Post-Halloween SuperHeroes

Another Halloween has come and gone.  I am at a stage in my life where my kids execute their own costumes and make their own plans for collecting pillowcases full of dental bills.  This year, I had time to sit back and enjoy the costumes both at my front door and on Facebook.  Other than the crazy current fascination with zombies, the classics, like the Super Heroes, are always out there.

I was at the hospital with my Mom and we were enjoying some of the young people who came in all dressed up to show their family members.  This brought so much enjoyment to the whole ward!  At a certain point, I had a very unique perspective.  When I looked down one hallway there were two people in my line of vision, a little boy dressed as Superman and a nurse, dressed as, well...a nurse.  It was only later that it occurred to me who the real super hero was in that hallway.

If you were lucky enough to grow up as I did, in an environment where everyone was relatively healthy, it was hard to have a real understanding of what exactly caregivers did. Nurses were tidy women who wore pointy hats (they weren't even hats, really, more like origami...how did they keep them on??) who always seemed to want to take your temperature.   Later on in my experience, nurses were people who handed you squalling newborns and tried to help you understand that yes, you have to take this bundle home, and yes, you will be fine!

A Physiotherapist was someone who treated athletes with bad shoulders, and an Occupational Therapist was, well, to be honest I'm not even sure what I thought OTs did.  They sounded to me like people who came into your workplace, took away your office chair, and tried to get you to sit on one of those ridiculous giant exercise balls instead. (For the record, I think this is a terrible idea. No offence to the dear OTs but imagine how much coffee would be spilled if everyone did this??)  And of course, rehab, well that was something that Steven Tyler did.

In my recent experience, I have discovered a brand new legion of super heroes:  Rehabilitation Unit therapists and caregivers.  I can barely manage to put into words what these people do every day and the difference they make in so many lives.  It is difficult to imagine a sudden life changing event that leaves you unable to walk or unable to make any number of the regular movements that get you through each day.  Equally difficult to imagine is slowly being able to recover those abilities.  It does indeed feel hopeless at first, but in the last two months I have had a front row seat as I watched people progress from a bed to a wheelchair, to a walker and often to more independence than they believed possible.  I have heard people begin to speak after weeks of silence.

The nurses, therapists and their support staff become family. They always greet their patients by name and are constantly teaching, guiding, supporting and cheering on every success, no matter how small.  They hand out hope like we hand out Halloween treats.  There is no 30 second television commercial that can convey how hard they work and how important that work is.  

To the men and women of the 7^th Floor Rehabilitation Unit at Saskatoon City Hospital, Thank you.  When someone asks you what you do for a living, please do not say, “I am a nurse,” or “I am a therapist.”  Tell them what you really do. 

Try a little kindness...

A recent column published in the Saskatoon Express:

 You may have noticed that I've been away from my writing desk for a while.  Well, it is with encouragement from a lovely lady who reads my column, and our wonderful editor, Cam, that I’m back in the saddle. (It’s more of a standard gas-lift office chair, really.)

See, I fancy myself a writer of funny stories but, simply put, life just hasn't been funny for my family lately.  My wonderful mother, who I often reference in my writing, has suffered a devastating stroke.  We are quite a close-knit family and we are doing what families do; gathering, coping, loving and healing.  My Mom is one tough cookie and is determined to recover.

I shouldn't be surprised by her determination.  She knows of adversity. She is the daughter of a proud family who took a huge chance on this country called Canada.  Her parents came to Saskatchewan from Ukraine under circumstances that are unimaginable to me. Consequently, education became the biggest priority for their family and most of them went on to become teachers.

 Mom received her teaching certification at Teacher's College, and began her career in some very isolated one-room school houses.  She spoke about the 'Winter of the Blue Snow' where the huge snow drifts made it impossible to go anywhere.  She persevered, raised a family of five children and became an integral part of her small community.  In the early '80s, she decided she wanted to attend the University of Saskatchewan to obtain her full education degree.  She did just that and in the span of her career, made education a memorable experience for a whole bunch of Grade 3 kids from Leoville, Saskatchewan.

