Seeing Winnipeg....

We were "in town" this past weekend.  "In town" means Whitehorse.  I've taken quite a generous amount of ribbing because I tend to say I'm going to "the city" when I'm heading into our territory's capital.  They snicker at me!  Intially I was a bit baffled as technically it is a city but eventually was set straight and was informed that going to "the city" around here means Vancouver or Edmonton.  Who knew?!

Going to Whitehorse isn't a big deal, only an hour and a half away and the road between us is in great condition.  A very scenic drive as I've mentioned in the past and even the kids don't mind it if we can catch "The Debaters" on CBC (as long as the topic is appropriate) or they can "plug in" into a DVD player.  The kids enjoy watching T.V. at the grandparents while we are there (we haven't got cable or satelite in the Junction by choice), playing with their cat and three dogs, going to the Canada Games Centre with the aunties and cousins for a swim and/or a skate.  Ken enjoys going to the music store and the high he gets from the smell of new musical instruments and all the paraphenilia that goes with it and I, well, I do the practical icky stuff like groceryshopping/clothesshopping/dogfoodshopping/blah,blah,blahshopping.  I do however reward myself with a ventisugarfreevanillalatte at Starbucks.  Mmmmmm.

And this time while dragging myself up to the jail like doors of Superzoo (aka Superstore) that promises to punish me with it's too narrow aisles and too wide carts and line ups that stretch into eternity and florescent lights that shine into my very soul and whisper "you'll never get out of here, you'll never be done, and the thing you most need you will forget to pick up... until the moment you've paid your bill!", well this time I saw someone who looked remarkably like someone I know in Winnipeg.  And as I continued through my shopping over and over I saw people who reminded me of folks in Winnipeg.  I don't know if it's that all Superstores are basically the same and so it evoked all this crazy familiarity but I must admit that by the time I left I was seeing Winnipeg everywhere and I was homesick!  No, not homesick, peoplesick.  I was missing faces that I've loved and appreciated for many years, I was missing the sweetness of community I experienced in Winnipeg.  It was truly bittersweet.  Bitter because I'm not there and sweet because I have such wonderful memories of the 'Peg.

Fast forward to this morning.  We're back in the Junction and getting up (after a lovely extra hour of sleep) to head over to the school for our version of "church".  This morning we're in the home ec room to make up two huge pots of soup for a fundraiser we're having for Haiti (don't get me started on the sorrow I feel for that nation!) this week at school.  Two of my dear friends here in the Junction are with us with their boys as well as a couple of other good friends of the kids.  We talk about Haiti for a bit altogether and then the work starts.  Some of the kids are having a hoot with the "slap chop" dicing up celery, some are crying as they peel onions, one is slicing his finger as he opens up tin cans, others are peeling garlic clove after garlic clove.  The moms are bustling here and there administering first aid, doing dishes, and generally trying to keep track of the mayhem.  And then we hit a lull where the jobs are done for the kids, and we stop, pray together for Haiti and for the soup to turn out PLEASE and then Ken takes the kids out to play while the moms finish up.  We chat and laugh and just enjoy each others company.

And then I'm reminded of my previous day in Whitehorse and the feelings swirling around in me.  And I'm grateful.  Grateful because as I looked around at the kids as we were discussing Haiti, I could see that we already have community here.  People we can play, work and pray together with.  And as we women had time together to finish up the soup and visit, I marvelled at these families who love my children and love us and feel like "family" already. 

And I am oh so thankful.   

Jesus,

Although I so appreciate and need the community you have provided - ultimately the community I crave is communion with you. Thank you that in you I am never alone.  I love you.

'til next time, 

Dianna

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

For those of you still checking to see if I've finally posted... ta da!  Pathetic I know, but I'm finally here none the less. 

And here.  In Haines Junction.  Still.  And if you look at the title of the blog it's changed slightly from "the one year northern adventure of the Symanski family" to "the ongoing northern adventure of the Symanski family".  Long story but to make it a short one, we're here because by last spring it became plain that we were supposed to stay and make the Junction "home".

That's the short version.  Maybe sometime I'll want to spend some time giving you a peek in on the long version but not today.  It's a great tale, full of angst (should we? shouldn't we?), horror (leave our people in Winnipeg? NOOOoooo....), pathos (oh, the agony of goodbyes), comedy (we ARE the Symanskis and so comedy is inevitable), adrenaline (wow, we're really doing this!) and honest to goodness heartbreak (words fail me...).

