Ageism

I have come to grips with the fact that i'm getting old. Not ancient old, or even old in a physical sense (mind you in the morning it takes me a while to get my legs moving,- especially after playing hockey the night before). I guess my sense of age has become more noticeable in a cultural sense. Are you confused with what i'm getting at? I'll explain. Last Thursday, my niece Shaina, from Calgary came over for a visit. We had a real swell time together. It was cool having her hanging out with Sam and checking out the neat stuff that is to see in Victoria. Heather, Sam and Shaina went on a double decker bus tour of Victoria. Long and the short of it,, it was a good time. Now Shaina is a really good kid. I have always said, that if Heath and I could raise kids like Shaina, Lindsey and Jeff (Lindsey, Shaina, and Jeff are my brother and sister-in-law's (Kim and Lori) kids) we would be doing a good job as parents. She is also 17 years old, which is eons away from my 33 years of age when you consider the culture of being 30, and of being a teenager. At 17 i was listening to old school rap groups like Run DMC and starting to get into this new hip music from Seattle called grunge. Teenagers, i don't know what they are listening too,- i know rap music is taking over Rock music as the voice of youth (I'm i right on this?). I remember a few weeks back working in a house being constructed. For however long i worked construction, it was always classic rock that permeated the airwaves of the work site. A steady dose of Zeppelin, Eagles and Nazereth would be heard on some Roofer's ghetto blaster. On this particular day, "gangsta" rap was being played on site, and the workers were all younger. I could see in a few years that this will be the norm. Will Rock and Roll really die? Crazy to think that this could be the case! So yeah, i guess i don't really know what kids are listening to. But i thought i always had some semblance of understanding when it came to current trends. I listen to the local modern rock station and had taken notice of some of the current groups, like Franse Ferdinand and Arcade Fire. But did i really know acutely what was going on with kids. Well i tell you, visiting with Shaina brought to light that i might be old as disco. We started talking music, and i mentioned that i had the new Chilli Pepper's disc. Shaina politely mentioned that she wasn't too into the Chillies. I kind of thought in my mind, how could she not like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers? It did not take me long to figure it out. The Chillies are old. If you really think about it - they are. But they used to be the most hip-happening band around! Later on when we were cruising around town, The Tragically Hip came on the radio. I said, "yeah crank it up this is a sweet tune!" Shaina groaned in despair. I was like, "What? How could you not like the Hip?" Again, started thinking, Gord Downie and the boys are getting old. Another example of sqareness (i don't know if that is a word but i am just going with it), we were at Beacon Drive-in,- having ice cream, and i thought i have to mention a band that she would think was cool. So i threw out, "What do you think of the band Block Party?" Now i have to note that this is a group that i was introduced to by my good buddy Erik Larsen, who is my one pipeline into all that is new, hip and current in modern music. He played me this Block Party album and i thought it was pretty good. I ask Shaina, she said no, she never heard of them. I was like, "What? No, you had to have heard of The Block Pary! No never had. So that was that. I knew that I was out of touch. But i also realized that all teens are different. Its not like the Breakfast Club where you could really type cast kids. All kids are different,- especially now in our hallowed post-modern era where all types of fads are fair game. O yeah i know there are patterns - like all human behavior you find patterns. But the Breakfast Club (By the way, during our visit Shaina mentioned that she could not sit through a whole viewing of the 80's teen classic. To my perplexity she percieved it as lame.) showed personality types in real tight parameters,- the nerd, the jock, the misfit, the hood, the prep. All kids, like musical tastes are different. And i knew i was old. And you know, there is liberation in that. If anything there is humour in it. You have to laugh at the absurdity of time. One second you can be in high school, concerned about your hairdoo, the next second your bald, with a wife and child (albeit a hot wife and cute child), typing away in your plaid pajamas with Sports Center on in the background. Then you realize that you just bought a station wagon because the more sporty car that Heather and you owned the last few years is too small to hold your family. Heather even said a few days back, "I can't believe i'm saying this, but i'm so glad that we own a station wagon, the stroller fits in so easy!" So yeah i'm old but i'm fine with it. There is peace in not caring about being the grooviest kid on the block. So, i'm going to crank up The Chilli Peppers, and be thankful for the passage of 33 years. Maybe i'll take the skateboard out of my recently built work shed and go for a skate - searching for that vibe of former youth. S.F

