A miscellany of know-it-all-isms by Geoff Sowrey

Posts in category Children

A first “real” Hallowe’en

Oct31
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

Today was Hallowe’en here in Calgary, and your first real Hallowe’en, kids. Yes, Monkey, you could easily argue that you had your first Hallowe’en two years ago when we lived in Costa Rica. (It could be further argued that you were in Calgary for your very first Hallowe’en, but clocking in at a mere two months drastically limited your ability to say “trick or treat” … or pretty much anything, really.)

That “first” Hallowe’en was largely missed by myself (sadly — traffic was not daddy’s friend that night), and your experience was limited to what the mothers at Avalon could put together. From what I understand, fun was had by all. But it wasn’t the same as going door-to-door, saying “trick or treat”, and loading yourself so full of candy that you don’t know what to do with yourself.

I gotta say, you made me proud tonight.

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There are times

Oct02
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

There are times when
I wish I could do
Whatever I wanted
And then I remember you

There are times when
I wish you could feel
The aching of my heart
And know why it is so

There are times when
I see your sense of wonder
And for a brief moment
I feel it, too

There are times when
We hold each other tight
The universe stops
And there’s only us

There are times when
I wish
I had a different job
We had a different house
Lived somewhere idyllic
Had no wants nor cares
Where we lived in our reality
And fantasy was the world beyond

But we don’t

There are times when
I cannot be with you
And the moments apart
Ring of eternity

There are times when
I see you seeing me
And all I want
Is an eternity with you

There are times when
I could kill
Or be killed
Knowing that you would live

And then there are times
Like this
That I think about it all
And love you ever still

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The end of summer vacation

Sep06
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

Well, kids, I’m not sure if you’re going to remember this August a few years from now (well, Choo Choo, I’ll be impressed if you remember today, tomorrow), but this has been a fantastic month. It’s been a long month, filled with lots of laughs, almost every single meal spent together, four provinces, several hotel rooms, and more than a few pools.

But tomorrow is the first weekday after Labour Day (which is today), and it means that we must part again. In a few years, it will mean you have to go to school. For me, it means going back to work.

In a way, they’re pretty similar…

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Happy 3rd birthday, Monkey

Aug22
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

Well, Monkey, despite all your best attempts to drive Mommy and I to the brink of toddlericide, you made it to be three. It was your first birthday in Canada — your previous birthdays were both in Costa Rica. It wasn’t as warm as it was there, and there was no pool for you to splash in. But that didn’t seem to bother you any.

It’s hard for some of us to truly believe that you’re three. You’re still a baby to us, in many ways. And yet even someone who’s never met you before can carry out a (reasonably coherent) conversation with them. You know what you like and what you don’t like (even if you actually do like it and you’re just being difficult), and you no longer parrot what we’ve said — you have your own thoughts.

And I gotta tell ya, kid … today, you made me a very proud daddy.

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The Great Family Roadtrip 2010, Day 8

Aug11
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

We were up perhaps a bit earlier than I’d thought we’d be up, but I’d also forgotten we were stopping in Redcliff to visit Marnie and her kids. Thankfully, Grandpa had enough sense to jumpstart us for the day. That didn’t necessarily mean we were moving particularly quickly, but at least early enough to make a difference.

That, and two cups of coffee, of course…

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The Great Family Roadtrip 2010, Day 7

Aug10
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

Despite the nice appearance and newness of the hotel, the Canalta has stiff beds that are really meant for only one person — any movement is felt by the other person on the bed. The pillows are massive and overstuffed (please, hotels, understand that not everyone wants these — please provide a few thin pillows), and the air-conditioning in our massive room simply made things awkward. It would appear that neither Mommy or I slept well.

Monkey, you slept like a log. We had trouble waking you up.

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The Great Family Roadtrip 2010, Day 6

Aug09
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

We were all slow to rise today, but we made quick work of breakfast. You said goodbye to your Great Uncle Ken and Great Aunt Marilyn before we headed to the car. Our first stop was to drop off Granny at the airport. She wasn’t driving back with us, which I take to be a very wise decision on her part.

Then we headed back down to Portage, which is one of the main roads in Winnipeg. After a stop at Timmy’s for a coffee recharge, we set our sights for Saskatchewan and our overnight stop at Moosomin.

The question was what were we going to do in between…

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The Great Family Roadtrip 2010, Day 5

Aug08
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

We were supposed to go out to a lake near the Ontario border today, but Mommy and I threw up the white flag and declared us all “done”. We need a break. Monkey, you’ve been very patient being trapped in the car seat for hours upon hours. We’ve heard “I want to go home” a few times, but we suspect it’s more about wanting to get out and run around than anything else. (It’s been proven pretty much every time we’ve let you out.)

As for you, Choo Choo … well, I’m not really sure what to make of your thoughts. Aside from the fact that you’re only 4.5 months old, there’s also the consideration that, unlike your sister, you don’t sleep a lot. So we’re never really sure if you’re generally unhappy with being in your seat, tired, or hungry. I suspect at some level you’re probably all three at the same time.

Still it was absolutely necessary that we take the day off and not really go anywhere. So we went to The Forks.

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The Great Family Roadtrip 2010, Day 4

Aug07
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

Wow, I wasn’t kidding, was I? It was a long day. A really, really, really long day. We were up and running and gone by just after 8:15 this morning, trucking our way up to an RV park just north of downtown along Main Street, right next to Shooter’s Golf (which I am convinced is named and designed after elements of Happy Gilmore). We met up with the rest of the family who were along for the ride, and then planning to meet at the ESSO station in Eriksdale, headed north.

Granny drove with Great Uncle Ken and Great Aunt Marilyn so she “would have all-new material”, and likely because after a while, you just can’t stand being around us Sowreys any longer.

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The Great Family Roadtrip 2010, Day 3

Aug06
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

At least we didn’t have to get up too early today, Choo Choo, and you let us sleep a bit longer. That helped rest away the many kilometres behind us. We hit breakfast, also at the Chicken Chef (there ain’t a lot of option in Whitewood), and then loaded up once more for our push to Winnipeg.

It took a lot longer than I thought to get here.

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