But also peace.  The deep knowing in the pit of our very flawed selves that this was what we were meant for.  That it was and is a God thing.  And that both Ken and I felt that deep sense of "yes" together with the same intensity not only confirmed that we were heading in the right direction but also held us together in the days this past summer when we were packing up our life in Winnipeg and saying goodbye to some of THE GREATEST PEOPLE ON EARTH.  Thanks be to God that He carried us through it all...

And now we're are here.  No longer one year visitors but residents.  And life is good.  And God is good.  But I am still the same person here that I was in Winnipeg which means all my character flaws came with me.  I tried to leave them behind.  I tip toed away from them when they weren't looking.  But they are tenacious little turds and the first time my kids and husband started to annoy me on our drive back to the Yukon from Manitoba they were right there, egging me on and I started to holler.  Of course they didn't have far to go, I think they found me around Portage la Prairie...

And so it goes, living life in this fascinating little village, trying to find out what I'm to put my hand to. What will I contribute to this community?  There are so many things I could do, so many opportunities.  But I have this fairly clean plate/slate before me and I want to be mindful of what I put on it.  Ken and the kids and managing our home already has a big chunk of it, I want to be careful not to crowd them out.  I know what it feels like to live a crowded life.  I don't do well with it.  I holler.  I get cranky.  I withdraw. I eat food I don't need and spend money I don't have.  So whatever I add to my plate/slate I want to do it thoughtfully and resist the urge to impulsively add all the good things I see around me (this committee, that project, this idea, that activity) to my schedule.  I want to be mindful and deliberate rather than rash and over zealous. (there's those sneaky character flaws again... I guess if I can't run away from them I'll have to contend with them.)

I'll try to keep you posted about what's going on as we live life in our new home.  Like I said, life is good and God is good so I'll try to share the goodness with you more frequently...

Jesus,
I am grateful.  I'm so deeply aware of my "messiness" inside and out.  And yet you don't hold it against me and you pour out your goodness all over my family and I.  It's quite delicious and yummy and sustaining.  I love you.

'til next time,

Dianna

To The Extraordinary, Astonishing Ken Symanski

Apparently I have no discretion, but that's another post altogether.

We celebrated 20 years married last week (WOW!) and I wrote the following for Ken.  Thought you might enjoy it!

20 YEARS MARRIED, 20 REASONS TO LOVE YOU STILL...

You wrote the song that you sang when I walked down the aisle on our wedding day.  I was so happy to be marrying you!

You make me laugh everyday.  Some days it's a snicker but often it's a belly laugh.

I love that you work hard but you play harder.

You were willing to go on an adventure to the Yukon for a year and fall in love with it.

You love my family, every crazy one of us.

You are affectionate, loving and passionate.

I love your green eyes and the smiling lines around them!

You are faithful and true.  You cultivate an atmosphere of relational safety in our lives.

You dance. 

You care more about people than things.

You are generous.  You rub my feet with lotion even though I know you hate it.

You speak a blessing over our children every night.

You sing to and with our children.  You wrote a song for them when they were born.

You are rarely grumpy.

You are great at accents.  My favourites are Jimmy Stewart and Jim from Taxi.  Your Robert DeNiro is good too!

You'll go toe to toe with me even when I'm being dogmatic and pigheaded.

You are humble.  You can admit when you're wrong and you stop everything with a heartfelt apology.

You don't rub it in when you are right.

You are utterly unique.  You have orange feet and a Star Trek Insignia and hands that move simultaneously.

You love God and you love people.  You inspire me.

I do not deserve you but I greedily accept and love you!

Jesus,

Thank you for the man I married.  He's one of a kind!

'til next time,

Dianna

4:30 a.m.

4:30 a.m. and I'm awake.  Sun is starting to light the sky already. I haven't written in oh-so-long which by now you know means I'm too busy, slightly overwhelmed or avoiding something.  I admit I'm not too busy (a little busy but not too busy) but the slightly overwhelmed/avoiding something is right up my alley. 

All is good here and by the end of this week I'll try to sort out my thoughts enough to get it down in the blog.  But for know can I just say that I have an amazing God, family and friends (all over the place)!  I am hugely grateful and humbled and and a wee bit nervous...

That's all.  Stay posted...

Jesus,

I'm tucking into you right now. You are are warm and strong and wonderfully present.  I love you.

'til next time,

Dianna

Beach Day?

So I'm on day 57 of this nasty cold (OK, so not 57, but I'm sure it's at least 27... that's how it feels) and I have a few questions...

- Did I ever have a voice that wasn't so deep and sexy? 

- Why can't I get $ for the amount of snot I produce?  I think we should develop a vehicle that runs on snot.  I'll supply the fuel, if you supply the research. 

- Why does my sneeze scare small children (and Ken) and send them running for cover?  I used to be able to suppress my sneeze into a nice lady like squeak.  Now I sound like Shrek.  Is it an over 40 thing?  And why didn't someone warn me?

I think that's all for now.  I am getting better little by little.  The loud whining you hear from a northerly direction will subside soon I'm sure.

Onto brighter topics, last weekend we went on an adventure (I was sick of being inside with my you-know-what) out to Kluane Lake.  It is farther along the Alaska Highway from the Junction (about 40 min.) and the views once again were stunning. There is no end to the beautiful sights around here. Brenna was off snowmobiling in the mountains for the day with her buddies Travis and Michael and Travis' dad so she wasn't along with us.

I have to say part of the beauty and fun of the day was going with friends we've made here in the Junction.  We have felt overwhelmed at their kindness since the first week we arrived here!  Dave and Cindi and their children have been here three years now (from Tofino, B.C.) and are warm and generous folk who are downright fascinating.  They have both spent many years as wilderness guides and on the spectrum of outdoorsy -  we couldn't be farther away from each other!  But they graciously put up with how "citified" we are and have already taught us so much.  And not in that condescending way that makes you keenly aware of all you don't know but rather in the arm in arm kinda way that makes you feel like an equal (although I'm really as dumb as a sack of hammers when it comes to the outdoors!).

They have two boys, one in grade one with Jay and one in grade three with Will. Terrific boys (I adore them) and great pals to our boys.   Brenna loves Cindi and has ditched me on occasion to spend time with her.  I'm glad.  Brenna is well loved by her surrogate aunties in Winnipeg and has missed their attention.  Cindi fills that gap in a wonderful way.  Cindi and I have wonderful chats together and I am often inspired by her commitment to making this world a better place.  Dave and I love to give each other a hard time and we too have great conversations.  He is a committed environmentalist who lives a lifestyle that I find challenges me to be a better steward of our earth.  Oh I could go on...

But back to last weekend and some pics of our day.  These pics are from our time on the beach at Kluane Lake.  There's still ice on the lake but the sand was mostly clear and made for lots of fun.  We had a fire, roasted bison smokies for lunch (yum) and enjoyed the amazing vistas!  Cindi helped the boys fly a stunt kite...

The boys enjoyed beach combing and building!

Our good friends and one of their Bernese

Mountain dogs (what wonderful dogs!)

... and then time to head home after a full day of sunshine, fresh air and good company.

Can you believe the views?  I was in awe the whole time I was there.  What a gift of a day.

Jesus,

I think you must smile when you see my reaction to your creation.  You knock my socks off.  And I really love you.

'til next time,

Dianna

(There's another family here that we've also connected with that I'll brag about another time.  Another neat family that we feel richer for having met.)

I've got a cowd...

It's true... I've got one of those nasty cowds.  "Cowd" because I can't pronounce my "l's".  I thought of writing (cough, cough) an entire post with no "l's" and with inserted sound effects (sniff, sniff).  But I won't (hoooonk).  It's just too gross.

The kids and Ken are fantastic.  They've all pitched in so that I can rest and get better. I usually drive them back to school after they walk home at lunch but today they all marched off willingly so that I wouldn't have to.  Ten minutes later however, they were back.

Jay got sucked into a muddy spot (I'm sure it jumped out at him and attacked him.)  Oh, the power of mud!  Brenna had to go in to rescue him (as you can see by the pink laced shoes in the pic).  We'll laugh about it someday soon but today Jay was bawling, Brenna was fit to be tied and Will, well he just look relieved to be a spectator for this one!