Happy Half Birthday

Happy half birthday to me
Happy half birthday to me
Happy half birthday dear Sammy
Happy half birthday to me

I am six months old today. Yay!

srf

Mid-Week Ramble

Wednesday night and thought I would throw out a quick post. Its officially mid-week and all is well in the Follis household. Almost finished cleaning up the homestead for a visit from my beloved niece Shaina. She is coming out for a visit to the great Island to see us, as well as going up to Camp Malibu ( i think that's what its called,- sounds very posh!). (Heather's edit - nope, she's going to Camp Qwonoes)So I am looking forward to seeing her. Its cool that Sam can spend time with her cousin. Shaina is 17 and when she was younger I would baby sit her and her two siblings, Jeff and Lindsey. Its crazy how life always comes full circle. I remember when my nieces and nephew were just small kids. Now they are all grown up, and i have a child. Too wierd,- wierd but good.
Sam is doing well. We are starting to feed him prunes. I came home late from work and there he was,- sitting in the high chair with prune carnage everywhere. He did a good job of getting it all over his face, clothes, and furniture. He didn't want the prune matter to removed either by becoming very angry at my attempts to clean him up.
I've switched books (I do that quite often, my motto with reading is life is too short to read a book that you are not into). I'm done with reading "Dune" as of right now. I had to switch back and forth between the story and the appendix too many times. They have all these specific terms that are particular to the Dune planet. I could get into details, but i don't think you would be reading this post for too much longer. So now i am reading a book called "Pirate Hunters" which is a biography on Captain Kidd. Very good so far, i think i will stick with it. It was a Xmas gift from my brother Mike. Actually speaking of Mike, it is his birthday today. Happy Birthday Mikey!
Anyways, i could go on more but i really must go to sleep. Next time around. We'll get onto more serious topics, like how to solve World Peace, and what the Oilers need to do in order to win the holy grail of hockey (Stanley Cup for non-hockey afficionandos) which tragically slipped from their grasp by one game. Pangs of sorrow (within a completely sports sense, i do have a sense of perspective here,- mind you i'm not ashamed to say that i did shed a couple of tears when the writing was on the wall for the Oil) did spark when I saw a sport highlight of Hurricane's Andrew Ladd carrying the Cup through his home town of Maple Ridge. O well, life goes on.
Anyway, i must go. S.F.

The First Supper

Well, in so far as posting every day...I guess my track record speaks for itself. We had a big week, so I will blame it on "being busy." Isn't that what everyone says when they don't accommplish everything they want to, or others want them to? "I'm just soooo busy, I'm sorry I can't help you move." "Sorry I haven't called you friend-I-don't-really-want-to-talk-to... I have just been soooo busy." (On a side note, we never neglect to call friends because we don't want to talk to them... if you haven't heard from us in awhile, it's because we are sooooo busy. :) )
Back to the topic at hand, our busy week. Last Monday, a week ago today, was our 7 year wedding anniversary. But even more important was it was the first day we gave Sam solid foods. Maybe not more important, but it certainly recieved first billing. We were so ready... we had the rice cereal, the bib, the soft tip spoons. We had been looking forward to it for a week, anticipating that first spoonful when the Bubby realized we had fulfilled his greatest desire ... to eat big people food. Even though he has been trying to grab our food for a month or two, the first trial run of his own was... soundly underwhelming. He was unimpressed, to say the least. Thankfully he has gotten a little more stoked about it, and tomorrow we will introduce prunes. (Not just a random food selection, by the way.)
Our anniversary was a "first" as well... our first anniversary where it is more than just the two of us, and the first opportunity we have had to go out for a nice dinner, just the two of us, since Sam was born. It was great. A balm for the soul. The wonderful Lorna came and babysat for us, and we got to eat without having to hold anyone on our laps!
The rest of the week went by in a blur. Jen Smith came over for dinner on Tuesday (see Jen, I told you I would mention you in our blog!) Then on Saturday we went to the Funfest at Westshore Presbyterian Church, always a fun time. Then on Sunday was Aureilia Andison's first birthday party! I can't believe she is one already! Aureilia is Sam's "older woman", so much wiser and more experienced! This weekend we hope to go camping with the Andisons... we will have to keep an eye on those little scamps.
Until next time,
HF

