We recently took a short trip to Tofino, British Columbia. It’s famous for its stunning beaches, surf, fabulous old-growth forests, and as a gateway to eco-travelling.
Many people also come to Tofino in the fall to see the storm waves crashing on the shore.
Tofino is on the Pacific Ocean, and the next stop is Japan. Those waves have plenty of time to work up a good head of steam before throwing themselves at the land.
The power of the waves pushed this giant log ashore; a surfer could be a very easy matter.
This beautiful location on the western edge of Vancouver Island is a total jewell.
I don’t think it’s too serious but suffice it to say that my heart became a little glitchy on Tuesday morning. Officially, what happened is called supraventrical dysrythmia. Great name, huh? What this means is that electricity wasn’t passing properly through my heart and caused a weak, crazily fast rhythm. Would have outdone the “zoom zoom” kid on the Toyota ads.
It was a really nasty experience. Especially the medication they gave me that stopped my heart and restarted it. When they said that I would momentarily feel like I was dying, they were right.
But the EMTs and emergency people really were fabulous. Without them, I might not be here.
I even got to ride in an ambulance.
Don’t know how long I will be here in hospital, but I’m taking it in stride, even if it can be a little tedious. At the same time, I also realize that I need to be here, to rest and recuperate.
I also realize that I’m re- assessing, too. Stuff that seemed so important three days ago no longer seems very important at all.
I have been tested, poked and prodded and there’s more coming.
But one great thing is that I’ve spent some real quality time with WordPress, reading and reading while at the same time just being taken care of.
From that perspective, it’s been great.
The idea of having time has been great.
There’s nothing like an acute encounter with death to refocus you on the important stuff.
Hi everyone! So I’m going to be away for a few days and won’t be reading posts.
But never fear! Like Arnie Schwarzenegger, I’ll be back. Yup. I know. Some of you would love it if he would just retire, period. Maybe some of you would like for me to retire, too. 😉
But as usual, I digress.
I’m studying tomorrow and Wednesday for a big test and then I’ll have to catch up at work, and then my dear M and I will be travelling until about the middle of next week.
I look forward to catching up with everyone when I get back – I don’t want to miss any of the great stuff that I know all of you will be writing.
And maybe I might even have time to write a post or two.
That’s because I’ve had waaaay too much to do and just trying to keep up with my reader has been difficult.
So here’s what I’ve been doing:
– completing courses that will lead to a major career change. I have a break coming up but I have to study for a big test. Sob.
– working, and right now it’s crazy at work although the end is in sight.
-getting ready for Christmas – and ready to explode because of it.
-shovelling snow. Actually, no. M has been doing that. It’s made me swear a lot, though. The snow, not M.
-whining about snow. Yes, that would be true.
-whining about the cold. Yup. Actually, maybe I should explode. At least that would be warm. And, isn’t this time of year supposed to generate warmth around my heart cockles? What are cockles, anyway? If I didn’t know better, I would say that they’re teeny tiny c***s.
-whining about having to dodge snowbanks while out in the cold on my way to the mall. Yay.
– whining about being overworked and tired. Check.
– whining about hearing “The Little Drummer Boy” for the 1, 274, 451 st time. If I catch him, I’m going to shove those drum sticks down his weird little throat. He should be playing computer games, not following babies and playing his drum for them.
– whining about that creepy little oaf, er, elf, who keeps trailing people around the mall and squawking at them in a high-pitched voice to buy stuff.
-whining. Really, the only whine I want comes out of a bottle. The whine that comes out of me is boring. But I have to. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be me.
And I gotta be me. Who else would want the job?
What delicious pre-Christmas things have you been up to?
Am I hallucinating, or is it still September? Because yesterday, I went into one of the local hardware stores and what to my wondering eyes should appear but eight rows of Christmas lights, and icicles, and pre-lit Christmas trees. Just remove from box.
Standing there in my shorts and sandals, I was sure that I was experiencing some sort of flashback.
My gag reflex is working overtime but it seems I have to start swallowing some Christmas pudding already.
I’m no marketer, but are there really that many eager Christmas light buyers in September? Or is it as I suspect – that we have to suffer this nonsense every year because it’s being shoved down our throats? And earlier and earlier?
Next thing you know, Peter Rabbit‘s bunny trail is going to be covered in tinsel. He won’t know whether to crap an egg or lay a turd.
It’s nauseating. Pass the Christmas pudding.
We haven’t even had Thanksgiving or Hallowe’en yet. Ho ho ho.
And I’m offended and appalled at the idea of Remembrance Day poppies having to compete with candy canes and tiny reindeer. It’s crass, disrespectful and downright ignorant.
Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against Christmas. But commercial enterprises are trying to turn it into a year-round, debt-inducing crusade for stuff-buying.
Do I need to learn to accept the fact that Christmas has nothing whatsoever to do with spirituality, the winter solstice, family, food and fun and everything to do with masses of lucre and just shut up and stop whining?
Or should we be making our opposition – for many of us, anyway – to this charade known? Apparently, 68% of Americans don’t want to be exposed to Christmas advertising before Thanksgiving, which in their country, takes place at the end of November. I’m sure that in Canada, the numbers are similar.
Hang on a second. Let me throw up first, and then I’ll choke down some more Christmas pudding.
So, I’m going to be away for a few days and will miss some of your posts, but I will be neglecting them for a good reason – M and I are tying the knot!
We will be staying at Lake Louise in Banff National Park with our boys (read adult men) where we will be enjoying great food, great scenery and, and, and.
In Praise of the Stepmother (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
There once was a horrible woman who treated her biological daughters better than her step-daughter. In fact, she treated her step-daughter like the most lowly of servants. Then a rich guy fell in love with the servant girl, married her and took her away from her bad situation. The end.
Sound familiar? Other than the fact that this silly story suggests that marriage is the answer to a woman’s dreams, it has historically been the bane of every stepmother in at least the last 200 years.
The wicked stepmother. By now it has become an archetype. I’m not sure what its origins are but it certainly has had staying power. It encapsulates the notion that if children are not your own, that you can’t love them, and worse, that you actually hate them and will carry out that hatred in nefarious and crushing ways.
What an image for women to have to cope with! Not only do they have to deal with a ready-made family but they also have to overcome these ridiculous fairy stories.
Most stepmothers try to do their best. I know, because I used to be one. It’s difficult, demanding, and requires the sensitivity of a professional diplomat. And there are few rewards for getting it right, but lots of condemnation for getting it wrong.
Yes, lots of step-parents are crap. But lots of biological parents are crap, too.
Mother’s Day is coming. Its popularity did not come out of the idea of honouring one’s mother. That came out of war. Out of the heartbreaking losses of sons that women had to endure because a government decided to send them to die. And there were lots of stepmothers among them.
Hallmark and other companies have commercialized and capitalized on Mother’s Day and it has become a colossal money-maker for florists and restaurants and the makers of cards. Its founder, American Anna Jarvis, was disappointed by this. It has been turned into flowers and hearts but that’s not really what it was supposed to be about.
It’s supposed to be about work. Hard work. And love and tears and worry and sleeplessness. And lots of people, not just mothers, have done that for us.
So, this Sunday, we should perhaps honour the fight that our mothers, stepmothers and others have carried out for us. For many of us, it was the struggle that saved us, not the flowers.
In the Net! - Pictures and Stories of Life 