Above all, my mother is a woman who extends kindness and a smile to everyone she knows.  That kindness Mom has shared so generously throughout her life is coming back to her in so many ways.  More ways than I could have ever imagined. 
One example of many I have experienced was one particular day at work.  I'd received numerous well wishes for my mother and my whole family.  One dear lady came into my office, laid a card on my desk, said very few words and left.  I looked down at the card and it was addressed to "Tracy's Mom", a lady she had never even met.  What generosity of heart... It was a brilliant reminder to me that the smallest choices we make, specifically when we choose acts of kindness over indifference, create a positive ripple that is without measure. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that all of these small acts of kindness contribute to her strength and her recovery.

It's not as though this whole experience is without its funny moments... for example, a few weeks ago I was doing some left-handed writing exercises with Mom.  I gave her the pencil and encouraged her to just write any word that came to her.  She shrugged and wrote, "churk".  Well, we simultaneously dissolved into a fit of giggles at this wonderfully nonsensical word.  It was clear to both of us that she intended to write ‘church’, but it felt so great to laugh!  I've learned that the ability to laugh at yourself when you make a mistake is invaluable to moving forward.  
They say laughter is the best medicine, and I hope we are prescribed a lot more from here on!

Hello

Hey there readers.

People are starting to ask why I haven't posted in a long time.  The reason is that our family is experiencing a pretty serious medical crisis.  My beautiful, vibrant Mom has suffered a very debilitating stroke and we are spending as much time as possible with her as she works to recover. 

For those of you who have expressed concern, I am so grateful for your kindness.  Several have encouraged me to begin writing again, and as things settle down a bit, I may just start doing that.

Hanging in,
Tracy

Blog Holiday...Blogiday?

Hello all you wonderful readers of this blog.  Okay...reader?  Okay, Hi Mom. 
I've appreciated all your comments during the past several months on this crazy little blog-o-ventre of mine.  Sometimes I don't know where my nutty head is and why I am sharing too many 'inside thoughts', but thank you for reading! I do hope you continue, and continue to give me feedback 'cause I'm a junkie for it.

I just wanted to let you know that I'm taking a blog-iday. I probably won't be writing for a couple weeks.  See, I help organize and direct a music gig up here in northern Saskatchewan called the Northern Lights Bluegrass and Old Time Camp and Music Festival.  It is a wonderful time and even amidst all the chaos that's happening right now trying to get it off the ground for the 7th year running, I feel blessed to be part of it.

The reason I became involved is because of my upbringing.  Music was a huge part of my family.  My grandfather played fiddle and we had many kitchen parties.  I didn't realize how important it was back then and how keenly I would miss it  when it was gone.   It was the 80s and hair gel and electric guitars and *horror* synthesisers took over people making real music. We are working to bring that real music back.  Bluegrass?  Old Time?  That's for old people!  Actually, you wouldn't believe it. It's hipster music now!  And not broken hipsters either!

Kids are coming to our music camp with their parents and grandparents.  They are unplugged, they are learning, they are around a campfire, they are forming a palate for real notes, played with real instruments.  From there they can do whatever they like.  Our festival has some talent that is jaw dropping, they come from all over North America: Saskatchewan, PEI, BC, Yukon, Louisiana, Portland, North Carolina, Alabama, San Francisco...and they are all so damn good.  As I said, I am blessed to be part of it.  It's going to take up a great deal of my time for the next couple weeks.  I hope I have some funny stories to share afterwards.

Here is a picture of Norm last year with his broken foot.  NOT a funny story!

SMASHFOOT

 
If you are curious, you can watch this youtube video.  It's a great snapshot of what we do at camp and I really wish I had styled my hair that day! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcnY2o0-doM

See you soon!

http://www.northernlightsbluegrass.ca/

Road Trippin'

The Lalonde Clan just returned from a real-live road trip.  This doesn’t seem like a big deal to most people I’m sure, but to us it was HUGE.  First of all, it’s summer time and as my husband keeps reminding us, we do not travel in the summer: We are Lake People.  He insists there are two kinds of summer celebrants… Lake People and People who Go to The Lake.  There is a difference, he says with great emphasis.  Lake People will turn down weddings, reunions, and other inconvenient get-togethers because --don’t you know?? --they will be ‘at the lake’.  People who Go to the Lake go if there’s nothing else going on, and if there is not a cloud in the forecast.  