High Hopes

OK, so my goal is to add a new post every day... ha ha ha! Not much hope of that happening, especially with a very active little baby that is just learning how to crawl. Oh well, it's good to have high hopes.
The Sam may be very active, but he is a very good little boy. We feel so incredibly blessed, and just are in wonder every day of what a little miracle he is. Steve seems to think we are sleep deprived... I tell him constantly he has no idea how lucky we are, sleep-wise. Sam has been sleeping through the night by 3 months old... 8pm to 6am. The problem is that we often don't start going to bed until after 11pm. So, it's not that Sam doesn't sleep well, it's just that God saw fit to play a little practical joke on a couple of night owls and give them an early bird baby. I guess we will adjust to this as well.
We also have two Korean students that are staying with us right now. They have been here for three weeks, and leave tomorrow morning, just in time for our 7 year anniversary. Wow! These students are 12 year old boys (!) and all I can think of is, "Is this what we are in for?" They sure eat a lot.
So, time will tell if I am able to keep up with my high hopes of posting every day. So far so good!
HF

Inaugural Rambling

Hello, this is the first post from the Follis blog. Nothing too much to report,- just sitting here on a Saturday night watching a movie while Heath is finishing up our thank you cards for Sammy's baby gifts. She has just finished a fat stack of cards. Our son Sammy has definitely been blessed with a lot of nice gifts. I think his wardrobe is larger than both of ours combined. We've hardly had to buy the Sam a lot of the essentials needed for a baby because of the gifts from our good friends and family. So we thank you all.
This last half year has been a whirlwind of change. Sam is almost 6 months old and is the major source of change in our lives. He is a great little boy. We have a lot of fun with him. I never thought that being a parent would be so gratifying. I will temper this statement by saying it is very hard work. I've dealt with the long term reality of sleep deprivation. You get used to it, but there are a few times while driving to work that i've had to crank up the radio to keep from driving off the road. Coffee is an essential. Time at home is a constant game of juggling baby and household duties. One parent holds child while other cooks or tidies up. At dinner we can sometimes get a window of time where we can both eat,- but at about the 10 minute mark one of us usually has to pick him up and give some attention. Its classic with him at dinner if your holding him and eating. He will sometimes lunge for the food. You have to be like a matador to dodge the little bull from pouncing on your meal. He is a day away from eating solids so his urge to eat big people food will soon be satisfied.
Heath and I enjoy just playing with him. He is a classic little guy,- lots of smiles and laughs. Its fun getting him going. The coolest thing right now is watching him getting close to crawling. He is very close, he's got the strength to do it, just not the coordination. He is getting there though. As you can tell i go on about our child. To some of you it might seem like boring drivel coming from a doting parent (don't worry i was on the flip side before where if i heard stuff like this it would not seem that interesting), but once you have a kid, all of this stuff is a trip to see and experience. Seeing Sam smile is still a novelty. I can't comprehend what it will be like to see him walk, talk, throw and catch a ball. All cool things to look forward to. Anyways, its getting late and i say that this a good start to this blog. Before i end this post, just wanted to mention a quick Oiler update. The Oil signed Peter Sykora to 1 year deal. He is a good addition to the offence. Also, the Seahawks opened up their preseason against the dreaded Cowboys. I have it on recorded so i will watch that later. Heath and I also decided that we are going to start buying a C.D. a month. We will have alternating picks where i buy one, then she buys one, then we both decide on one together. I think it will be a good way of updating our music collection with some good solid music. Our collection is still trapped in the mid-90's so its time to get it out of the time warp. So the first C.D. we bought (both of our choice) is the Red Hot Chillie Peppers new album "Stadium Arcadium" It is a double disc which is very good. Heath heard that it is a theme album. I guess most double albums are. So it will definitely be worth a few listens. Also right now i am reading a novel called "Dune" by Frank Herbert. Its a sci-fi novel. Its pretty good so far - i am 40 pages into it. Anyways, i'll quit my ramblings because it is time for sleep. Talk to you later.