The girls snugglin

The type of reasons which get caught in your throat when you have to tell a child something unimaginable. Or watch a child’s heart break and know your the cause. I was silent for a long time because I needed to watch how they dealt with new circumstances. I had to protect from afar what little I could and shelter them from adult issues and grown up pain.

I have watched both of them show remarkable strength and trust in the two people that they should be able to trust the most. Beyond every cry or unanswered question I beamed at the little women they are becoming. The vibrant imaginations they exude and the compassion and understanding of the most complex issue they will ever know…issues of the heart.

When they hug me now I smell their hair, feel their body warmth and hear their silent story. The story that they show me through open eyes. They let me know how hard moments are not by sobbing but by aging when an adult question crosses either of their lips.

My goal is to have you enjoy what is rightfully yours – your childhood.

1st Annual Telling Tales Festival. Share. Discover. Enjoy.

From start to finish I was impressed. I was impressed by the website and the wealth of information provided, the way the website was structured and its’ pleasant appeal,the writing style but also the tone. I had never ventured out to Rockton Ontario and I am sure glad I did. It is a beautiful place if you like small communities with big hearts. It was so organized! I mean from the second you entered the very organized parking lot to the shuttle service of buses to the welcoming group as you stepped off the bus.

My kids, ages 8 and 5 were beaming with excitement just for the fact that we were getting on a cheese wagon (yellow school bus) in the middle of a forest. It was a good laugh.

The booths had a variety of sponsors, authors, businesses, retailers, merchandise and food. There was always someone around to help you if you needed it and the staff at the Westfield Heritage Village were phenomenal. They wore great costumes, were approachable, displayed a very in-depth knowledge of the roles they played and addressed all questions regardless of the age of the inquisitor.

The speakers at the event which were predominantly authors of books that were either well known, up and coming or new to the scene were animated, comical and a real delight to experience.

I can not say enough good things about it and to every single one of the people that had anything to do with the event right down to the people that helped park the cars…THANK YOU

I think one of the reasons it impressed me so much was that the emphasis on literacy and reading is a very dear subject for both my wife and I when it comes to our children and it was a great way to experience the love of books in a different forum with a large number of similar interested parents. The kids had lots to do whether it be at the puppet show or the face painting or learning from the Westfield Heritage staff.

I look forward to next year and by the turnout this year and how smoothly it was run and how organized it was, it can only get better.

Remember. The gift of literacy is one of the most powerful things you can ever give a child for with that there possibilities and imaginations will never know a limit

Dear Cali & Macy;

I hope one day when you are all grown up you can see the value in the details of everyday life. That everyday you wake up and have the pursuit of breathing in air like you have never felt it feel coarse through your lungs. When you see the smile on a strangers face that you acknowledge it and return it in full even if you don’t quite feel like it. The reason is that they are contagious and just the simple physical act of your lips raising,will diminish the magnitude of whatever is on your mind.

I hope you never harden or become jaded. Allow the world to enter you at full force and embrace every hurtful lesson that you will endure. It is in these awful situations that you will gain the most value. The most acute pains force the most driven to supersede anything.

I know both of you have the entire spectrum of possibilities in front of you and as your Dad I will do everything in my power to ensure you can see every angle and when you cant i hope you ask for help.

Surround yourself with real people who know your insides and urge you to grow your outsides. They are the ones that will bring the biggest joys to you

The simple act of learning to know when to ask for help has taken me a long time to figure out. It actually has been the hardest thing for me to come to terms with. I could chalk it up to stubbornness or defiance or just plain stupidity but it has in recent years become one of the few things I know now would have helped a whole lot more if I had of known then.

Take your dreams and make them goals because dreams are just that, dreams. Nothing will ever hold you back if your truly believe….
In all of your being that it is meant to happen.

I will
watch and listen and be so proud
So very very proud of everything you will ever do
because nobody
will ever be able to do it your way and that is why you both are the most special people I have ever met.

