Eh. Huh?

I hear it every day. When we lived in California we used to get asked about it, even though we were careful not to use it. It's an accepted part of life in Canada.

Eh?

What is it about that particular phoneme that symbolizes so much about Canadians? And why does nearly everyone, educated or not; brown or tan or pinky white; young or old, say that particular syllable?

eh?

Don't know. I don't know why people just south of the border into America don't say it, but people on the Northerly side all seem to. Maybe it just resounds in my ear because I didn't hear it (barring trips back to Canada) for ten years.

All I know is that, increasingly, and somewhat without my permission, I hear it passing my own lips. I hear what sounds amazingly like my OWN voice say it at the end of sentences, or when I am looking to change a statement into a question with one easy syllable.

Americans sometimes mock "eh" as a symbol of the beery "dumb Canadian" they see on TV. Just as Canadians mock Americans for what they perceive to be true from exposure to the media, they're wrong. "Eh" is not a sound of ignorance or lack of understanding. Instead, I have come to see "eh" as a particularly Canadian punctuation mark. It's a polite sound that symbolizes our desire to be understood. "Wow, those oil prices, eh?" "You're working on your PhD, eh?" "You'll bring the bean dip, eh?" It's a syllable that implies agreement, reconciliation and a hope for unity and peaceful discussion. Very noble Canadian attitudes, all.

Americans have several words that they use for the same purpose. "Huh" "Yeah" "Hey" Whatever, they all end up sprinkled throughout conversations like salt.

I'll go ahead and use it. Hopefully I can control my participation in the great "eh" campaign to a few "ehs" now and then. Like salt, "eh" is best used sparingly to add flavour. I like it. It sounds like home, eh?

On the convergence of weather and candy.

Well, suddenly it's winter.

A couple of days before Halloween, Calgary was covered with a thick layer of the white stuff. It looked really pretty - except for all the cars sliding off of streets, all the flashing lights of emergency vehicles, etc.

Although we had hopes, the 31st was still cold and frosty.

This touched off all sorts of reminiscing for Steve and me. I particularly remember heading out as a kid with my costume completely covered with a snowsuit. Just the mask let anyone know that I was actually coming to the door for the CANDY, thank you very much!

Kim was at work on the big night, wearing her kimono. Apparently Staples was so quiet that the employees were put to work, (hear the humor in this) putting up Christmas decorations. April and Benton both went out, and we managed to keep them both warm and costumed.

This will be April's last year out. We were ready to cut her off after last year, but all of her friends were going trick or treating so why not. They all put a lot of work into their costumes, and I think the candy acquisition was secondary.

Benton had a fabulous time around our neighbourhood wearing his robot costume. He and Steve wired it up with every LED, laser pointer and battery operated flasher they could find. He was visible a block away.

At the end of the evening, Steve and I sorted their candy as parents do, looking for anything creepy. More reminiscing: the smell of halloween candy is unique and unchanged from when I was 10.

The snow is still with us. We aren't too sorry about that as God gave us a beautiful fall with shirtsleeve weather as late as last week. Only 5 months till spring! In the meantime... let's eat candy!

Cycles

Hi.

Well, the lymph node report is in and it looks like of the 9 nodes taken, 2 are malignant. Although it's hard for me to tell from this far away, Mom seems to be handling the news ok. We haven't told our kids yet...we'll do that this weekend. I suppose the next bit of information to glean is a liver scan, which has not yet been scheduled.

Again I feel this weird sense of being in two places. I am so thankful to be home, going on with my family in our normal daily cycle. At the same time I feel drawn to Saskatoon and the happenings in Mom's life. I imagine this is what it will feel like when the kids start leaving the nest: split responsibilities.

From where I sit at my desk, here at home, I can see out the window and look at the sky and the open land southwest of Calgary. The cycle of seasons goes on out there: colours and shades, cool air and change.