Secondly, we are not car people, and when I say we, I mean me.  My mother said that from her earliest memory, I screamed when I entered a car and did not stop screaming until we arrived at our destination.  I totally believe her.  Vehicle travel is a necessary evil for me.   In the 70s, our family car was a new Chevy Impala.  I believe the Chevrolet people, in their infinite wisdom, took the new car smell Too Far.  The comforting smell of vinyl and formaldehyde never did leave that car and if I could find it today in some junk heap, it would STILL smell like that.  I am willing to bet my life.  You could take samples of that odour, bottle it and use it against your enemies to invoke a wicked combination of headache and car sickness.  The whole car-smell experience did nothing to appease my barf-inducing hatred of road trips.

So only for my dear, dear friend and former band mate, Doll, would we make an exception to leave our lake utopia and travel to Southern Manitoba.  We decided to go via Montana and North Dakota to make it a bit more interesting.  I’ve made the trip to Brandon many times and always joke that I’m ready to slit my wrists by Moosomin.  If there’s such a thing as flatter than flat, the landscape is pretty close to that.  Zzzzz. “Look kids! It’s another freakin' canola field!”  Good thing the kids are too old to play that game where you have to spot all the things on a list.  They would have checked off a crow, a fence post and a grain bin in the first 5 miles and the rest of the items would remain blank.

  “Ooooh!  Is that a fox in that field, Mom?” 

“Nope. Rock.” I would confidently say, without even looking.  

I have to say, in Doll’s area, south of Brandon the landscape does change and it becomes quite scenic, but the stark contrast between north and south Saskatchewan never ceases to amaze me.  No wonder people call us The Gap!

Our joke -- We travelled to the south to see 'The Tree'

I try to make sure we have everything we need in the car when we’re on the road.  A cooler filled with great snacks and drinks, pillows, books, a small pharmacy...you name it.  Against my will, I took many road trips as a kid and there was never anything in the car but a box of Kleenex and a dusty map of Alberta.  Summer was unbearable; no air conditioning and water wasn’t invented yet. (okay bottled water wasn’t invented yet).  I was the only kid in North America who didn’t drink pop so you could usually find me dehydrating quietly in the back seat unless I wanted to treat myself to a mason jar full of warm water that had rolled around back there the whole trip.  Sigh…good times. 

Speaking of snacks, one trip stands out in my mind.  We took a month to travel through Alaska and the Yukon.  Me & my parents.  In a ¾ ton truck with a camper on the back. I was 12.  Now Alaska is breathtaking but you see one mountain, one stand of tamarack, and one waterfall and you’re all done as a 12 year old.  On top of this, Mom & Dad had packed ‘snacks’ before we left.  Was it cookies and fruit?  No. Trail mix?  No.  Radishes and green onions from the garden? Why, yes!!  I spent the first week on the road listening to classic country, enduring nasty radish burps and begging to ride in the camper.   Why couldn’t we be a normal family, go to Disneyland and eat ice cream??  

Well, fast forward 30 years and now I know the answer to that.  I have memories and experiences that are not ‘normal’ and I am very grateful.  We had a lovely time on our little road trip with friends who are like family to me.  I hope my kids have taken some memories with them, even if they are just their Dad singing out of tune to 80s classic hits and their Mom yelling for him to turn around because we are certainly hopelessly lost.  Maybe I’ll even get to read about them someday ;)

Buffalo Jump near Cartwright, MB

Hotnuferya?

As I write this, Saskatchewan is experiencing a heat wave.  Real feel temperatures have reached the 40s.  We north-centralese (it's my word, but you can use it) are not accustomed to such numbers unless they are below zero.  This is how we differentiate ourselves from others.  “Land of the Living Skies and Home of the 40 Below.”   No 40 below this month though, this is the month that we really begin the process of Enjoying Summer.

 I don’t care what you say.  I love the heat.  I suppose if we were not at the lake and if we were stuck at home in the basement watching re-runs of Big Brother, I might feel differently.  However, we are not and the best part is….I am finally warm!  Because I am a scrawny runt, I am always cold.  I am always the last one to shed my sweater.   I am starting to mortify myself by taking my slippers along when visiting at other people’s homes like my grandparents used to. 

“Oh don’t worry, dear, I’ve brought my slippers and my shawl.  I don’t like a cold back…"

 I would much rather be too warm; I love having feeling in my toes.

Another benefit of the hot weather is that I have finally packed properly for camping!  After years of hoping for the best and arriving with four suitcases full of various assorted swimming costumes, we’d inevitably spend most of our days clad in fleece and rubber boots.  We’d finally get one glorious day of hot weather and spend it hanging our soggy clothing out to dry.  In the morning, we’d emerge from the camper to find it and the whole landscape sodden and dripping once again.   We knew it was time to give up and go home when the children began to mold and mildew, the stray dog began to resemble Shrek and I was forced to wear Crocs… I know.  I had no choice. 

Alas, we are in the wilds of Canada (a Regional Park) and the real dilemma with a heat wave here is this... cover or uncover?  There is bliss in Saskatchewan summers, but for every yin there is a yang.  Stay covered and you feel as though you will ignite at any moment.  Sweaty and irritable, you fan weakly at yourself with your palm as though this will somehow cool you down immeasurably.  But uncover and you are forced to waste precious summer moments swatting at mosquitoes and horseflies while attempting to scratch the bites that are already welting up around your ankles.  These movements resemble a jerky, un-choreographed summer dance. The Solstice Dance of the northern Prairie Inhabitants. 

There is but one alternative, other than to go indoors (which would be counterproductive to Enjoying Summer) and that is to cloak yourself in insect repellent, until your nostrils burn.

“What’s that bewitching scent you’re wearing?”

“It’s the latest from Johnson & Johnson, all the lunatics…er…outdoor enthusiasts are wearing it.  It’s called OFF.  You can find it at fine sporting goods counters everywhere.”  

We are hardy stock and we will prevail.  We will Enjoy Summer because we have earned it, dammit!  So put on that swimsuit, dip your kids in bug spray and get out there.  Before you know it we’ll be shivering and shovelling again!

It takes a heat wave to get me in the lake!

Chopped

So here we are at the lake. Luckily, the weather could not be more awesomey. (great word, eh?) When the weather is grand, it is easy to forget that we are not shoulder to shoulder in 20 feet of living space; a.k.a the camper we call home for much of the summer.  Yes, when the rain socks in for days, there is only one thing I really miss….TV.  Many of you who know me understand that I am addicted to the Food Network.

At home, if I am in possession of the remote control, we will be watching Channel 103.  We also have the Food Network on an HD channel, and my husband thinks that if we are forced to watch the Food Network, why can't we at least watch it in HD?  No, I am used to 103.  HD would be considered a Change.  I don't feel like implementing a Change right now.  I have enough to worry about and I can't remember the channel number for Food on HD.

An interesting aside is that I have tried not one single recipe I've seen in my 5 year history of being addicted to the Food Network.  This is not unlike the 423 recipes I have pinned onto my "To Try" board on Pinterest.  Oh, I have great intentions... "KIDS! Look at this appetizer! I have to make it for when so & so comes over!"  I'll scribble down the inspiration on the back of a receipt or on an old envelope.  Invariably, I’ll look at it two days later, wonder what the hell it was all about and toss it.  It’s ok because I have the recipe for a great appetizer memorized.  It's called ‘Celery avec Cheez Whiz’. That's what so & so are getting when they come over.  Judge not and try it.

Chopped is one of my favorite Food Network shows. In Chopped, four chefs square off with a basket of mystery ingredients, with which they have to quickly make a dish.  The first round is an appetizer, then a main, then a dessert.  Each course is served to a panel of snooty, pretentious judges.  After each round, one chef gets chopped.  The ingredients are always pretty weird.  For example, a basket might contain octopus, bran cereal, beets and blue cheese. Mmmm.  The judges turn up their noses at the dishes they are given. "I just wasn't getting the octopus, unfortunately we had to chop you."  “You did nothing to coax out the earthiness of the beets…for that reason you’ve been chopped.”  Harsh.  

I don't see what the big deal is.  I do this every summer in my camper.  I look through the strange ingredients left over from last year and I attempt to make a stunning presentation out of microwave popcorn, stale Cheezies, a can of cream-style corn, and half a box of Lucky Charms with all the marshmallows conspicuously absent.  The only seasoning I have is a shaker of salt that has formed into a solid block from the moisture.  I would likely get no bonus points for using the partial bag of Temptations cat snacks leftover from feeding last summer’s stray cat.  The judges, who are fraught with mosquito bites and swimmer's itch, are rarely pleased with my amuse bouche.  I've been chopped a number of times but I always seem to get invited back to compete again and again.

Fortunately, we've now stocked up on a king's ransom worth of chips, nibs, and s'mores stuff.  I hope the this next while produces some great blogging material, but I probably won't be at the computer a whole lot unless it rains and I get Chopped from my job as chief cook & bottle washer. Stop by for a visit…we’ll see what we can string together for a snack!