Unplugged

A boy is the only thing God can use to make a man…

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It’s almost Thanksgiving, and I haven’t written about one of the biggest changes in our family life this year… High School!! If you’ve known me for awhile, you know that the passing of time and my aging kids at times grieves me and at times gives me great joy, so I can never be sure how I’ll feel when big milestones come along.

My thoughts as I sent our oldest boy to the wide world of high school (the high school he is attending is larger in population than some small towns at a whopping 1800 students) were not so different as they were when I sent him to grade 1 all those years ago! For a flash back to that day, read this. What has been different though, is the EASE I have felt as he has navigated this road so far. I am happy to report that 6 weeks in it has been fairly smooth sailing.

Except when it hasn’t.

Sometimes, CT needs to get away from it all and just be our boy and the big brother for a little while. He needs to discard “student, athlete, friend, hard-working, responsible” and just BE. I know that it is time for just such a reset when the vibe around our house starts to feel a little funky…

Funky like: For the past couple of weeks, I have noticed a growing discord between the boys that was beginning to worry me. It really worried me when that discord started spilling over to the relationship between CT and us (the parentals). I knew we were walking on shaky ground. One of my greatest fears is that these teen years will rob us of the precious relationships we have with our boys. Will the “inevitable” happen… as I have heard other parents comment on – will my boys become morose, sullen, unaffectionate people that don’t want my attention or influence?? Is this happening now as the snowball of fall – sports, homework, youth group, friends… the iphone… take over in our new high school reality??

My answer is unequivocally, “NO!” Because I won’t let it. When we find ourselves in just such a funky place, we know that it’s time to hit the trail. So, on Saturday night as hubbie and I prayed for our kids and our home and said good night after a long day I told him that we were leaving town on Sunday morning. We were cancelling all things. We were packing lunches and driving until we found a path to walk on. And we did.

Both of our boys love the outdoors. They seem calmer and more energized all at once when they are free to explore, get dirty, and move without borders. Usually an amazing thing happens when we get this opportunity… we fall back in step with one another. Dad and boys walk and talk. Mom and boys walk and talk. Boys walk and talk… and wrestle (insert copious eye roll). And we all laugh. And we all remember who we are and whose we are – together.

Thankfully, this adventure was no exception.

Deep Thoughts… Dad wisdom.

I’m not sure what these next 4 years hold, but I know that I need to up my game. Connection matters – more than ever before. Investing in these young men matters – more than ever before. After our adventure together on Sunday I am less worried that my boys will suddenly and irrevocably turn into strangers that I don’t recognize, because I realize that even if they do become morose, sullen, and unaffectionate at times… I will not. There is too much at stake. I will see the best in them and I will remind them of the best in them as often as it takes – even if I have to drag them to the wilderness to do it ;).

Can I encourage you today, if you are feeling a bit “separate” from your teen? Has the beginning of high school got you feeling disconnected as it had me? … maybe your place is not the wilderness, but you KNOW where it is… playing a sport you all love, a game, music, a walk to a favourite coffee shop or park… it doesn’t actually matter WHAT it is, except that it is the thing you do together, with no distractions. Rekindle what is cooling in the pressure and competition of the world. Even if there is complaining, even if there is resistance, can I encourage you to just do it? Put a smile on your own face, do the best things you know how to do to show your love, attention, and devotion to your kiddo… and trust that they will feel it in their bones. And if it doesn’t work the first time, do it again… and again… and again. You deserve that kind of relationship and so do they!

One-Day Vacay: Kicking Horse Mountain Summer Adventure

Panoramic view of Golden, BC

It was a Sunday Funday for the Irvine’s this weekend… because we decided that we most definitely needed a one-day vacation (One-Day VACAY!). When the Irvine’s need a one-day vacay, they almost always choose mountains!

So, off we went… approximately 4 hours from our humble abode is beautiful Kicking Horse Mountain Resort… yup, a ski hill! BUT, when void of snow, ski hills make terrific hiking destinations, especially when all of the uphill work is done by a chairlift or gondola!!

We started our day by meeting “Boo” the Grizzly Bear.

“Boo” the Grizzly Bear posing with a snack!

