HOLIDAYS

This is a picure outside my front door Christmas morning. Gorgeous blue skies and mountain views. Hummingbirds everywhere. Doesn't feel like Christmas however without snow! We did go to a pot luck on the 24th with a bunch of families from here. Below is a picture of a few of my girls. We don't dress up very often here, so when we all arrive with clean clothes, hair combed, no flip flops and make up on, we take pictures and all coo "Oh, your so pretty!"

From L to R-Lizanne, Sharron, Nicole, Me, Jenni and Tammy

HO HO HUMBUG?

I trust you all had an incredible Christmas with your loved ones. This was our third Christmas in Panama. Every year it seems our traditions evolve and we adopt some new traditions. As a parents, you always want to make the Christmas season special for your children. This year was a little different. As some of you know, Syd has been struggling with her skin so a real tree and a trip to the ocean was out of the question. Before we knew it, it was Dec 23rd.



This was the type of tree we wanted to have, but we improvised and came up with the following new tradition!

Our Christmas pineapple tree!

Until I blog again,

Linda

FELIZ NAVIDAD

Holiday Greetings to all our blog followers!!

We have switched from rainy season to windy season. I have to say, it sure beats minus 38 degrees and snow. I send my condolences to those freezing in Calgary today!

Christmas and New Years is huge here in Panama. People save all year to buy their loved ones presents and to decorate their homes. Many people wrap their front doors in wrapping paper and put their tree on the front porch for the whole community to enjoy. Even the poorest of places will have some type of Christmas decorations displayed. The stores are packed and there is always a free wrapping table outside each store that will wrap each gift individually. On New Years, at midnight, almost every home sets off fireworks. It is such a beautiful sight and a really neat way to ring in the new year. Another tradition is that people will paint their homes, top to bottom, inside and out. It is a way to symbolically remove all the bad of the previous year and start the new year fresh. Paint is on sale everywhere!

I always have such a tough time getting into the Christmas spirit when there is no snow. This will be out third Christmas in Panama. This year we hope to go to the ocean for a few days. This year we are praying for new skin for Syd. As many of you know, Syd has been really struggling with her eczema. She has been improving, and we hope all her skin will be closed so we can all have a good soak in the ocean this year!

I will take a picture if a few houses today and add them to the post.

Until I blog again.
Love Linda

Merry Christmas

Make a Smilebox greeting

ON THE ROAD FROM WHITE TO BLACK

About a month ago, Joshua started TaeKwondo - and he loves it. Here's some vids of our new martial arts student beginning his journey from white belt to black belt.












Til next time,

Paul

A NOT SO LITTLE CREEPY CRAWLY

Driving back from a friend's house, my attention was arrested by something on the road. I was listening to my Spanish CD's and focusing on the correct pronunciation of the Spanish word for "I remember" that I didn't actually clue in as to what it was until I was nearly on top of it. Half stunned (as this was the closest I've been to an uncaged large snake), I drove past it and stopped the car about 20 feet past it. Grabbed my camera. Stuck my head out the window and took some pics.

It almost seemed to be posing for me - like it loved the camera. It just sat still, moving its head only slightly. But never looking at me. So I decided to get a little closer. I backed the truck up so the back tire (on the drivers side) was face to face with the little critter. Turns out, it wasn't so small. At least 6 ft and a diameter of about 6 inches or so. And turns out coming face to face with a snake is a sign of aggression. It began to coil and point its head straight at me. I can confirm, when a snake of this size does this, its a bit unsettling. So I rolled the truck ahead a bit and rolled video as it decided to exit stage left.

After doing a little research, it appears the snake might have been a Bushmaster - one of the planet's most deadly snakes. Gotta love Panama's outdoor zoo.



Ineffective snake charmer,

Paul

YES I HAVE BECOME ONE OF "THOSE"PEOPLE

I never really got it when people would gush about their pets. I would politely listen and nod appropriately, but honestly, I never really got it.

We now have a puppy. Actually a huge, 110 pound, 10 month old, messy, slobbery hunk of hairy, nastiness, sweetness and love. I could never understand those people who actually proclaimed love for an animal. I now get it. I actually caught myself kissing his head the other day! I know, ewwww. Uzzi has been a part of our family for 2 months. He is an incredible guard dog, playmate, composter and friend.

Hello, my name is Linda and I am a dog lover.

Thank you for accepting me.

THANKFULNESS

You know you are due to blog when you forget your blogspot password. It has almost been a full month since I last updated, for that I am sorry. Life really hasn't been very busy, so I have no excuse besides I didn't feel like it and I was feeling a little lonely and sad. No one wants to read a sad blog!

