Life's a Stitch

The oopsie family

Once upon a time there was a family. The mother of the family opened her backpack and discovered the LCD screen of her little camera smashed. Oopsie. 

The mother called one of her daughters to share her woe. "That's OK, Mom, I dropped my MacBook." Oopsie."It still works but is dented and closes wonkily."

Then she called the boy. The boy is in fourth year at the local university studying film making, which continually amazes the mom considering the trials of his last year of high school. She shares her camera woe. "That's OK, Mom, I dropped my Go Pro movie camera into the ocean and had to hire an urchin diver to fish it out." He gets the oopsie prize. "It's waterproof, so it still works."

If things happen as they say, in threes, then the oopsies are thankfully over and the family can live happily ever after. 

*****

I got almost five good years out of that little camera, having broken my last one at my daughter's wedding rehearsal dinner. This time I went for one with fewer bells and whistles and concentrated on my preference for wide angle and macro capabilities.

 

Dads

For Father's Day an observation regarding today's dads. So different from the Leave it to Beaver days, much more involved. The non-profit for which I work includes Childcare Resource and Referral services. We have an increasing number of fathers taking responsibility for day care arrangements. 

So one day, I'm on a crowded bus. Two guys, in their thirties were standing in the aisle immediately in front of me, their conversation plain as day.

"Hey, how's the little guy?"

"Almost a year now, we have to find daycare."

Thinking to myself: we're so fortunate to live in a country with a year of paid maternity leave. 

"That's a big job."

All I could do not to whip out a business card.

"We have a list of four, the first three weren't so good. The fourth is way across the railroad tracks, we're going there tomorrow."

A list? That's encouraging, they've already used our services. I've probably seen them in the office.

Dad continues, "All I want is for him to feel secure and not stressed."

Wow you get good Daddy points.

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

A pregnant pause and a sigh.  

"And how's your dog doing?"

Honest to God they were talking about dogie daycare. Thank goodness I didn't give them my card. I guess doggie dads have changed, too. 

 

 

Progress

Not much progress in the rib department. It is a slow area of the body to heal as they don't get any rest due to the need to expand when breathing and occasional bodily induced setbacks such as sneezing and coughing. A workweek in Toronto, complete with 4.75 hour flights and luggage lifting, slowed the progress. Enough whining. Thanks to all for the good thoughts. 

A fair bit when it comes to project progress. Those 4.75 hour flights helped with the growth of Seraphina, now halfway done:

Progress? After thirteen years without TV in the house, not sure what possessed me, but we've joined the rest of the world.

I know what did it. A call from the cable company, explaining that for the same price we pay for phone and internet, we could have all that plus cable with free equipment including PVR. Further temptation was six months of a 50% discount that could be used to buy a fancy shmancy TV. 

Negotiations regarding placement in an unobtrusive space produced a TV room in the back of the house. C is in heaven, he has his video valium back. ME? I'm guarded. The one who doesn't appreciate the drone and flashing lights, still has a quiet house despite the intrusion of progress. I do have to admit though, I was an eager participant in watching the hockey game. 

Contact with concrete, the Reader's Digest version

I could have called this one Oops I Did It Again, but that it far too common a blog post title, usually referring to a project the second time around. Not for me. I Did It Again refers to falling while wearing perfectly sensible shoes travelling on foot at a reasonably moderate speed. I'll turn a long story into the Reader's Digest version, as one of my former bosses used to request of staff.

Police incident, downtown. Man wielding sword, cops in pursuit. Bus behind police tape unable to turn around. I'm on bus. Three shots. Rubber bullets, how Canadian. Didn't work, go figure. Taser used, ineffective, Tackle him! Man down. Still on bus, ringside seat.

One more hour, let off bus. Finally! Let's grab a cab, step off sidewalk, woman down. Prone on Georgia. Street that is. Maui Memories. What's wrong with me? People screaming. Someone help her. Disbelief. Even pavement. Very graceful?! Ultimate embarrassment.

ER, x-rays, purple elbow, injured chest wall. Very painful. Morphine.

The end.

P.S. Six days later, doing better. At last.