Boo is a delightful ambassador for others of his species and posed obligingly for us (the snacks he was munching helped with the posing… and the impending winter… he’s a little more lazy this time of year, we were told!). It was an easy chairlift ride to Boo’s happy habitat, and we were met by an amazing tour guide who gave an informative talk about Grizzly Bears in general, and many entertaining stories about Boo in particular. This was definitely a highlight of the day for me!!

After about an hour with Boo, we took the chairlift back DOWN the mountain (yes, up and down service!), had ourselves a delicious hot chocolate and then hopped on the gondola for a ride to the tippy top of the mountain.

“It’s opener there in the wide open air… ” C’mon Seuss fans… are you with me??

At the top of the mountain, there are several hikes of varying difficulty to suit almost every fancy… and even some rock climbing adventures to be had for those so inclined! We didn’t have time for that on this adventure… But, we did manage to hike most of the shorter route hikes, and the mountain goats among us (my children included) managed to get to the top of at least two peaks! I, on the other hand, would happily scale peaks if only I did not have to come down from them (truly… up is fine for me… down feels like impending doom… but probably that’s another post ;)). It was a very fine day of hiking with amazing views!

Fall in the mountains is my FAVOURITE!!!

And after all that… Kicking Horse Mountain Resort did not disappoint in the food department… any good ski hill MUST have a good pub, and Winston Bar and Bistro was it on this fine occasion. We all left satisfied and happy… all vacationed up for another week of ALL. THE. THINGS… September my friends. September!

Not even out of Golden yet… they looked like this the WHOLE way home!!!

Travel Diary: Europe, Here We Come!

Guten Tag! (That’s almost all the German I’ve got so far)… working on it.

The time has (almost!) come… final preparations for the big European Family Vaca have begun. Three countries,  27 Days, 2 grown-ups (most of the time), 1 kid (all of the time), and one 12 year-old going-on-twenty-eight will embark on a mission to have fun, seek out adventures, gobble up all the yummiest food we can find, meet some lovely (I hope!) new people, and try to remain a joy-filled bunch the whole while. (try… we are not yet sure if travelling brings out the best in all four of us… we’ll see ;))

Before we actually set out on said adventure, I wanted to pop on here and give you a few hints… I’ve had lots of questions about what we have done to prepare for our Epic Adventure (particularly for the two smallest members of the family), so that seemed like a great place to start as a guide for any of you planning similar adventures. So, here we go… what I have learned so far as we have planned this little expedition:

1. Flights, Flights, Flights. Yes, it is cheaper to take the milk run. Yes, you can save money by altering your departure airport (driving a bit further from home). Yes, every penny counts when travelling on a budget with the family…. BUUUUT… NO, it’s not always worth it to save money on this step. We are flying directly from the city we live closest to into Frankfurt, Germany (about a 9 hour flight). There were other options requiring transfers in various places or flights from airports further from our city, with some cost saving advantage, but… this is our kiddos first Transatlantic flight, and we have no idea how it will go. They are older, so I am not concerned, but the mama in me still wants to make it as painless as possible (OK, more for me than them… I’m not totally selfless that way)… So, do your homework. Look around for alternate departure/arrival cities and you may be pleasantly surprised at the differences in cost available to you. BUUUT… you know yourself and your kids. Sometimes paying extra is worth a clear head and smiley faces… We booked our flights 7 months in advance of our trip.
2. Accommodation, Accommodation, Accommodation. Thank you Airbnb, VRBO, and the many lovely German, French, and Belgian Hotel Clerks that have already made this trip possible ;). We have a few longer stays during our trip, and for those we chose Airbnb and VRBO accommodations (based on traveller reviews, location, and amenities), but for some of our shorter stays we chose local hotel chains. I would highly recommend calling the hotel directly as we found that they were able to offer us better prices, or accommodation more suitable to our exact needs than was clear on hotel booking sites (hubby and I woke up very early one Tuesday morning to account for the time change and pounded through MANY reservations on the phone… thank you Skype!!). In all cases, the hotel staff were extremely helpful, happy to have a caller from Canada, and mostly spoke English (or could find someone that did)! We had all of our accommodations booked 6 months prior to travel, and could have booked sooner at some locations… who knew that July and August were such popular travel months?!? (yeah… I did… but all of the sudden it was December… I have no excuse). Book early to avoid missing out on some great places… like we did. Oops.
3. Transportation, Transportation, Transportation. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. We are using them all! International travel has become a much simpler endeavour thanks to The Google, TripAdvisor, and online shopping for almost anything. One of my favorite finds (tip from an acquaintance who is an experienced European traveller) is Rome2rio, which has been extremely helpful in organizing the legs of our journey. You’ll hear more about our particular transportation picks as our adventure unfolds, but if you are planning your own trip… starting there is a great choice! We have found that booking car-rentals for Europe online has been a very smooth process. In most cases, we have not booked our train tickets in advance, as we want to be somewhat flexible with travel times.
4. WHAT TO BRING?? OK, this mama is a last minute packer… like VERY last minute. But in this case, I am breaking out of my personal mold and planning ahead (a bit)! I don’t have a list for you yet, but I do know two things – we will need to carry our bags A LOT, and we will need to be prepared for a WHOLE BUNCH of different adventures requiring everything from casual dinner-wear to beach clothes. AND, everyone is going to carry their own stuff. All. The. Time. Like Always. I’m done with carrying everyone’s everything. I mean it this time. Yeesh… So, that means I am currently on the hunt for a perfect wheeling/back-pack/light-weight/but big-enough-for-a-month bag for each of the littles. I’ll let you know what I come up with. Hubs and I already have good wheeling/backpack options by High Sierra that we like, but they are too big for the boys. Especially since they are carrying them On. Their. Own. Always. I mean it this time… I digress again… So, more to come on this one as the date approaches. I’ll leave you with this though – as we booked accommodation, I did check to be sure that there were laundry services available/near-by in most cases so that we could easily do laundry. We are packing light, family – we ARE!!! (they don’t believe me yet, but they will)

