Don't Be Afraid

 What are your fears?  Have you ever given thought to these fears and how you would react if you came face to face with them.  What if you came across a spider in a confined space or unexpectedly came upon a snake on a trail?  How would you react, what would you do?  Your heart would race and you may freeze up, although the odds are that the snake moves on and the spider takes off or you just run away from the situation.  Either way you are back to normal in a short time and only laugh at the thought of what happened.
 Now what are you afraid of?  If fear is "To be uneasy or apprehensive." and afraid is "Filled with fear" what are you truly afraid of.  What keeps you up at night, distracted during the day, never leaving your thoughts.  We all have fears, but I believe being truly afraid is something that sneaks up on you when you least expect it and consumes your every moment.
 As a dad my family is the one thing that matters most and the thought of anything ever happening to one of them is a fear of mine, although, not something that keeps me up at night or fills my thoughts.  I want to enjoy the moments and build memories to last a lifetime.  I want to watch my kids grow into amazing adults and see them achieve incredible milestones in their lives.  I want to be a part of every moment possible.  In saying all of this I still have my fears, but I am not afraid.  To be afraid would mean missing something wonderful happening right in front of me.
 As a son my mom and dad have always been there, sharing my special moments and some forgettable ones as well,offering guidance, feedback and silence when needed.  I enjoyed my younger years protected from any fears by my parents and do not recall being afraid of anything they could not handle.  I love my parents for who they are and believe the only way to deal with what is coming in the days, months and, god willing, years to come is to not be afraid.
 Cancer is a word and disease we all fear and when it attacks we become afraid of what it will do.  Life is something to treasure and fight for, not wanting to waste a moment.  I want my dad to chose life and fight with every ounce of energy he has.  Not that he needs a reminder, but he has his wife of 43 years, six Grandchildren, a son and daughter, a son in law, a daughter in law and his brother and sister that all love him and are counting on a long fight.  Not to mention the countless friends he has made over the years.  It is okay for him to fear what is ahead because I will be by his side every minute to guide, offer feedback, and remain silent when needed.  It is my turn to protect him from his fears.  I am choosing not to be afraid and along with my incredible wife, who has guided me, and my wonderful kids we will fight, through every emotion, right alongside Grandpa and Grandma.  Dad and Mom, I love you both and this is just the beginning of a new chapter, don't be afraid.





Can't be afraid when you're never alone.



Grandparents

 What would we do without Grandparents?  What would Grandparents do without Grandkids?  Put the two together and what do you get?  I say a mini vacation for mom and dad, although that's just me.  The fact is that the two together are wonderful and at times magical.

 I had a father/daughter day setup that included a visit to the playpark, lunch and grocery shopping, which she loves to do.  We started the day getting the boys off to school, a big cereal breakfast, snuggling on the couch watching Mickey Mouse and discussing what to wear on our day out.  My daughter kept asking when we could leave to go to the store at which I struggled to climb off the couch and get moving.  Due to unfortunate circumstances changes had to be made to our day leading to a visit to Grammies and wow was my plans forgotten about in a hurray.  She couldn't wait to get out of our house and into Grammies.  Upon leaving her there for a visit I had to beg for a hug as I was now chop liver.

 The flip side to this day was the circumstances that changed our plans.  Grandma called home in the morning to say that Grandpa had a fainting spell at work and that she was taking him to the hospital.  A full day later and Grandpa has gone from being released to being back and admitted for observation.  The kids keep asking about Grandpa and when he will be home, after all Friday nights are movie and popcorn night.  We expect Grandpa will be home in time and a quiet movie will be a good pace for him with the kids.

 Our kids love spending time with their three Grandparents and even discuss their Papa who is in heaven watching down on them.  A movie with Grandpa, reading with Grandma, or a visit to Grammies leaves mom and dad out in the cold, forgotten, second fiddle and we would not change a thing.  The relationship between Grandparents and Grandchildren is a special one as they get to enjoy the fun times and when things take a turn they just pass them back to mom and dad. 

