Ding Dong! The thesis is done!

I have been telling everyone I know for the whole week: my thesis for my MA in Religious Education is complete and submitted for grading!

Yay!

Yahoo!

Huzzah!

I push the finer limits of tacky self-promotion with an eye toward ensuring adequate celebration. It would just be like me to shrug off this milestone and fail to honour the work and support involved in its passing.

Consider: I started my first graduate course at St. Mark's College in 1999. That's 15 frickin' years!

Now, there's been a lot of non-study gaps in there: I only really began my GDRE (graduate degree in religious education) in 2003, I finished it in 2008 or 9 or something, then started up again in Spring 2012. I haven't taken a course since Jan 2013 and the thesis has been interrupted by a few important life experiences in the past year and a bit.

But, still... it is the achievement of my furthest academic goal that I have imagined thus far. It is the end of any coursework at the post-secondary level and the beginning of potentially instructing at the college level. It is seeing a big project through, and one that has been at the heart of my career as a religious educator.

It represents the huge support that first of all Monique gave me when on stupid occasion I was taking two courses, coaching two teams and representing teachers in the local association when Avila was a newborn. And the support of the college, in all its various staffings that I've seen through the last 15 years.

And it presents me with a What next? What now? experience that I am eager to get rolling on - what's my new project? Where will the work on my thesis lead? Let's discover!

Above all, there's lightness and space in my heart and spirit and mind which has been holding this project for so long. It's just pretty cool.

March madness

I know that I write a lot about the weather on this Blog, but there is a lot of weather to talk about, and now it is March. And March is crazy. Yesterday was 10 degrees. I was out in a t-shirt listening to the birds singing. This morning I woke up to this!

Come on, I know it is only -4 and that this afternoon the dusting will be gone but it is like Mother Nature is laughing at us. I can't keep up with her. One minute the road is covered with puddels that will swallow a car and the next it is a skating rink. In the moring on the walk to school the kids need parkas and on the walk home they need gum boots and snorkels. I see now it is not months and months of deep winter that is crazy, it is a 40 degree change in two weeks and jumping from Antaratica to New Mexcio in a day that is really crazy.

Same time tomorrow

If you have ever wondered why we called this blog "The Last Time Change" this is why. Saskatchewan does not have day light savings time. So this Sunday, while you were all sleeping in or waking up too early, while you were avoiding the increase in car accidence, and dealing with out of whack kids and pets, we were just going about live as normal.

I think they have a lot right in this province, but this one is near the top of my list.

Dancing in a Vortex

I have been hearing a lot lately about the polar vortex. If you don't know what that is, be thankful. It is why this is a record breaking year for cold on the prairies. We have had 10 times more days of extreme cold (-35 or more) this year then a average year. Last Saturday, if you factor in the wind chill (and you should, trust me) it was -55! Yes, it was colder here then on Mars.

And you ask, what do you do on a day that is that cold. Well of course you dance! Our oldest son planned a dance party for us. We had snacks and fun drinks, we got all dressed up in your party clothes. He planned the music selection, with a mix of recorded music and live performers. And we danced. We had conga lines and break dancers. We had people dancing on furniture and a rocking ring-around-the-rosy session. Yes, I played my fiddle to the cheers of my adoring fans, all 5 of them.

I had so much fun. We all did. But the thing I loved the most was the look of pride on my son's face. This was his idea and he made it happen. He spent weeks thinking about music selection and how to best set up the room. He even held auditions! He felt awesome seeing his plans come to fulfillment. And he should be proud. He through a great party.

I think I will put him in charge of Christmas next year.

Kids in church

This last Sunday was a normal Sunday in our house. We were up before dawn with a small,  warm and blue eyed visitor to our bed. After some squirming,  snuffling and snuggling we gave it up as morning time and got up for coffee. Somehow the time between 6 and 9 am ran by and it was a mad rush into the van for church.

Our oldesst was serving at mass, so we only had three with us in the pew.  Plus my father in law and brother in law were sitting with us so we had two extra sets of hands. This should have been easy. But I don't think easy was part of God's vision when he made kids.

We started out with a heated discussion about if colouring on the pew and song books was aproprit liturgical movement.  Once it was settled with a colouring book, it was time to dance to the opening hymn.  Of course the beauty of the dancing was inhanced by announcing at full volume after the song was done that she was dancing a tap dance for Jesus.

Next comes the rest time. When two kids try to both lay down on Grandpa's lap at the same time. This involves much shuffling,  kicking and moving of coats, boots and people.

At the sign of peace were we all wish each other peace and blessings with a hand shake we instead have one child refuse to shake hands with anyone and will scream at anyone who looks at her, including her brother who is very determined to give her "peace" .

At communion time, the only time they acutely have permission to leave the pew, we have a dissenter who will not come up with us, until we are three rows and about twenty people away from her and then begins to cry hysterically for her Daddy.

There is of course also the normal dropping of books, crayons,  snacks and kneelers.  Putting on and off of coats and boots. And movement of people back and forth (and back and forth) throughout the hour. And this was a normal week.

So next time you bring your kids somewhere they has to sit still and look cute and they act like children instead, just remember they are normal. And so are you.

My children are not problems to be solved but mysteries to be loved.

My child is not a problem to be solved,
But a mystery to be loved.

Coming soon!

Okay I needed to make use of my Horrendously expensive iMac. And here's what we've got.

Monique has been maintaining our skating rink religiously. It's starting to pay off in a big way.

http://youtu.be/UKyOg2memik

Enjoy. It features my wife crosschecking me, knocking my expensive planned-obsolescent iPhone out of my hands... On Ice!