So there you have it, that’s where we’re at so far. Right now (this very day, in fact), I will be going through our itinerary place-by-place and determining which sites and activities have made the final cut (TripAdvisor has been extremely helpful on this front) for this adventure and if I need to purchase tickets in advance. Once that’s done, we just wait! And keep thinking about packing… oh packing, how I loathe thee…

Until next time… I hope you get to plan some great family adventures this summer too… whether in your own backyard or far away. Family times like these are NEVER wasted!

Travel Diary: Adios Costa Rica

Well… All good things must come to an end, I guess. 😦

After 17 days away from home, we were ready to leave Costa Rica and breathe in a little, shall we say, fresh COLD Canadian air. Our travels home were uneventful, except for an unexpectedly long wait at customs in Houston (this is the 4th out of 4 times we have had difficulty getting in or out of Houston in anything less than 4 hours… Note to the wise, if you can connect ANYWHERE other than Houston, just do it. Do it. Really. Do it.)…

But, before I sign off on Costa Rica for go0d, I wanted to leave you with some photos of our adventures in Monteverde each afternoon when we WEREN’T picking, roasting, grinding, or packaging coffee… There is A LOT to do in Monteverde, and thanks to Andreas, the worlds BEST tour guide ever (you can find his contact information at the end of this post), I think we almost did all of them in 4 days!

We weren’t able to get a good photo, but the hummingbirds, butterflies, and even a rare Resplendent Quetzal made appearances on our hike in the Monteverde Cloud forest!! It was amazing!

An amazing view from the continental divide… straight on till morning to the Caribbean Coast!

Poor Jake… Some lessons are learned the VERY hard way… And he wouldn’t let go of Paul’s hand for the entire walk.

Except for when Maureen was willing to walk with him… 😉

A ride in an “Ox Cart” pulled by two Holstein steers! Don Juan’s Coffee Farm was THE best coffee, chocolate, and sugar cane tour we have ever been on! Go there!!

Mmmmm…. Chocolate.

We chewed on enough sugar cane to make us all a little ill!!! And we also saw a Rainbow Billed Toucan and a sloth on this tour!!

The beginning of a beautiful thing! (There are cocoa beans in that thing!)

ANOTHER tasty cup of goodness (this time with chocolate on the side).

A Strangling Ficus tree… Lee and Maureen climbed up almost 100 ft to the top of the tree!! Cole stayed just about where you see him… And me too.

This Ficus set its roots down as a very convenient bridge across a deep gorge.

Ready for some zip lining. Selvatura Adventure Park was amazing! Go there too!

I might look calm… But I wasn’t.

Tarzan (A.K.A Jake) seemed to think this was all in a day’s work… Both boys had a blast!

Can you spot the giant iguana? He lives behind the police station in a town somewhere between Monteverde and Liberia! Andreas hooked us up.

So, there you have it… A picture-by-picture account of our adventures! If you are travelling to Costa Rica and require transportation services or tourism assistance, particularly in the Monteverde area, you should absolutely look up Andreas at http://www.farotravelcostarica.com or on Facebook at Transportes Freylid. He was fantastic to deal with, speaks English well (for those of us that are still desperately trying to learn Spanish!), and has reasonable and competitive prices.

Also, if you are interested in La Bella Tica Organic Coffee Farm, they can be found online at http://www.bellaticacafe.com or on Facebook at Bellatica Monteverde.

So, until we travel again… I’m signing off on the travel diary for now…

… And thinking about how (and where) we might learn how to grow grapes?!

Travel Diary: Costa Rica (6)

Down a long, winding, picturesque country road… past a few tiny towns and brilliant green hills spotted with cows, banana trees, coffee plants, and jungle we found our little home for the week…

Home of Oldemar and Elsie (and their lovely daughters), and far, far away from all the hustle and bustle of city life, it is striking to me almost immediately that this humble little place contributes coffee to our vastly metropolitan life. That the origin of the lovely bean that many of us rely upon for our morning mojo is a most tranquil, relaxed, and peaceful place. A paradox to be sure.

To answer a few most obvious questions about our week away right out of the gate…

1. The food was FANTASTIC. Elsie is a tremendously good cook and prepared for us a great variety of delicious dishes – stews, fried chicken, pasta, home-made corn flour tortillas, picadillo, and of course beans and rice 18 different ways (all yummy!)… all that accompanied with fresh fruit and coffee… oh the coffee!! We were surprised that we were not offered coffee breakfast, lunch, and dinner though ;). We sort of thought that since the place was swimming in the stuff, we should basically be given the option to bathe in it if we could ;)!! We weren’t. And we didn’t… maybe next time. ;)-

2. Our bunk house was modest (wood frame with corrugated tin roof), but comfortable. We had plenty of electricity and there is wifi… On that note, can someone please explain to me why I can get an excellent wifi signal and good cell phone reception in the middle of the Costa Rican jungle but lose calls regularly driving down Hwy #2 between Calgary and Red Deer?! Seriously?!

The view from our bunk house door… Tarzan vines and all.

The showers are typical to Costa Rica with a small heating system in the shower head. So, once you figure out exactly how much water pressure equals a steady stream of warm water, you have about an 85% chance of a warm shower as far as I can tell ;).

3. The owners of La Bella Tica Organic Coffee Farm (Oldemar and Elsie) are just absolutely lovely human beings. We felt terribly blessed and humbled to be allowed to share in a tiny bit of their business, which they are very proud of and work hard to maintain. They earn a living income from their farm and are able to sell all of their coffee locally, mainly to tourists who participate in tours of the farm, or those who visit for extended periods of time such as ourselves. They have a small cafe-style shop area in the kitchen of their home where they display their coffee (in environmentally friendly locally produced bamboo packaging and biodegradable plastic). Many other farmers in the area sell their coffee to the local fair-trade coffee co-op, which is then sold in larger quantities to buyers around the world. Many local farmers do not have the equipment to process and roast their own beans, so Oldemar also processes and roasts coffee for neighbors and friends (for use in their own homes) for a small fee.

So… now to the nitty-gritty… what were the Irvine’s and Cameron’s up to during their time on the farm?! Well… let me tell you…

Did you ever wonder about that little bean you spin around in your grinder before brewing that delicious nectar each day? Well… here’s the low down from bean to cup.

These are coffee cherries.

Coffee cherries high up on the mountain

Our motley little crew picked 5 sacks (about 100 lbs per sack) full of them in two days (4 sacks day one… relatively flat picking ground and bushes that were quite full; 1 sack day two… EXTREMELY steep picking ground (some war-wounds in our group to show for it) and more sparse cherries on each bush).

Heading to work.

My basket full of cherries!

Paul and Maureen hard at work!

Cole working hard on the steep mountain slope – billy-goat style!

Cole and Jake watching the beans being carried down the mountain (very steep) on Oldemar’s strong shoulders.

Of course, picking the beans (although the most difficult among the jobs involved in coffee production), is only one step in the process of producing finished coffee beans.

We were very lucky during our stay at the farm, to also participate in drying, roasting, and packaging the finished beans.

Coffee cherries drying in the sun (Oldemar says this “natural” coffee has the best flavor and is far superior to machine-dried coffee). He has a dryer, but prefers not to use it unless absolutely necessary due to a large order.

Shelling the beans (these ones have been dried and washed by machine, not the “natural” method, but natural beans are also shelled in the same way).

Sorting out the chaff… old school (Oldemar knows when the wind is just right)!

Raw coffee beans ready for roasting.

Oldemar roasting the beans (he is careful not to drop a single bean on the floor, so we weren’t allowed to do this job ;)).

Beans cool before they can be packaged or ground.

Grinding the coffee (Oldemar sells coffee in 300 g bags as ground or whole bean, but the majority of his customers prefer whole bean).

Preparing the packaging for the finished product!

Bagging “our” coffee… this is the batch we will be packing in our suitcase tomorrow!

Almost done! Bags are sealed and placed in labelled packaging according to roast and grind, and are ready for the sale shelf!

And voila… 6 Canadians, 3 of whom drink A LOT of coffee (you can decide for yourself which 3), are a whole lot more educated about where our food comes from. Of course, during our week we were able to ask lots of questions about coffee production on a larger scale – Who works for the big companies? Are they paid fairly for their labor? Are local farmers in Oldemar’s region paid well for their products etc. These are big questions and the answers are not simple. But, hearing answers from the horses mouth, so to speak, was encouraging, eye-opening, and educational to say the least.

Here’s what I now know for sure… we drink A LOT of coffee… most of the people I know drink A LOT of coffee. Most of this coffee comes from places most of us have not visited, produced by people most of us don’t know, in cultures most of us don’t fully understand or appreciate, sold on markets most of us don’t follow. Therefore, the very least we can do is to try to support those places and people in whatever way we can to allow them to continue to produce the coffee we love in a way that is beneficial to them also. Knowing that there are farms such as Oldemar’s where good coffee is being produced and purchased at a fair price and allowing families to live a lifestyle they find satisfying and rich, encourages our family to seek out that product and support that industry as much as we can.

In the end, this little group of farmers (well, at least two farmers, and a family of almost-farmers) quite easily slipped in to the routine around this farm. Rise early, work hard, tell some stories as the day goes by… do it all again tomorrow (although Oldemar and his family work full days, we were lucky as guests to only work until lunch time each day ;)). We shared meals with Oldemar and Elsie and found that farming, well, farming is farming. Oldemar also has a few beef cows which he keeps nearby on land that is owned by a family member. He does his best to produce the best quality coffee beans possible so that they can be sold at a premium price. He is careful with his livestock to be sure that they are in good health and can be sold at the best time for the best profit. He does all of this because he loves farming, he loves his family, and he loves providing food for people. It’s not such a foreign story at all, is it? In fact, it’s a story we know well in Alberta too. And for the zillionth time during my relatively few trips around the sun, I realize that we are all so much more the same than we are different. I am reminded of one of the “Habits” our kids learn at school… “Seek first to understand, and then to be understood…” and it seems all the more important when we consider differences between people far and wide.

I’m going to muse a little more about that while I drink my next cup of Joe.

Travel Diary: Costa Rica (4)

We are not the kind of family to lounge by a pool for long… but we have managed to fit in a great deal of pool lounging ;).

So… if you are the adventurous type and wonder what you might find to do in Costa Rica, many local tour companies in Guanacaste will set you up with an “All-Day Adventure” or “Combo Adventure.” Our adventure included zip-lining, rappelling, rock-climbing, Costa Rican lunch,  horse back riding, white water kayaking, and then some relaxing in volcanic mud and hot springs!

I have to be honest… watching my babies get hooked up to a line 100 ft above a canyon didn’t seem like a great idea when I really thought about it… but “When in Rome…” right?! It turned out they both had a blast!!!

For those that know me well, you can imagine that this was a *little* outside my comfort zone. But actually, after the first one or two zip lines, I enjoyed myself quite a bit! No hymn singing required ;).

Our guide warned us that although all of us would easily be able to do the rappelling, it was a difficult climb up (and in the bright sun!)… so Lee and a few of the other guys in our group were the only ones that gave it a go!

It was a very hot, very long climb up!

We all felt a little badly at the look of these horses and tried our best to make it an easy ride for their sake!!

The white-water portion of this trip was a little hairy if you ask me… but for the adrenaline junkies in the crew (CT and JJ included), it was a hit!

Volcanic mud in Costa Rica is about as close as I plan to every get to a “tough mudder” ;)!

Even the guys got in on the action!!!

Everyone needs a little natural hot springs after a hard day of fun!!

You can imagine that after this day of fun in the sun (the temperature here has hovered between 33 to 36 degrees C for our entire trip), we had two VERY tired kiddos (and their associated grown ups) at the end of the day. Supper tasted good that night, and it didn’t take very long for anyone to fall asleep!

In addition to this fun day, our excursions have also included some surfing… well, the boys did the surfing… I bobbed in the wonderful bath-tub temperature water! We ate at a wonderful restaurant called “Eat at Joe’s” in Tamarindo located next to the Witch’s Rock surf shop after surfing. Excellent service, good prices, and very tasty food!

Aaaaand… An awesome day at a local national park, where we saw over 20 species of birds, some very cute monkeys, some not-so-cute crocodiles, and enormous iguanas! We also had the opportunity to feast on a customary Costa Rican lunch… it was delicious!! For some great photos of this excursion, hop on over to Cole’s blog where he and Jake have written a little bit about their adventure so far! But, here is one of my favorite photos from that day!

We are LOVING Costa Rican coffee!!

To cap off our daily adventures, we took this show out on the high-seas for some ocean kayaking and snorkelling. The water was absolutely brilliant blue and clear. After a short paddle to a small beach, we were able to see several species of fish, coral, a sting-ray, and even an eel! I LOVE snorkelling, so this was by far my favorite excursion of the trip!!

So, there you have it friends. If you are looking for some excitement on your vacation, Costa Rica will not disappoint!

Pura Vida until next time!!

Family Fun Close to Home!

This is very exciting for me! One of the munchkins in our crew has decided that he might like to try his hand at blogging, and decided that this week he wanted to post together with me about a recent family adventure at a near-by provincial park.

I love to share places we go adventuring… we are so grateful to live in a place with such easy access to the amazing beauty and pristine wilderness that is all around us! It is soul-food for our family to spend some time in nature!

So, before I go on, click on the photo below for a link to one of my partners in crime’s version of Crimson Lake Provincial Park, Alberta (he preferred to post his views at his own blog site, rather than adding his words to mine… a 10 year old’s prerogative after all ;)).

Crimson Lake Provincial Park is only minutes away from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta and is a great get away for a day of easy hiking, biking, or exploring along the beach. Because we visited late in the fall, we didn’t get a good impression of the general “busyness” of the lake. It was extremely quiet and accessible when we were there and we were virtually alone on the trail we chose. As a place to hike with children or an easy off-road bike ride, it is ideal with a great 10 km loop around the lake with plenty of little spots for exploring along the way! There are good outhouse toilets (bring your own hand sanitizer), and a little park for the kids to play on. The beach has several picnic sites that I’m sure are quite full in the summer, but virtually unused in the fall season. We enjoyed wandering around in the shallow water in our gum boots and walking on the small dock to look at the mussels growing underneath. One small fishing boat came in while we were exploring the boat launch with a bucket full of Pile Perch… so we might just have to go back for some fishing too!

The highlight of the day for us was the beautiful fall colors all around and the quiet. SO quiet. It was soul food at its best. We had a great day and are really looking forward to trying the area again with snow shoes or cross-country skis in a few months! I would most definitely recommend this area as a great afternoon or daytime excursion to just “get out-of-town.”

Happy Adventuring… and thank you to my co-pilot Cole for his added charm on this topic!

 

A picture is worth a thousand words

This has been my gym this month. I LOVE fall. Thank you Lord for the inspiration!

The Prairies

So first off, I’m back!!! Phew! I feel like we’ve been around the world and back again… and we were only in Kentucky!

After returning home from our 10 day excursion (which was fabulous by the way, and if you are a horse-nut, just stop reading now, pick yourself up off the couch or wherever you are, and buy yourself a plane ticket to Lexington, Kentucky. It doesn’t even have to be a return ticket. You won’t want to come home. I promise!)… but, back to today’s story… we got home on Monday night and I left again on another airplane on Wednesday morning for Saskatoon for a day of meetings. I love flying across the prairies.

Do you have a place that just feels like home every time you see it? I don’t mean your house or your car or something… I mean a geographical place. Somewhere that as you drive closer and closer, or as you fly over top before landing, you get this warm and snuggly feeling in your belly that ever so quietly says “home.” I have a place like that. Well, let me be clear here, my place is geographically about the size of Germany, so take this with a grain of salt…

There is a patch of earth that starts in the rolling hills of the Rocky Mountains (just west of where I live) and continues all the way to the South Saskatchewan River that I think is pure heaven on earth. The 45 minute flight between Calgary and Saskatoon is probably a bit of a mundane blemish on the exciting cityscapes that most people are fond of these days (or the majestic mountain or ocean views that captivate many)… but to me, there is just no more beautiful landscape on the planet. Especially in October. Saskatchewan had a very wet summer this year, so the usually perfect patchwork of green, gold, black, and every shade of brown was dotted with many little puddles (ok, some were full-blown lakes… those guys were NOT having a good year…) as we flew over. But, none-the-less, harvest time on the prairies is a site that every person should get to see at least once in their lives. Food, real food… not the stuff that ends up on the shelf after it is ground up, washed, dried, ground some more, dyed, and shaped into a “foodstuff”… comes from this place. It is the home of the people that grow the food. Year after year, generation after generation, drought after drought, flood after flood… the real deal. It is both inspiring and terrifying… because who knows how long all that beautiful farm land will remain beautiful… it’s becoming more “valuable” as real estate, or for it’s vast mineral potential, or to support any number of other industries that need lots of space to flourish… and then where will the food come from?

As for me, the vast prairies and the foothills that rim them are my favorite place on earth and I am doing as much as I can to instill in my kids the value and beauty of that resource as part of who we are and where we come from in Western Canada. I want to make sure that they never forget where their food starts… and how it might end if we’re not careful.

Food for thought… no pun intended 😉

Winterize

It’s happened… we’ve put the trailer away for the… wait for it… I’m going to say it – the dreaded “W” word… we’ve put the trailer away for the winter. Traditionally the September long weekend has been our final camping “harrah” of the year, and this year is no exception.

So, now is the part where I lament that summer is over, and school is upon us, and I’m taking my jeans and sweaters out… yada yada yada…

Actually, it isn’t. For this year, anyways, I’ve pretty much had enough of camping, and I’ve even had enough shorts, skirts, and tank tops too. I get like this every year (maybe that makes me a true-blood southern Albertan… the mountain air and cool nights are in my bones or some such thing… or maybe I’ve just never been very good at handling the heat! Either way, fall is always a welcome season to me.

But back to the camping… I have an extremely polar relationship with camping… very love/hate. I grew up camping almost every weekend and all summer; I looked forward to when I was able to camp with my friends on my own during breaks from university, and I especially loved camping with my boyfriend (turned husband) when we had breaks from university and then our jobs.

… and then I became a mom.

Hmmmm… all of the sudden, my love for camping became just slightly tarnished… now, packing up the tent, coolers, and sleeping bags didn’t seem quite adequate and the preparation required to make a weekend excursion to the great outdoors seemed so daunting that I wasn’t even sure where to begin; but I did! Diapers, sippy cups, wipes, wipes, wipes, wipes, toques, mitts, several sets of clothing per day, food for us, food for the chicklets, did I mention wipes?… and off we would go. Baby, dogs, tent… off to the mountains we’d go…. For about one season… and I caved… we needed an RV – to bring back all my warm fuzzy feelings about camping and give me the comforts of home at the same time!!!

But then I learned a very important truth about mothering and camping… once I became a mother my camping bliss was to be forever changed. The realization has officially hit me (ok, to be honest it hit me a long time ago, but I didn’t have my cyber-soapbox to tell it like it is!)… my full time job is to mother my kids and take care of my home and make sure that everyone is happy, healthy, cozy… and that job doesn’t end no matter where I go… even in my blissful RV in the great outdoors!!

So, do I still love camping… even though it forces me to do my full time job in a much less convenient and more messy scenario? Yes. The memories that I have of camping with my family and friends throughout my life have shaped me and I can’t imagine the boys not growing up with the same nostalgia that I have of fires, hiking, and collecting truckloads of rocks, sticks, and bugs! But, will I always approach the camping season with glee and elation as I once did (before the mothering thing!)… probably not… I know too much.

For now though, am I glad that we put the trailer away for another year… yup… maybe just a little :).