art by charlee

One morning last week, as I opened the door to leave for work (after kisses, hugs, coffee), I yelled "good bye" to the family, and was about to step outside when Charlee shouted "WAIT KALEEN!"

She ran off and returned with an envelope - a letter for work.

I waited until I was at my desk to open my present. 

This was the envelope front:

Is this me? not sure, but whomever it is either wears glasses, or needs more sleep. And...is evidently having issues with one ear, and may possibly be bleeding from the chin. But you have to admit, they have pretty beautiful teeth. And evidently show their whole mouth when they smile, like Julia Roberts.

And back:

There is a story here. I'm sure of it. I think it involves the sun going brown, a house that may also be a robot, and a pink brick road, while brown words are floating through the air. And, someone is trying to say "HI" but by accident said "IH" instead.

And when I opened it, I found another envelope:

A tale of dragons and dinosaurs and hearts, I believe.

And inside that envelope was another (are we out of paper at our house? perhaps...)

Unsure. Entirely unsure.

I had to smile. This is Charlee's art.

please excuse the...

I'm having blog-block.

Loss and life....

Today Jesus took dear little Matthew Froese home.

I am feeling the mixed emotions one faces in a time like this. I know that one who has lived life on earth with difficulty finds wholeness in death. Healing. The ability to talk, walk, run, laugh, and dance. All the things Matty was unable to do here.

In living with Gary and Carleigh, I had the perk of hanging out with Matt occasionally, as he stayed with us every couple of weeks. And I got to meet many in his community of support: The people who love Matt.

Sometimes I was positive that Matt knew exactly what was going on. I'd pat his chest and take his hand and move it like we were dancing or playing arm-wrestle, and he would grin and make his happy noise. And then there were the times when I would realize he needed a new diaper. And if it was a really nasty one?...Matt would grin when you realized it. It was like his own little joke.

Today I'm glad that Matt gets to be whole. I'm sad that we don't get him anymore. And I pray that his family (and extended "family") are comforted as they grieve. His legacy will live on.... www.mattshouse.ca

Bye Matt.

Thanks for letting me love you.

Today i love...

that this child...

has been my dear friend since this day...

and that this child....

will always look like this in my mind....

and that this child...

despite her vampire ways, can out-giggle any teenage girl. Bring it!

Singleness can have it's sad days...but I wouldn't have been able to be "Kaleen" without it.

The danger of a single story

This is a fascinating talk.
It's about 20 minutes long, so grab a coffee and sit back and listen.
Listen well!

Pseudo-Momma update

Yesterday was my first day of....FREEDOM...after completing an intense beginning to the MA in Leadership program at Trinity.

To summarize this last month?
I loved it. I sweated through it. I fell asleep reading many times. I made friends. I turned my brain on to high, and it hasn't stopped yet.

So, yesterday morning, standing in the kitchen in my pjs, Carleigh asked a poignant question:
How will you enjoy this beautiful day today?


My response : I have no idea.


I then turned and ran into (literally) Charlee. She threw her arms around my leg and as I bent down to give her a kiss, she looked at me and whispered: Kaleen, can you take me on an adventure?


Me: What type of adventure, Char?
Her: Like, going to Gramma Jodi's house!


Well, seeing as Gramma Jo lives almost 4 hours away, that wasn't going to happen this day.

Then I had an idea. I turned to Carleigh and asked her how she felt about me taking Char to the library and for ice cream.

Her response: Yes, she'll think it's the best day of her life

Done!

So we had a date-day, just Char and me, and we had some great fun. Charlee loved the library. She fretted when I asked her to pick 3 books to bring home. There were just too many! Arms full of books, we walked back to the car. I was strapping Charlee in to her booster seat, when she saw the design on my pink tank top.

Her: When I'm big, I'm going to wear your pink t-shirt, Kaleen
Me: Oh, yeah, Char? When is that gonna be?
Her: When I'm your age
Me: How old is that, Char? How old do you think I am?
Her: Hmm, 10.

Awesome.

All in all, it was the perfect way to celebrate a month of hard work.