“This makes me really sad. I hope I never have to go to war.”
-Aidan Patrick Floyd, 11 November 2010
Victory Square
A large crowd gathers to remember.
Red Serge off in the distance over the sea of people.
Flypast Over Victory Square
Aidan laying our poppies on the wreaths.
Wreaths at the Victory Square Cenotaph
This is the first year people have laid their poppies after the ceremony.
Victory Square Cenotaph
A solomn crowd.
There is nothing so frustrating as the parent of a newborn, than the crying that is so loud and just won’t stop. On top of the sleep deprivation, hormonal stresses, breastfeeding woes and all the other baggage that goes along with parenting a newborn, a baby who cannot be comforted can be what pushes you over the edge.
With both my boys there were periods where almost everyone in the house was crying. The babies because sometimes they just cry and are inconsolable, the siblings because their baby is crying and you aren’t paying enough attention to the sibling, and you because you are just so tired and hormonal.
There is no worse feeling in the world than hearing your baby cry and not be able to comfort them. I know that it a biological imperative to keep the human race alive, but in the throes it puts your stomach in your throat.
I am an incredibly lucky woman, neither of my boys had colic and I had an incredible support system in my husband. Even with that support I still sometimes found myself wanting to hide under the bed. It is so easy to go from coping to not and it can happen in an instant. That is why this PURPLE cap campaign is so important. So many times it is easier to cope if you know that other people are going through the same thing.
Sometimes you do need to hide under the bed, or go for a walk. Sometimes you need to call a friend to look after the baby while you go and get a cup of tea or take a nap. It is not a failure to admit that this squalling infant is kicking your butt and your temper and you need to get some air and some perspective. If you can’t call a friend or family member, putting the baby in the bassinet or crib and shutting yourself in the bathroom for a few minutes until you are calm is perfectly valid and healthy, for both you and the baby.
Remember: This too shall pass.
***
The PURPLE Cap “Knit-in”
November 22, 2010 at 10:30 am
at BC Children’s Hospital
Join volunteers, moms, students and knitters for a public knit–in to raise awareness for the Period of PURPLE Crying: A New Way to Understand Your Baby’s Crying, a shaken baby prevention program.
We are amazed by the support for the PURPLE Cap campaign and hope you will join us in a celebration to sort, tag and organize the over 3,000 beautiful hand-knit caps.
These caps will be distributed to new parents in B.C.’s 50 birthing hospitals along with the Period of PURPLE Crying education and information package during the week of November 22 in celebration of National Child Day, which takes place November 20.
We need volunteers to:
• Knit bring your purple wool and knitting sticks
• Sort over 3,000 purple caps for distribution across B.C.
• Tag the caps
• Talk to media about why you got involved (if interested)
THE DETAILS
Date: Monday, November 22, 2010
Time: 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Location: BC Children’s Hospital
Chieng Family Atrium at the Child & Family Research Institute
938 West 28th Avenue
Main Floor, Lobby Area
Vancouver, BC
There will be people and purple balloons to guide you
Parking: We hope to have parking set aside for the event
RSVP: Harriet: harriet@limelitepr.com or
Claire: cyambao@cw.bc.ca, 604-875-2000, ext. 5100
Something I have to forgive myself for? I am sure there are about a million things for which I need forgiveness, if not from myself, then from other people. What sticks out for me is my inability to stay in touch with people the way I should.
I get so stuck in my own little world that in the midst of everything I forget to write, call or get off my butt and actually go see people. In some ways it is more difficult because I am thousands of kilometres away from my family and the time difference means that by the time I am ready to give someone a call after the kids are in bed it is well past midnight. It isn’t that I don’t think about people, I really do, but life gets in the way.
Of course it isn’t only family that suffer from my calling/writing neglect, it is people that I would dearly love to see more often, but I have lost touch. I had a few teachers on various school staffs that I really clicked with. I really wish that after I left the Muslim school that I made more of an effort to keep in touch with Fran and Suzanne for instance. It has been about 5 years since I have seen either of them, and since I am not teaching at the moment I may not have anything in common with them anymore, but it would be nice to know.
In all these relationships there are the other people to consider as well. Not only have I lost touch with them, or I do not call as often as I should, maybe the opposite is also true. Maybe I need to forgive myself for not being as good a communicator as I feel I should be, and just try to do better. One step at a time as they say.
With that I am going to do a few things:
1: Go out to dinner tonight with some friends from Aidan’s preschool days. We have been trying to get together with the kids and sometimes just the moms. It is a good first step.
2: Call Tomer and Carla and set up a games night soon. They have been terrific friends and they deserve a home cooked meal and some board games for all they have helped us with this last year.
3: Sent out Christmas cards this year. I am actually getting them finished and sent to me soon. I hope to send them out to family and friends by the second week of December.
4: Write a tacky, but maybe kind of cool, Christmas letter. You know the one with some random facts about what has been happening in our lives over the last year. Maybe I can jump start some old relationships.
Am I the only one that feels this out of touch in a time where we are plugged in all the time? Do your real life relationships suffer?
***
Day 01: Something you hate about yourself.
Day 02: Something you love about yourself.
Day 03: Something you have to forgive yourself for.
Day 04: Something you have to forgive someone for.
Day 05: Something you hope to do in your life.
Day 06: Something you hope you never have to do.
Day 07: Someone who has made your life worth living for.
Day 08: Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit.
Day 09: Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.
Day 10: Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know.
Day 11: Something people seem to compliment you the most on.
Day 12: Something you never get compliments on.
Day 13: A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough ass days.
Day 14: A hero that has let you down. (letter)
Day 15: Something or someone you couldn’t live without, because you’ve tried living without it.
Day 16: Someone or something you definitely could live without.
Day 17: A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.
Day 18: Your views on gay marriage.
Day 19: What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?
Day 20: Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 21: Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do?
Day 22: Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.
Day 23: Something you wish you had done in your life.
Day 24: Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs. )
Day 25: The reason you believe you’re still alive today.
Day 26: Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?
Day 27 : What’s the best thing going for you right now?
Day 28:What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?
Day 29: Something you hope to change about yourself. And why.
Day 30: A letter to yourself, tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself
