Holistic Mommy

Since our initial trip to the ocean five weeks ago, we have: Explored the lakes around our house; Discovered the lakes, rivers, and trails in the mountains; Had a bear encounter with a friend and friend's kids (she wasn't with me) I hiked for three hours on the Bayden Powell Trail (with above friend -- where we were informed there was another bear sighted where we were headed); Tofino Trip ; I got her hooked on the driving range at the family-run Par 3 course; Saw two beavers and had bats fly above our heads; We did part two of our summer trip which was going into the interior; We ran into her grade three teacher on the top of a mountain pass; I swear I drove past my old boss at a rest stop; She got to see bestie (who just had the fire evacuation alert lifted the day we arrived) ; We met my friend who I haven't seen in a decade -- her kids are cute and fun. They have an awesome backyard; I waterskied on something called suicide boots , on a real waterski boat, with a coupl...

Just a few short weeks ago, her bestie moved out of town . We are planning on seeing them on our road trip this coming week. Our plans have shifted somewhat. Her bestie is amidst the wildfires and they are on evacuation alert There was a lot of chit-chatting on the phone this week with constant updates of where the smoke was. At one point she announced, "uh, when I look up, the smoke is right above our house." The space I had picked out for camping is under evacuation alert, it also has a little red dot beside it on the government's fire map page. A little red dot means a little new fire has popped up... I guess I'm not sleeping there. I'm going to wait until Saturday to figure things out. We 'rents agree that getting the kids together is super important now. We may swing through and take bestie and bestie's little sis to a lake outside of town for some retreat and some major catching up. In the next town, and the plan for the rest of the week (air quality...

 So I have this really cool kid. Creative, smart, social. She's 12 going on 13. Of course, she wants to fit in to what everyone else is doing. Fitting in at 12 years old in 2020 in an urban setting includes but is not limited to... Well, a whole bunch of crap. Parents can no longer think in the longterm (ie: when my kid graduates from highschool unscathed, at their wedding, when they emerge from a healthy childhood to have healthy kids of their own.) As a parent in 2020, I'm focused on the now and getting through the last few weeks of summer. Then, it will be the first month of school and managing her emotions and intensity as tech companies buy their way into her education. From there, it will be getting through the fall, emotionally and spiritually intact.  Completing this school year? That is ten months away. And then there are friends... Listen, if you have "given in" to technology you may have noticed we aren't hanging out with you as much. We are happy to me...

We just returned from a trip to Tofino. This all came about last week when I took Horse Girl (now 12) to the ocean. She literally was in the water from the time we arrived until the time we left -- only coming out for food and a Johnny Pop from the concession. The tide was sooooo fun that day. * Elapsed time in water was a mind-blowing six and a half hours. The next day, she asked to go again but to this time bring her bestie. Two days later, we were back at the ocean -- with bestie and bestie's little sister. As soon as the car parked, they took off to the water only to come out for food (they couldn't even sit down to eat, and instead stood at their bags shoveling snacks in their mouths before running off to the ocean again) and a stop at Yogen Fruz. * Elapsed time in the water was 3.0 hours. Back to our first day at the ocean and how we got to Tofino... While she was in the water, I read the Spring 1991 edition of Beautiful British Columbia magazine (why not?). It highlighte...

In my car right now are three floaties, one set of golf clubs, a skateboard, Fox helmet, sand -- and a mountain bike attached to a bike rack. Going into this summer (just one month ago), I made a vow: We will spend everyday at the rivers, lakes, oceans and mountain bike trails. We've been doing pretty alright with this. This week alone we have been to the river on Sunday, ocean on Monday, river on Tuesday and ocean on Wednesday. Being outdoors makes me feel normal; parenting outdoors let's me know that my child is experiencing normal. This is also for us to stay grounded, healthy -- and to not be affected by the chaos. It's nuts out there. Getting her outdoors and, more specifically, ready and in the car is a different story. This hasn't always been an easy task. Sometimes preteens don't want to do what you need them to do. Often times there are influences that affect the flow and peace of the family unit. However, through my "just-get-her-into-the-car...

I started Holistic Mamma when Little One (started as Molly, then Stinker, Little One and soon to be Horse Girl) was an infant and I had become a solo parent. It started after a friend we were visiting suggested blogging as a perfect avenue of income for me. That was back in the blogosphere days. It was so much fun to write about our life adventures... I didn't make a dime. By some twist of fate, I have been directed here today to bring Holistic Mamma back to life. I can see why. I have posts (plural) with over a thousand views (and one with thousands and thousands of views). Also, thanks to my Grandma, I have every post (as well as each accompanying and joyful email feedback by said Grandma) printed and organized in a binder. (Last fall, Little One  got to read through the binder and she thinks this blog is absolutely hilarious!) Anyway, this blog continues. Horse Girl is now in their preteens. Holistic Mamma has had enough with technology. It's 2020... Oh, this is gonna be go...

I love our new life. We are socializing, laughing, focussed, there are animals around us. It has been a couple of months and I'm finally seeing the colour come back into our lives. It is as though a plug has been removed and all good things are spilling out. It as not been without challenges -- immense challenges. But somehow, the things I need keep showing up when I need them and by being out of the city and into somewhere beautiful, everything is much more manageable. When things are good, you hardly remember all the bad. And that is what I am looking forward too. ...And I'm writing again!