The snow is melting in earnest and the ditches are full and running.  Ken is looking forward to floating some boats down them with the kids this evening.  I'll try to get pics!  Living here has Ken getting in touch with his childhood growing up in Cook's Creek, MB.  He's loving doing some things with our kids that he did growing up in the country.  I'm very thankful for our time here.

I've slept most of the day but had a chance to try a little craft I've been wanting to.  Started with a few old records I had picked up at the Sally Ann (where else). 

Then I followed the instructions on http://www.homemademamas.net/ and made these.

I'm not sure yet what I'll use them for (planters or chip and dip bowls) and if I'll paint them or not, but what an easy way to reuse old albums!  I'd like to try making more but this time outside on a barbeque as I'm not crazy about the fumes it gives off. 

'nuff said.  I feel the need to (sniff, sniff) go drink some hot lemon and honey (honk, honk).  If I was in Winnipeg right now, our dear neighbour, Mr. Miner, would be at my door with a hot toddy for me to drink to knock this cold on it's ass!  Oh, I do miss Mr. Miner!

Jesus,

Thank you for the fun of spring and puddles and the comfort of memories and hot toddys.  I love you.

'til next time,

Dianna

stories

So you and I both know that my kids are amazing.  Amazingly wonderful and sometimes even amazingly horrible.  But all in all the tally works in their favour and they get the privilege of living another day with the crazy, off beat lady they call "Mom".

Many times they pull themselves back from the edge of doom with a stunning act of redemption that leaves them not fearing the edge for at least a while.  My Will has done just that today.  Of all my kids, Will fears the edge the least, tightrope walks along it, and bungee jumps off it once in a while.  He is outstanding in his defiance but spectacular in his redemptive qualities.

Today he walks in at lunch time with a sweet grin on his face, eager to show me what he's done.  His teacher has given him a new scribbler.  He loves getting a new notebook.  The fresh, clean page lays before him with endless possibilities.  And this is the poem he wrote... (remember, this kid is eight years old)

And if you can't make it out... here it is...

It all starts with the increasing of friendship, the patterns

of love, and the care people have for

each other.

REMEMBER

THIS

W. Symanski

Am I the only one impressed?  I don't think so!  I must admit that I read the "REMEMBER THIS" a couple ways.  First, I think it means that we're supposed to remember the truth of what he's written.  Absolutely.  But then I think it may just be a message to me to remember this little poem and what a wonderful writer he is when I am threatening to wring his scrawny little neck!  Either way I think it's just brilliant.

And then there is our Jay.  Remember the one who refused to go over the alphabet with me last summer as we were trying to prepare him for Grade One?  I just received my first love note from him.  Delicious!

So both boys obviously know how to work their Momma. 

And Brenna is right in there, being amazing and wonderful.  Last night she made me a wonderful cup of hot lemon and honey to sooth my sore throat (I have a cold). She is a wonderful mix of sweet and funny.  She loves to play a good practical joke and so April Fool's Day was right up her alley!  And it lasted for three days! For example

• 
  
   - corn syrup in the shampoo bottle

• 
  
   - taping the kitchen sprayer down so that when I turned the faucet on I got soaked (she got both Ken and I with that one!)

• 
  
   - swapped out the sugar in the sugar bowl for salt so when Jay put a teaspoon of it on his rice krispies he got a big surprise!

I know I've forgotten some but the best one of all is one some of you male readers might not want to read so feel free to skip the part between the asterisks!

*

After school Brenna called frantically from the bathroom for me.  When I entered she looked stricken and showed me her underwear.  There were the tell-tale signs of a girl's first period. I didn't believe her of course, it being April Fool's and all.  But she was REALLY convincing.  REALLY.  I was totally on the fence and had to do what I least wanted to do.  I asked for her underwear to examine more closely and thankfully figured out quite quickly that it was ketchup!  Oh my!  The best part is when she did it to Ken later on that evening.  Poor Ken.  He kept calling me to deal with it.  Rather panicked I must say.  She could have kept him going for a while but I am obviously not as good an actor!  The gig was up and a good laugh was had by all!

*

There.  Stories done.  Hope you all had a grin.

Jesus,

How clever you make each one of us.  So unique and fresh and complex.  You are a wonder.

'til next time,

Dianna