I love you

Mom…It’s marshmellow love

Both of my girls are fairly affectionate, which I love. Macy is more so then Cali but overall they are both very hugging and loving. Every night there is the same ritual of kisses and hugs and I would not trade that for the world. It becomes a scary thought when that fades opr morphs into something else and as long as I can prolong that day I will. I feel that that love trumps all other types of love. The one where they hold you tight and know you will always hold them back a little more and kiss their temples and smell their hair and remember when they were born.

It is a very special day a day where the heart is bigger. Not because you should on Valentines day have a bigger heart or presents for them but because deep down inside when a daughter looks at her father I can tell you 100%, that look, where everything comes to the forefront and you hold back tears because you are amazed at their beauty and intelligence and personalities and you love them for being themselves.

You love on Valentine’s Day for being, the chance at being more and feeling more.

I am done apologizing. Life does occur faster then it can be recorded.

My girls are now 7 and 4 years old. I look at them now and realize that they can both comprehend much more of the world and how it treats others and the impact of their own actions. They have witnessed one of the most remarkable moments in history, they were old enough to realize the impact of the event when the first black political candidate was voted in to the United States of America as president, Barack Obama.

They have now both experienced in school the power of will, the threat of bullying, the power in numbers, the courage of individuality and the comfort in friends. As parents that is all you ask. You ask for your kids to experience everything, both good and bad. Even when the bad moments hurt and you hurt for them it is better to be there so you can explain it to them and make them feel like the whole world is not against them but just a moment in a long life of moments.

My wife and I have given them every perspective of the purpose of things and why things are done the way they are. I hope for both of them that they learn from it but also challenge the way things are.

I hope that they push the envelope and dont accept the status quo and forge their own path and make a new path for other like minds to follow

They are both stunningly beautiful, witty, intelligent, polite and loving. They are one of the reasons I woke up and one of the biggest reasons why I have valued the statement –

A promise is a promise

Neverland my girls and you will never be grounded.

I say this after having a great day with Munx and Fudz. The sun beating down us as we played outside and then played some more. Off to the new park we went. Them in helmets and I strolled behind. I watched as their little legs banged away at the gears of the bike to get there sooner. Once at the park,
I was allowed to see Cali showing true emotion and compassion for her sister. She lifted her into a kid swing and was pushing her while they both laughed – It was genuine and comforting.

We got home and then played with the kids on the street. We got lucky with the neighbors that we have as they all have kids and are good people.

We had dinner where everyone ate – Rare and nice –

Dinner resembles the aftermath of a war where nothing was settled and the parties involved are still standing to their initial point of view.

Quick bath and into movie mode. Tonights pick was “Finding Neverland“. I personally love this movie and hope to have my girls appreciate it at the same level. It does have a dark element to it and there are points which are quite sad but what is the underlying message I hope for them to see some day that there is even the most beautiful light in sadness when you appreciate it for what it is and not let it consume you. That imagination is one of the most powerful things a person can possess and should be used as much as possible throughout one’s life.

At the end of the movie, needless to say…I was the only one standing. I picked up my girls one by one and tucked them into bed. I blew each one of them kisses and watched as they went to a place where this world could not enter.

I hope they never lose their pixie dust.

I was shoveling the driveway and Cali and Macy were sliding down the shoveled snow mountains onto the driveway, causing more snow that had already been shoveled once to beckon my name again. In most cases this would cause me to go Chernobyl at the repetition of a completed action. But it does not.

I do not get upset. I don’t even flinch. I just recollect a time that is so very far away

I remember a time when I was little in the winter. I was wearing a one piece snowsuit. I was crawling through a fort I had dug out in the snow as my dad was shoveling the driveway. All the snow that I had to get rid of to make this perfect fortress was getting heaved onto his shoveled driveway. As I was backing out to put the finishing touches on it I noticed the mess I had mase and then I saw my Dad….just smiling. When he ought to have told me to clean it up or thanked me for making his job harder or asked me to clean it, he just smiled. A smile that said, keep going. Do what it is that makes your heart full and I will be full with you. I will remember that moment like others that every person does of their childhood. This memory just has a bigger meaning to me I guess

I looked into their eyes this morning and saw the best I will ever see in our species. The best in children is the acceptance of the unexplainable.

