Friday, February 12, 2010

Distracted by the Olympics

My bedtime is supposed to be before 11pm. My goal is to post each night before I go to sleep. Unfortunately, I'm still watching the opening ceremonies of the winter olympics. Go Canada! There are so many reasons why I love my country and watching tonight's ceremony reminds me of them. So I apologize for my distraction. Currently people are skating around a mountain while others are suspended "skiing" and "snowboarding" on said mountain. WOW!

Today has been a very very good day. My best friend Kate(not her real name) is in town today. Yay! She's been my best friend since gr. 9 when we ended up being stand partners. Not only did I learn how to play the flute, I gained a best friend that I've kept into adulthood. Through her friendship, I regained my first friend who holds the title of my longest friendship. These friendships bless my life in so many ways. Earlier this week, I had a great phone conversation with M. about being a mom. It was so refreshing to talk to someone who understands my issues as a mom and as a person. Our conversation left me feeling a little more settled about my recent journeys with Aris.

Kate has been praying for my kids since they were born if not before. Although we don't see her often, she really builds into my kids both academically and spiritually. They absolutely love Kate. She's been able to keep track of me both on facebook and through my blog, so has been praying for my kids. Of course, being Kate, she also came up with a creative way to help. She always has such great ideas. Today she presented Aris and I with a binder. This binder has a series of sections with stickers, beautiful pictures that she took, songs and lists. Everything is geared towards calming Aris and pointing her back to God. Kate included categories on prayer and spiritual armour, both things that we really need right now. This gift encouraged me so much! Having a friend that really enables me to parent exceptionally is so helpful! So often, parenting becomes a competition over ideas and children. My child is smarter than yours, my ideas about parenting are better than yours. Kate and I don't see completely eye-to-eye. We are different people. But she respects me and supports me so well. Thank you! I am blessed.

As I'm watching the Olympics and listening to the speeches about my diverse country, I'm reminded of tonight's school event. Our school is so multicultural and diverse which I absolutely love! Tonight our parent council threw a movie night. I was really excited to got and connect with my wonderful school community. As I walked in, my dear Syrian friend entered behind me. We've been trying to get together, but it just hasn't been working. Tonight we got to spend the evening together as we watched a movie and our kids played. I got to hold her beautiful baby. :) I love babies! :) Best quote of the day from my Syrian friend: "With your coat on I thought you had lost a lot of weight, but now that I see you without it, I realize that you haven't." I have to say, I smiled very largely and laughed. I'm not sure she realized how that came across, but that's okay. :) It was a good moment, one of connection and acceptance.

Now, back to the Olympics! Go Canada!

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