School is upon us. Students, parents, and teachers are, I believe, universally unsettled about back-to-school. Whatever the normal preparations, uncertainties, anxieties, and excitements would be, they’re different and more intense this year. I’ll be honest: after three days of training last week, discussing with my colleagues ways to deal with all the million tiny details…
Tag: summer
Gratitude to my Stillborn Son
Dear Sebastian, It’s that fragile time of year. It’s hot and humid here in southern Ontario – exceptionally so – which always makes me think of you. And cabbage leaves. (To be honest, fridge-cold cabbage leaves in the bra sounds like a pretty good idea right now. But it would definitely make me cry. The…
Breaking the Ice with Words and Grief
Dear Sebastian, Forgive me. I know you need some attention. You’ve been persistently reminding me for more than a year, but somehow I haven’t managed to sit down and contemplate you properly. Last summer, your days were rushed into the beginning of Family Camp. I thought of you all the time, but couldn’t grieve or…
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Ahh, summer. As a teacher, I had two months of glorious relaxation punctuated by regular days of satisfying productivity. Here’s a little example, typical of this summer. Dilovely’s To-Do List: Fold/put away laundry from yesterday Do another laundry, hang to dry Work out Tidy living room Finish blog post Answer pending emails Take kids to…
Black Raspberry Cobbler: Summer with a Spoon
This week, in Southwestern Ontario, has been that magical time of year when strawberries and raspberries overlap in their ripening. Last Tuesday, I finally got to pick black raspberries at our local berry farm. Just to clarify: black raspberries are not to be confused with blackberries, which look similar but A) are not raspberries, B)…
Summer Sequence Initialized: Check.
Summer has begun! Favourite Last-Day-of-School Moment: All the Grade 5 boys from the 5/6 class, who were actually getting along for once in their alpha-dog lives, TOTALLY ROCKING OUT to Beyoncé (All The Single Ladies). They danced and they knew the words. Summer: Day 1 and 2 are IN THE BAG, folks. Daddy had to…
Baby AB’s Fashion Blog – Issue #15: “Summer” Theatrics
Last week, the weather showed us how flexible it can be in September. On Tuesday it was 34C (93F), feeling like 42C (108F) with the humidity. (Inside my school, ’twas even hotter.) So although school has started, we were reminded that IT IS STILL SUMMER, Y’ALL. Then a few days later, it got down to…
Summer with a three-year-old
I think 2012 was the fastest summer in history. Cliché or not, I don’t know where that time went. It seems like it was June yesterday… and yet, there’s been lots of summer weather, lots of time at the park, lots of splashing and sand-playing, lots of ice cream. I know we did the whole…
Family Camp at NeeKauNis 2012
Here we are at Family Camp, at Camp NeeKauNis. It’s the only place I can think of where daily life truly does fall away and become a distant background. As soon as I get here, it’s hard to remember what my priorities were when I was at home… Not the fundamental ones, of course, but…