... funny things are everywhere

addictions, past and present...

So the boys came home yesterday... and James stepped onto the tennis court for the first time in almost two weeks... and I spent the day at work in an office setting where 60% of my coworkers are on holidays this week.

Jamesie's take on his return to tennis? It was good to be back, but he said his timing was off, and he shanked a LOT of balls during his first twenty minutes of hitting. After that, he did settle in and started hitting better. More importantly, though, his shoulder felt good... a great relief to him, his coach... and to his dad and me.

Speaking of tennis, the US Open started today. :)

Mike and I dropped by on Steph and Hoa in their new house yesterday. I made a card. First bit of crafting in months. Every time I haul out my paper trimmer and tape runner, I realize how much I miss it.

The card I made (see first photo below) looks pretty much like the cards I made all the time back then... I am so out of touch with current trends. I used to be bugged by stuff like that. Not so much any more.

Meanwhile, I find myself now twenty years into my running addiction. I remember getting hooked on running during my lunch hours when I was a grad student, working at a lab not too far from my current office. Today, I went out and braved the humid summer heat for a fast-paced 5k... I managed to avoid being run over by an inattentive driver... and, while I was out, I snapped the second photo down by the river, all while lamenting the end of summer just around the corner.

.....

the end is near...

Summer is all too quickly drawing to an end. The days are noticeably shorter, and the temperatures are dropping overnight, leaving me to walk the dog in darker, cooler conditions in the mornings. Sigh.

The boys have been in Nova Scotia with my family for almost a week now. They've been having a good time with their cousin, aunt and grandparents, but now it's time to come home. :)

At first, it was kind of fun being kid-free, not having to cook meals within a reasonable timeframe... it was nice to be able to run errands together and not have to worry about kids getting bored (Mike was good at not complaining about my trying on 10 pairs of shoes and only buying one pair... even though I have way too many pairs of shoes at home already...).

Last night, Mike and I hit the gym at 7:00... I tested out my new spin playlist (and he, his new cycling shoes for a song or two)... and then he ran on a treadmill while I practiced my cueing by yelling at imaginary participants in the empty studio.

#crazylady

So now, it's time to spend our last few kid-free hours together and maybe start scheming as to how we're going to get out next stretch of grownups-only time together.

#ilovemykids

#really

my babies...

I know they're not babies any longer, but it just doesn't seem like that long ago that they were so little and so very much mine.

Mine. As in, I knew what they ate, how much they ate and how long they napped... I decided what they would wear and which museum we would go to or which swimming instructor would teach them...

Today, I took them to gate 23 and watched them walk down the ramp together. Off on an adventure without me.

I hope they have a great time with their Grammy and Grampy.

I hope they take good care of one another.

I hope I make it through til Sunday.

... and then they grew up

#snapsfingers

Just like that, they go from newborn babies to toddlers... and, so it would seem, straight to middle school kids.

The weeks and months go zooming by; the years blur together, and the next thing I know, the kids who made me cry when I put them on the school bus for the first time are talking to us about where they would like to go to high school, discussing the pros and cons of various schools and programs.

I'm sitting behind their old K-5 school, feeling a bit melancholy. This was our second home for so many years. I gave hours and hours of my time as cochair of council, and I have nothing but fondness for the staff there.

Tell me, where does the time go?

.....

So anyway, this is James, just after a long day of tennis yesterday. As he wrote in his results into his match log, I found myself reflecting on how much he'd grown up in the four short weeks he's been in master class this summer with his new coach. What a wonderful fit it's been for him... Tony seems to have reached him in ways no one else has, in terms of technical, mental and motivational coaching. I am so grateful.

Cheers to a great second half of the summer, James!

ten on Tuesday

1. I've been keeping a shared gratitude journal with James for more than a month now. Therapeutic. Uplifting. It's been good for both of us.

2. I love summer. Even if it's been crazy hot, making the commute sticky and uncomfortable, I much prefer this to winter.

3. I did my toenails a bright pink (so pretty!), but I only have one pair of work appropriate sandals to show them off in. Trying hard not to buy any more shoes. They say there's no such thing as too many shoes, but I do feel like I'm getting close.

4. I try so hard to be patient with my kids, but it's not always easy. They are still not getting along. I don't know why I expect that to change any time soon... but if I don't have hope and keep working at it, it may never happen, and that would make me sad.

5. Andy Murray won Wimbledon by working hard, trying to improve every day... and NOT giving up.

6. "If there is no struggle, there is no progress." -- Frederick Douglass

7. I'm still loving being on the spin bike at the front of the studio. Classes in the summer are soooo small, but I see teaching as a wonderful opportunity to get paid to work out, so I have no complaints. (And the smaller classes mean that I can sneak into Chris Kelly's classes on a regular basis.)

8. I've been working to rehab an injury and areas of chronic pain (neck, upper back). The injury, which I assumed was Achilles tendinitis, is actually caused by trigger points in my calf and lower leg. I bought a book that maps out all the body's trigger points and give instructions on how to treat these injuries. So far, so good!

9. Tennis. I think I'm ready to get back on court! (See #8 re: injury.)

10. I love my beautiful Lemon! love love love that she's so cooperative and obedient. Proud doggie mommy here. :)

Catch-up post... and Broadapalooza

So it's been a crazy month and a half since I last blogged.

The school year finished amid the usual June frenzy... the boys had great report cards, but not all went as smoothly as I would have hoped. Still, we got through it, and we are now settling into the comfortable pace of summer holidays.

Thomas turned 13 and is playing squash for the better part of the summer. There may be a wee bit of tennis thrown in as well.

James is playing a lot of tennis and hopefully competing in a few tournaments as well.

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And I started the summer with a trip out to Saskatoon with Cynthia, Carolyn and Katie... to visit Michelle and her family. Broadapalooza 2013. We ate, drank, laughed, sang karaoke, saw The Hip in concert, ate meat off giant swords... told stories, sought advice and rejuvenated our souls for yet another year.

Every girl should have a bunch of Broads in her life.

Love you guys! BNIASW

.....

When you're eleven...

... and you're a dreamer more than a doer, you drive your control-freakish mother kind of crazy.

But I'm slowly learning to accept who you are and find a balance between pushing and guiding. I want you to do great things because I know you can... but I need to come to terms with the fact that YOU have to choose those things with YOUR heart.

Creative James vs Athletic James: I think I know which one would win.

But it doesn't have to be one or the other, right?

<3

iPhone fun

Having fun with my new photo editing app... it was a fun week to document.

- doggy playing fetch
- Jamesie turning 11
- meeting Steph's baby, Jackson
- Thomas learning to solve a 3x3
- playing at Robert Hopkins

I'm going to try printing these and putting them in a scrapbook page. :)

Spring... no, wait... summer!

First outdoor lesson of the year for James' group. Loved watching them! Such a talented bunch...

Still waiting for James to step up and work hard. Not sure if he's ever going to want it but, at this age, it's gotta come from him.

Oh well. It's time for me to get back on the court. Outdoor tennis is soooo much better. It's the way it was intended to be played. :)

almost a teenager

So my eldest is almost 13... seems like not that long ago that Mike and I were attending prenatal classes at the Civic Hospital. And now, we are wrapping our heads around high school course selection forms in a year's time, driving lessons in three years' time and girls... well, probably right now.

Eek!

I love that Thomas is so into sports. And the fact that I drive him to and from the club gives me lots of chances to spend one on one time with him. I think these two things are of huge significance to his growing up.

His participation in sports at a highly competitive level (if he could in stop goofing around in the group lessons!) gives him a good sense of self-esteem (goal setting, hard work) but also places on him a responsibility to take care of his body (what he eats and drinks, how much he sleeps...). I arranged a private lesson for him with the new squash pro yesterday, and it went spectacularly well. Who knows, right?!

And he has just started to feel more comfortable talking to me about things that would've sent him running in the other direction only two or three months ago. Girls... the great mystery of the universe. :)

So I've helped him find a stylist who knows how to cut his hair. I'll probably need to cut back on eating out or drinking Starbucks so I can afford his awesome hair style but I think it is so worth it... that's the age at which my mom and dad let me start going to a real stylist and doing pretty well whatever I wanted. (Can we say curly, big-hair perms?!)

Here's what happened yesterday... I told him I think the girls will like it.