Family Life Archives - Page 6 of 11

Christmas Travel Challenges

December 21, 2016 By JPMcLean 9 Comments

Back in March, when my husband and I planned a Christmas trip to Ontario, we never imagined the Christmas travel challenges we’d face.

Like a lot of you, I’ve been in a whirlwind of cleaning, wrapping, cooking, baking, entertaining, and being entertained :). I’ve also been packing for a winter road trip back east to spend a rare Christmas with my family in Ontario. And also like a lot of you, rare is the morning when you wake up with a leisurely stretch and wonder how you’re going to fill your day. Especially this year. Leisure doesn’t even have a seat at the kiddie table.

Most years we parcel-up Christmas in boxes and mail them in early December. What a treat it’s been this year to pack with abandon, free of the usual worry of breakage, and the expense of excess weight. Being a writer with a new book out, I even included a few boxes of books. We bought new snow tires, cleaned the car inside and out, and loaded the bulkier items. All that was left to load were our suitcases.

Screeching Halt

And then our long awaited cross-country winter wonderland Christmas trek came to a screeching halt with a last-minute boot-cast (cave master, not me) and a scramble for airline tickets.

Happily, we found suitable flights, but I had to add re-packing to my to-do list, and sadly, some of the treasures we’d originally packed didn’t make the re-pack.

But on the bright side, we’ll still have a white Christmas with my family, and we’ll still be able to visit with friends along the way. For us, it’s the people who make Christmas special, and the rest of it though nice, is simply glitter on the tree. Not critical, nor necessary, and easily done without.

With that in mind, from our house to yours, all the best to you and yours this holiday season. Glitter or not, enjoy the special people in your life. I’ll see you next year …

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Crawling into the Twenty-first Century

August 31, 2016 By JPMcLean 17 Comments

Cell phones are like leaf blowers to me: convenient, but obnoxious as hell. Call me Cro-magnon, but I’ve never seen the appeal of being reachable 24/7. However, I am slowly crawling into the twenty-first century.

I resisted having one until a road-side breakdown in 2000 convinced me I should. I have to admit, the flip phone’s come in handy since moving to a ferry-dependent island. Some months I rack up five or six minutes.

I’ve watched the smart-phone revolution from the sidelines, fascinated and horrified by pouting selfies, thumb-obsessed diners and throngs of commuters with bent necks and dropping heads.

On the upside, it’s hard to argue against the convenience of an e-reader, a GPS and the Internet, portable and at my fingertips.

So, I finally broke down and bought one. I haven’t yet figured out how to get my contacts into it, and I still prefer talking to someone over doing the thumb dance, but give me ten years – I’ll get there. I’m already enjoying the convenience of catching up with Twitter and Facebook while on the ferry, and I love being able to share “in the moment” pics from live events, like when I attended When Words Collide in Calgary.

But be warned! Pic-sharing convenience has a dark side. Last week I shared a piece of art I wish I hadn’t. Okay, it felt like art at the time, but it was my lunch. I’ve since crawled back up that slippery slope, but I have nightmares of making fish lips and snapping selfies in the bathroom.

Have you taken a slide down that slippery slope?

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Molly Bids Adieu

June 6, 2016 By JPMcLean 16 Comments

Molly Bids Adieu
We said goodbye to our sweet Miss Molly yesterday. If I ever make it to those pearly gates, I’m going to have a word with someone about the lifespan of dogs. It’s far too short and I’m not sure my heart can take any more holes.

Good Golly Miss Molly Dolly Lama left us just three months shy of her sixteenth birthday. She chased a ball and acted like a puppy right up until her last day.

Her gentle demeanour and big brown eyes won everyone over, and she never lost that wonderful sense of curiosity that kept us on our toes, and often had us laughing.

As a young dog, she had an affinity for socks and underthings. No one escaped her radar, especially visitors. If left alone with open guestroom doors, she’d collect bras and underwear, and proudly display them in the living room for all to see. Returning your guests’ underwear is one of those unique experiences you never imagined, when you brought your furball home.

JP's dog Molly on a beach with a large bone in her mouth. When she got released from the twelve-step undergarment program, she got hooked on shoes. If we left her alone, she’d gather an oddball collection and keep them safe on the bed. She even managed to carry one of John’s dusty, steel-toed boots, complete with the unopened one-litre water bottle he’d shoved inside, up to the bed in the 5th wheel when we lived in Mexico.

The Cookie Hound

She was a cookie hound, which made her easy to train, and she unabashedly performed rollovers, indiscriminately shook paws, and begged with the best of them for the promise of a treat.

Molly could turn on the cute with a smile and a blink of her lashes, and was happy to show visitors her cookie jar. She’d adopt her most earnest look and gaze between the mark and her cookie jar, which usually shook free a cookie or two.

Photo of half-sister dogs, Soozie and Molly, Wheaten and Wheaten cross Other dogs and cats, however, weren’t fooled by the cute factor. They knew if Molly visited them, she would beeline it for their chow, and she enjodidn’t discriminate by brand or species. She’d clean out a budgie’s dish if she could reach it.

But she was also generous, and never minded sharing her own food dish, treats, beds or toys.

She’s the dog who sensed when you were sick or sad, and stayed close to keep you company.

We feel very fortunate to have had Molly’s company for so long. The house feels very empty without her, but we know she’s romping with her sister Soozie now. We imagine she’s having a blast meeting all the other pets and snarfing up an endless supply of tasty treats. Safe travels, little girl.

Would you get married on Friday the 13th?

April 24, 2016 By JPMcLean 9 Comments

Superstition holds that Friday the 13^th is the unluckiest of days, but is it?

I know one couple who would disagree, at least as far as weddings are concerned, and they tell me they had their pick of church and reception venue bookings for that unluckiest of days.

That couple is Jean and Carl McLean, who were married sixty years ago on Friday, April 13, 1956.

The life they’ve lead isn’t extraordinary. They worked hard, played hard, raised four children, and paid off cars and mortgages along the way. What is extraordinary is the love and respect they share, despite the hardships and challenges they’ve endured.

To this day, my father is incorrigible where my mother is concerned, and throughout our childhood, my siblings and I rolled eyes in witness to their smooching and stolen pinches. I can’t even say “when they thought we weren’t looking” because they were and still are, unabashedly, in love.

It was a privilege to be there to help them celebrate their diamond anniversary … a celebration that spanned several days, thanks to some clandestine sibling planning, and the company of family and good friends.