Hoping for Resolution

My home town is on the verge of crisis, I fear.

It is a crisis that has been brewing for years, decades, generations but it is a crisis that, to me seems to be put on fast-forward based solely on the actions of my elected officials. Having said that, the majority of people who seem to have collectively pushed the fast-forward button on this crisis did not get my vote (and believe me, I voted). And yet, there they sit in their positions of authority blatantly and irresponsibly acting in a way that my vote cried out against.

I am blessed to live in a beautiful little town (well, it seems little to me but we are now 95,000 strong I believe) sitting on a wonderful river, the Grand. I cannot, I am ashamed to say, tell you in detail how my community came to be exactly or the exact origins of the current dispute but I can tell you it was the result of our government of the day deciding that the land they gave to Mohawk leader Joseph Brant (his true Mohawk name Thayendanegea) was actually his to sell and thereby create a trust for his people and their futures. It is a dispute that has been brewing since the late 1700's and is approaching a boiling point now.

As I have said, I know little about the details of the history of what has brought us here, but I know enough to know that what is happening now is wrong.

As an aside, a friend of mine is the most intelligent expert on this issue that I have the privilege of knowing... if you are interested in knowing more, he is always happy to share ideas and information. You can find Chris Friel at http://www.frielspiel.blogspot.com/

After over 200 years of failed negotiations and attempts at resolution, our Six Nations neighbours seem to have lost faith in the desire of any level of government to settle this issue. And after over 200 years, can you blame them? Regardless of how you feel about this issue or how it should be resolved, surely 200 years is more than ample time to figure it out... do the right thing. So now there are protests at land development sites dotting our city. At about three or four sites a handful of Six Nations protesters have been successful in halting progress, creating a great stir in the halls of our city leaders. They have been successful in doing this in peaceful and non-aggressive shows of discontent. They have threatened nothing except to remain resolute in their commitment to their cause.

And what has my city leaders' collective reaction been? Take the protesters to court. Sue them. Threaten to bring in the army to deal with "potential" violence.

I don't know a lot, but I know that this is no way to resolve anything. I know that this is not what I chose when I exercised the blessing of my right to vote. I know that I am ashamed that this is how I am represented, how I am painted as a member of this community.

I love my home town but I am hanging my head these days and praying that someone in authority will set aside ego in the interest of our future, peace and harmony.

Wake Up Call

One of the things I love best about weekend mornings, particularly ones like today, is the few perfect moments of time before you actually come to full consciousness and make your decision to start your day.

My apartment, as I have said before, is on the third floor of a century old apartment building and luckily for me, has no neighbours close enough really to peer in my windows. Being lucky that way, only one of my rooms has window coverings... my bedroom. I enjoy the abundance of natural light that pours into my space during the day and there is no view I want to block out by covering it with curtains or blinds.

But I love to sleep in. I love going to bed knowing that the only wake up call that will impact me in any way is the natural one that happens outside my window. So the curtains that are on my bedroom window are dark and long and hold off the light of morning until I am well prepared to face a new day.

We are enjoying a beautiful spring weekend here in my little corner of Ontario and so last night before I lay my head down, I opened my window up wide, shut the dark curtains and crawled into my soft bed to give in to my exhaustion. I let sleep take me by the hand and happily it did not let go until late morning.

In that moment of perfection, as my mind and body began to stir but before my eyes were ready to join in facing the day, I began to focus on the sounds of spring outside my window... the birds singing, grass being cut nearby and far off children laughing and calling out instructions for their Sunday morning games. And as I rolled myself slowly over to face the window beside my bed, wrapped myself more tightly in the blankets that held me, my eyes finally slowly opened to the blurred vision of the curtains lapping up beside my bed, carried by the spring breezes that were bringing sweet smells and freshness into me. They grazed lightly over me to gently coax me to join the day. Light in the room grew and receded as they danced in the air.

And as they continued their gentle wake-up call, and as the light continued to grow in my room I drew myself up out of bed and began another day that could only be fantastic after waking up like that.

Getting Ready

Funny how things work out sometimes, don't you think?

Just when I have clicked into a new level of personal awareness and readiness for next steps, I have been thrown a couple of curve balls. Nothing earth shattering although when they were passing swiftly by my head, they felt pretty bad but no direct hits, I guess... I mean I am still here after all. But just when I have steeled myself for the challenge of changing directions, lo and behold my energies are now diverted to managing these problems that I am facing, that cannot be put off for another day.

