionally adopt the theme of a book I am currently reading, "No Opportunity Wasted." (by Phil Keogan of The Amazing Race fame. ) I look forward to sharing my stories here on my blog! Before I sign off for the night, I will leave you with a pictoral collage of my last month....you can view all my pics on my web album at: www.picasaweb.google.com/swile67! Enjoy!
Our home and native land turns 140 years old on July 1st. How, you ask, do I know this piece of historical trivia? No, I did not use Google, nor did I rely on my incredible memory from my high school history class!!:) I am a Centennial Baby. I, along with many of my friends, were born the year Canada turned 100 years old! 1967 - what a year! Not only was it the year Elvis and Priscilla got married, it was the year of the World Expo in Montreal - which I attended - if you count the fact I was still in my mother's womb! To honour the fact I was a Centennial Baby, I was given a silver spoon , silver cup and a certificate from our mayor congratulating me for being born in Canada's centennial year - as if I had a choice - maybe my parents planned it that way so they could get the silver!!:) Apparently I was one of the lucky ones to get these prized possesions. Not all my fellow centennial comrades acquired such extravagant gifts! Sorry! 2007 is a milestone for centennial babies across the nation - the year of turning 40! I was at my first centennial baby 40th birthday celebration for my friend Michelle last night! She was hoping it would slip past without anyone noticing, but her fiance had another plan! She was surprised , humbled and thrilled to have her friends and family come out to celebrate this milestone birthday. We are all looking forward to the next centennial baby 40th birthday celebration and anticipating the next time we encounter the trivia question, "how old is Canada?" Without missing a beat, we will always give the correct answer!
sharing in their faith community expands my Christian world view and exposes me to pure church community living...
freedom to let loose and burn off some stress...
just being together...crying, sharing in the pain of the difficult moments at this stage in our lives...praying...holding each other close knowing it will all be okay...celebrating...kindred spirits...
thankfulness for the incredible community of friends that surround me as I continue on this journey of life touches me at the core of my being!