What can ever stop your heart more then seeing a child ecstatic at the fact that the nicest of men hsa visited and bestowed gifts for no reason other then they had acted as good children should and are rewarded accordingly.

Munx and Fudz bounced all the way downstairs and vibrated through mounds of chocolate and gifts and wrapping paper to a place in the heart of young ones that resonates and adults adoration to cause them to realize….

Christmas with your own child is hands down one of the gifts that will never take away from you but only build you to a stronger and more appreciative place.

Thank you Cali and Macy for allowing me to be part of your experience. Jen made the day fantastic is a million ways I can never enunciate properly. As the butterfly I know her to be she was beautiful in ever yaspect and I thank her for giving me the two most precious reminders of purpose a man can ever be given.

Cali has always been a tough cookie who never gets sick. When she does get sick though, nobody feels it more than Cali. She is a bit dramatic on the best of days and this was no different….actually, probably the worse. Cali moaned for three days and in her head felt the itch before it was possible.

She finally got some sleep and normal Cali returned.

Jen and I felt really bad for her because she got them in the worst places. She had chicken pox in her mouth in her ears and a bunch on her head. She did get really itchy and it made her very unpleasant and agitated. Through it all she was able to crack a smile or two and loved it when she was offered to go spend 5 days with Nana and Papa until the end of the week.

Having Cali away from us was very weird. When a parent has a child away from them there is an odd sense of longing that you can not describe in normal words to another. You feel incomplete until it is returned to normal order. I love her and even though I was short with her because she is a bit of a whiner….It broke my heart to see her in pain

Cali’s Interview

1. Question: What do you want to be when you grow up?
   Answer: A Veterinarian
2. Question: What is your favourite thing to do?
   Answer: Play with my Bratz (dolls)
3. Question: What is your favourite colour?
   Answer: Black
4. Question: How would you describe your younger sister?
   Answer: Most of the time she bugs me. Sometimes she is too close and sometimes tends to bite (interviewer: FALSE STATEMENT). She is crazy and she makes up words.
5. Question: How can you tell a person is a true friend?
   Answer: They help you do stuff and are there for you when you are sad. They also teach you stuff you did not know
6. Question: If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
   Answer: Hollywood, California – U.S.A
7. Question: In one word how would you describe your Mom?
   Answer: Protective
8. Question: In one word how would you describe your Dad?
   Answer: Nice (interviewer: FALSE STATEMENT – I am the one interviewing – true answer will follow)
9. Question: What is love?
   Answer: Love is when people keep you safe.
10. Question: What is the best thing about being a kid?
    Answer: You get to learn how to do about a whole bunch of stuff and you get to lose your teeth.
11. Question: What is your happiest memory?
    Answer: When Dad was teaching me to ride my skaeboard – (interviewer: Unsure STATEMENT – questionable – this is a recent memory)

Macy’s Interview

1. Question: What do you want to be when you grow up?
   Answer: A bug
2. Question: What is your favourite thing to do?
   Answer: Make puzzles
3. Question: What is your favourite colour?
   Answer: Blue
4. Question: How would you describe your older sister?
   Answer: Sometimes she hits me an she is nice and my best sister ever
5. Question: How can you tell a person is a true friend?
   Answer: When they give me hugs and kisses
6. Question: If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
   Answer: Binbrook
7. Question: In one word how would you describe your Mom?
   Answer: Good Hugger
8. Question: In one word how would you describe your Dad?
   Answer: Funny
9. Question: What is love?
   Answer: Huggies and Kisses and butterflies
10. Question: What is the best thing about being a kid?
    Answer: Like having baths
11. Question: What is your happiest memory?
    Answer: No Memory – she is Bubba the bulldog reincarnated