And this is what I think of that...

I think this is the universe readying me for what is ahead of me. In my inaction of late, I have become soft... I have forgotten what it's like to feel the challenge of stretching yourself. I've gotten lazy.

So here is my wake up call before the real fun begins. And I am happy to say, bring it on!!

I'm ready.

Spring Cleaning

First off, I would like to apologize for staying away for so long. I wish I had a good excuse but really, not so much. Life has been pretty much the same and aside from an annoying problem with my car, a ridiculously funny prank played on me by my coworkers (when you least expect it, I will exact my revenge... mwah ha haaa!) and finally, finally getting my clothes switched for the seasons, things have been ordinary.

But as the last remnants of a long holiday weekend slip through my fingers I have come to a bit of a realization and I thought I'd share that with you.

I love a long weekend and even if the weather is uncooperative, as it has been on this one, it still offers ample opportunity to do things differently... change up your routine... find a different perspective. And that is just what has happened to me.

It has been a bit of a progression of late... I can tell you, and often have, that I have felt out of sorts for a while; that things have not felt right and as I struggled to find a reason why, something to point to as a source of my discontent, a thing to change, it occurred to me to change the one thing I have complete and total control over. Me.

I have, over time, become less of who I know myself to be. In my effort to get myself through the challenges of starting life over, I have forgotten the most basic of all lessons... Trust your gut. And be brave. I haven't been doing either of those things for a while and in turning my back on who I truly am I have made mistakes, strayed down paths that were not right for me and worst of all, hurt people I love. In my fear of further loss I have made bad judgments and done things that do nothing to bring myself or anyone I love or care about closer to happiness.

Well that's enough of that. I am not about to say that I will not make more mistakes because knowing myself as well as I do, I can tell you that making mistakes is something I am very good at. I'm just usually not so slow to correct my path. But correct it I will. Day by day and deed by deed.

And I'll share that journey with you as well. Thank you for sticking around.

Number Three

Yesterday was Mother's Day and my sons celebrated in a way that gave me much to smile about...

First and most important, they all told me they loved me. Lots. And that was the best gift of all (ok, I know how corny that is but as their mom, trust me it is the absolute truth).

Second, recognizing that nothing has quite been the same since their dad and I separated we, as we did last year, did something entirely different and not-too Mother's Days-y. Just as I like it.

We went to see the new Harold & Kumar movie. Now, before you judge me (and I know some of you out there are) remember my youngest son is 17 now... hardly a child. And I feel we have a pretty comfortable relationship where we can tolerate the occasional dose of questionable content. My oldest son, who is 24, was a bit more reticent about going to see it with his mom, but conceded that we would probably have a good laugh and agreed to the whole, twisted plan.

And so, they gave me a dvd version of the first Harold & Kumar movie and (which we watched in preparation for the afternoon matinee) and off we went.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I think it was during the scene in Guantanamo Bay where our protagonists (I know, that is pretty generous) were awaiting with dread a visit from Big Bob that my oldest leaned across to me and said (I'm paraphrasing here in the hopes that this doesn't get flagged as inappropriate content, but really... It's Harold & Kumar for crying out loud) "I can't believe I'm watching a movie with c0@&-sandwich with my mom." If you don't know what I'm saying there, consider yourself lucky.

But watch we did and laugh and enjoy. Inappropriate or not.

And then, at the end of the movie Harold recites a poem he wrote while in college... (spoiler alert... don't read any farther if you don't want to know what it says). Here it is...

I’m sure that I will always be
A lonely number like root three

The three is all that’s good and right,
Why must my three keep out of sight
Beneath the vicious square root sign,
I wish instead I were a nine

For nine could thwart this evil trick,
with just some quick arithmetic

I know I’ll never see the sun, as 1.7321
Such is my reality, a sad irrationality

When hark! What is this I see,
Another square root of a three

As quietly co-waltzing by,
Together now we multiply
To form a number we prefer,
Rejoicing as an integer

We break free from our mortal bonds
With the wave of magic wands
Our square root signs become unglued
Your love for me has been renewed

Having felt like a number three most of my life and especially now, the idea that there is another number three out there to match my lonely root is a sweet, comforting thought. If my boys have at any points in their lives felt like number threes as well, and I'm pretty sure they have, I hope it gave them a positive message along with the laughs. And besides, that's a pretty good message to share with your sons.