 Thanks to all Grandparents for the smiles that you put on your Grandkids faces and the support you provide for the moms and dads. 

Go Raptors Go

  Five year olds experiencing their first Toronto Raptor's basketball game.  My boys were so excited all day and kept telling everyone they were going to play basketball.  They could not wait to go.  It was exciting for me as well as this was a  first and I was curious as to how it would go.
 The Raptors put on a good show for 3 quarters, taking the lead and holding it until someone told them they were not allowed to score anymore points.  Give credit to the Mavericks as they are one of the best teams in the NBA.  As for the kids there are a number of things you should be prepared for if you are taking yours to their first game.  These were my kids big moments.

1. Drive to the game in a vehicle with monitors in the headrest for their favorite movie.  This was a big wow factor.
2. Park underground, so cool.
3. Ride in an elevator, allowing them to push the buttons.
4. Hold their hand when going through Union Station (this was mine)
5. Order food from your seat as this is neat, "a guy brings us our food right to our seat" 
6. The Raptor Dance Pack (sorry mine again)
7. The Raptor mascot
8. Popcorn, preferably before halftime if you want to keep them happy.
9. A multi-billionaire that wears a t-shirt and jeans, all the time, cheering on his team. (mine again)
10. The Raptor mascots cool car
11. A cool new Raptor mascot stuffy for each of them.
12. Finally, mom waiting up for you when you get home.

There was also a basketball game that had the Raptors losing to the Dallas Mavericks, but all the kids said to mom was that the bad guys won.  The boys also wanted to say thank you to their Uncle for a very memorable night.  You're the Best.

Toddlers and Tiara's

Is this for real?  I hope I don't offend anyone, but seriously, who makes there 3-5 year old daughter up to look like a high priced call girl?  Sorry I stand corrected, or at least I am told, they look like little princesses, with more makeup and more hair then a real princess and some had fake boobs.  I walk in the room and my wife and daughter are watching this show Toddlers and Tiara's.  Oh my god. 

 Now I don't want to judge, but this is my blog and I owe it to anyone reading to share my honesty, so what the heck are these parents thinking.  I kind of get it when the

mom grew up competing in pageants and never did reach the pinnacle of her career, Miss Bradford (out of only five contestants).  Live vicariously through your kids, right?  After all I live vicariously through my kids every time I ask them to sleep in or eat their vegetables.  You know, things I can't do or that I was not very good at.  Now when I watch a plus size woman showing her 3 year old how to be sassy and dance around the stage it scares me, no really I was scared.  I am sure I have seen the same scene during an airing of Scream 3.  Then there is the pretty mommy that believes she is still pageant worthy, when in fact the pageant left town many moons ago and she is just a cast member from the show Cougar Town or in some cases Beverly Hills 90210.  The thing that caught me off guard was the amount of Dads involved.  In fact some even make the costumes.  I wouldn't do well as my daughter’s outfit would be a pair of sweats, a top, with a sweater or sweatshirt on top and every thing being pink or complimentary colours such as Salmon.  The fact that I know these two colours are the same and not complimentary scares me.

 At what age do these girls wake up and discover they have issues with their self-esteem or do they ever?  My daughter is beautiful little girl and with three older brothers she will be more likely to kick some guys butt then worry about how she looks and yet these girls could grow up as cast members in the revised version of Clueless?  Again, not for me to say.  I am sure some will make a good living, after all there are many careers for beautiful young girls, but my wife doesn't let me visit them anymore.  I can only hope that any winnings these girls achieve go towards an education and not mom's weekly liposuction or botox.

 Anyway, I rant over something I don't need to worry about, as we are not Toddler and Tiara parents, more like Toddler and Tinfoil parents, but that's a story for another day.  At the end of the day it is about happy kids and strong family bonds and if a tiara and makeup accomplishes that then go for it.  We may be closer than I think.