In the quiet of this hour I find myself trying to let go of fall and mentally prepare for winter. The garage needs to have the bikes moved out so we can park both cars in there again. The yard needs to be cleaned up for it's winter rest.

What stage of the cycle are we at with Mom? It's nowhere near time to give up and let go, and yet at the same time there are thoughts to be considered. Preparations for more tests. Decisions to be made for chemo, or not for chemo.

Thankfully we know that there is a Master in charge of the seasons. There is a Master in charge of my Mom and her physical, mental and spiritual well being. The same Master that has shown He always brings spring gives us a future and a hope.

Love from
Susan

It's Good to be Home

Hi again.

What a gift it is to be home again, back in the whirl of kids and Steve and dogs and school. Last night as we sat down to supper I looked around the table at my little family and was just happy. I spent a whole week away and missed them all so much.

At the same time, I am longing to be back in Saskatoon with Mom! Aren't humans funny that way? We can experience completely opposite emotions, both at the same time.

Mom continues to do well recovering from the surgery. What a star. She doesn't complain about drains and dressings. She talks about how the incision hurts, but it isn't really "painful." She is so stoic. Lots would spend the recovery trying to make everyone feel sorry for them, but not Mom! I really admire that; hopefully I can remember the lesson!

We find out the lymph node results on Thursday. I guess that's the next hurdle but let's take them only one at a time.

My own family seems to have weathered my absence quite well. The kids are happy, fed and clean. The house looks great. The dogs were ecstatic to see me. My students gave me a thousand hugs at school yesterday. It's good to be home.

Love,
Susan

Over A Hurdle

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your prayers and kind words yesterday. Mom's surgery was in the afternoon and it seems to have gone quite well. She was awfully unhappy last night with vertigo and nausea but is much better today.

Unfortunately the cancer seems to be the less desirable ductal variety but right now we're just concentrating on getting better from the surgery. Mom's doctor was really encouraging about the expected recovery from this; he said to expect to do well, and to FEEL well in a pretty short period of time.

I know more about breast cancer than I did a month ago, that's for sure. Maybe a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but we learn about the circumstances of life as we proceed through them, don't we? I know I will be really faithful about my mammograms now, for the rest of my life.

I continue to be so burstingly (that's a grade one word!!) proud of my Mom. She is awesome. She is stepping out into the circumstances of her life with prayer, humour, hope and realism.

Love to you all - keep praying,
Susan

Shameless advertising

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Check it out - click on the "Commercial 1" link on this site:

http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/petsmart/22602/

Thanksgiving

After 10 years of celebrating Thanksgiving in November, it still feels odd to dust off our traditions in early October! When we lived in California, Thanksgiving was the beginning of the "holiday season" and we'd usually go get our tree the day after gorging on Turkey and my specialty, Sweet Potatoes With Cream Cheese. Yum.

Arguably our favourite family tradition is our Thanksgiving tablecloth. We began it in 1997. It's just an ordinary cloth, not at all the kind I usually buy. What makes this one special is that every year, everyone gathered around our Thanksgiving table takes a fabric marker and writes about what they're thankful for. These days, as soon as I spread it out on the table, while the turkey is sizzling contentedly in the oven, everyone circles around and starts reading.

In 1997, Benton was thankful for gingerbread boys. Every year, April mentions some pet or other. Kim often mentions her friends. We laugh at who couldn't spell, who wrote numbers backwards (April!) and reminisce about the friends and family that have celebrated with us. Our dear friends the Garcias were often participants in our tablecloth traditions, as were many people who have passed through our lives.

What precious memories. This year, I wrote "I am thankful for God's plan."

I am also thankful for everyone who has sat around this tablecloth over the years. Thankful for the little handprints of children too young to write. Thankful for every misspelled word and funny looking drawing. Thankful for the LOVE.

Good night, everyone. I'm thankful for you, even if you haven't had a chance to write on my tablecloth. Maybe next year?

Love,
Susan