From Mom

As a mother on the day before the day dedicated to women like myself world wide, I can't help but think about the lessons imparted upon me by my mother and what I have tried to teach my boys.

Now let me begin by saying that my mother and I never ever had a warm relationship. Either of them actually. I am adopted and spent my first two years moving from foster home to foster home before my birth mother decided to relinquish her connection to me, freeing me for adoption. At that time I was placed in the home that came to be my family and in permanent connection to Shirley, my adoptive mother. I can recall once being hugged by her and never remember her telling me she loved me. I struggled for a long time with the impact this relationship had on me and have worked hard and dug deep to find the warmth and love within myself that should have been shown to me by her so I could give it to my boys.

But despite that, I know there are lessons she taught me. Shirley taught me:

- that no matter what, no man has a right to hit you
- how to make a fantastic macaroni and cheese from scratch
- that if you can read, you can cook and there is nothing more intimidating about it than that
- that I deserve better (unfortunately back then I didn't listen to this one)
- that when you walk, hold your head up high and pull your shoulders back

That's about all I can tell you, but that is enough for me. And there are some pretty big lessons in there.

As for my relationship with my boys, I hope I have given them lessons that will carry them well, equip them with tools they will need to lead happier lives. Here is a random sampling of what I've wanted my boys to learn:

- don't throw garbage out of the car, onto the ground or anywhere except an appropriately designated receptacle (and that does not include your bedroom floor)
- show your love... show it as often as you can, tell them, hug them because you never know when you'll get a chance to do it again
- don't be limited by geography, the world is yours (they seem to have listened to this one, unfortunately I didn't anticipate how hard it would be on me when they took me up on that piece of advice but I'm so glad it sunk in)
- you don't have to be married or have children but being loved is a wonderful thing... cherish it when it happens
- wipe the seat... please!!!
- give back in whatever way you can
- your words of kindness will be remembered so much longer than you ever imagine... so will your words of hostility
- violence is never the answer... never
- if you can read you can cook, it's no more intimidating than that (yes, this was a good one)
- you deserve to be treated well, if the person makes you sad more than they make you happy, you deserve better
- don't stick your gum under the table... seriously!

I don't know if my boys will take all these or any of the other lessons I tried to share along with them in their lives. I hope at least they'll take the one that I tried to instill in them every single day... that their mom loves them no matter what. And to know you are loved, no matter what, is a good good thing I think.

In the Hope for Better Days

These are strange days it seems.

For a while now I’ve been commenting on how off-centre I’ve been feeling; describing my struggle to find a sense of balance where I wasn’t constantly feeling so lost and alone.

Coincidentally, I also noticed my new wayward duck neighbour who is still delighting me with his presence (no sign of friends or partners for my poor feathered friend I’m afraid, though). But although it seems all of this is unrelated and arbitrary, I am finding further evidence that this is not the case.

There seems to be some sort of cosmic misalignment happening. Or maybe a cosmic realignment. Who knows?

This is what else is contributing to my theory… Very recently three friends of mine have announced endings of significant relationships. Marriages for some and long-term partnerships for others. Now, by no means am I suggesting that any of these developments are the absolute conclusion of the relationship involved, but it is certainly the status currently. Also, I have other friends facing other personal challenges and difficulties that are wearing at their abilities to be optimistic and see any hope for a brighter day coming.

And my heart aches for all of them. Having gone through this agonizing exercise of ending a relationship, to my own conclusion which was right for me, I empathize with their senses of loss and being lost. It saddens me to witness any of my friends going through such challenging times, however they have found themselves there and from wherever the source. It is hugely frustrating to know there is nothing that can be done to ease their pain.

But I have faith that each of them will find their own way; do what is needed to take care of everyone involved. I know that this road is not always an easy one and I will let them know I am here to walk beside them if they need company.

And I will tell them what I believe to be true… each of them is deserving of happiness and although it may not seem evident right now, that happiness will come. Brighter days are on their way. I will be here for those days too, to laugh in the sunshine and be grateful for the end of the storm.