I have officially pulled both kids out of the Spanish school they were in this year. My decision point to do this came when my beloved son asked me "Mom, please tell me why you feel you need to keep us in the school." I paused and starting saying all the right things: good to finish things, tough lessons help you appreciate life, if you stick it out maybe you will make some friends. As I listened to myself, I realized I didn't even believe what I was saying. One core value we hold to firmly is truth telling. The kids were there for 7 months, and hated almost every minute. The turning point also came when Syd was being made fun of because of her eczema and she was crying. The teacher told her to stop crying and smarten up. Needless to say, that was Syd's last day! So at the moment, the children are starting grade 5 and 7 with me and are taking private Spanish classes with a high energy and fun-loving Argentinian called Maria. Today they will be baking and need to explain in Spanish how to bake whatever they are bring. Already, in one day at a private class, they have learned more Spanish then in the other school. Josh asked if he could burn his uniform. I think it is a great idea, except, I know a few boys who could use the pants. I know, way too practical. Maybe we could burn a book or two.

As some of you have heard, Syd is having a tough time with her eczema. A few pretty bad flare ups. At the moment, she is only eating fish, eggs, chicken and veggies. She is on week 6 of this. We are dealing with the root of her eczema, the gut. We have a doctor of nutrition here in Panama City who is helping us sort through this. Such a learning experience for me. It is so hard to resist the urge to slap on the meds for a quick fix. She has chosen to heal naturally, from the inside out. I come from such a medication, quick fix background, that this has been a learning experience for me as well. Please pray for Syd. She has had her tough days. Who am I kidding, who doesn't. The other day I walked out of the home schooling room. I was so frustrated, I had had it. I guess I must have had a look on my face because Paul followed me outside and asked if I was coming back. Of coarse, I always come back! All I needed was a good walk with the dog, space by myself and a cup of coffee

Rainy season has hit full force. Translation: heavy rains and fog for days at a time, mud everywhere,green everywhere, cooler temperatures, meaning mid 60's so the sweaters and extra blankets get pulled out. I know, poor me! This morning I woke up to glorious sunshine and clear skies. Many times I don't appreciate things until they are gone, like the sunshine, like a normal day.

Saying that, I received some shocking news last Friday. A friend of mine, Shannon Bow, age 31, suffered a major stroke. Shannon went to Zambia with me Jan 2006. The most vivid memory I have of her is of her leaning out the bus window, right up to her waist, waving and saying "Hi "to all the children we passed. Her smile was so huge, her face hurt that night. At this point she is in the hospital in stable condition, but will have a long recovery ahead of her. Her story is being blogged by Leisa at http://www.shanbow.blogspot.com/ for those who know her.

Really, my life is pretty routined, and I appreciate a normal day where I will chose to enjoy mopping the muddy footprints from my white tile floor! I chose to thank God for a roof that doesn't leak, for time with Paul and my children, for a full belly, for a sweater I can pull on when I get cold.

"Be thankful in all things."

Until I blog again.

Linda

STUFF

I was sent this video the other day and thought it was worth while to send out to my friends. My kids also got a lot out of this video. Syd is studying China and Josh just finished a science module on our worlds wastes. It is 21 minutes long, relavant and well worth the time.

http://storyofstuff.com/

Until I blog again.
Linda

COMPLETED COUCH

Here is our completed couch. Not perfect, but very cozy and comfortable. We all fight for the lounging section! In life I have learned a few things: Love and laugh often, pick your battles wisely and lower expectations. Linda's survival guide!

ANOTHER VISITOR

We were having a nice quiet home schooling morning when we all suddenly heard a loud buzzing. This is not unusually as the flying creatures here can be very loud and very large and we have our doors constantly open to let the fresh air in. This is what we saw:

Because they use up so much energy to fuel wing flapping up to 80 flaps a second, they need to eat every 20 minutes. This poor bird was tiring quickly. He finally flew out the door and crash landed on our front lawn.

We all quickly ran down our stairs and secured our dog. He would have had a great time playing with this bird! It is not often you see a hummingbird this still.

We picked up the bird in a cloth and hand fed him some sugar water.

After a few minutes of refueling, the hummingbird flew away. What an exciting morning! How often does someone get to hold a hummingbird?

Hummingbird Facts and Information

The rapid beating of the hummingbirds wings (60 to 80 beats per second) makes the distinctive humming sound from which they get their name.

The hummingbird is the smallest bird and also the smallest of all animals that have a backbone.

They have no sense of smell.

Because they can rotate their wings in a circle, they are the only bird that can fly forwards, backwards, up, down ,sideways and hover in mid air.

To conserve energy while they sleep or when food is scarce, they can go into a hibernation-like state (torpor) where their metabolic rate is slowed to 1/15th of its normal rate.

During migration, some hummingbirds make a non-stop 500 mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico.

During courtship dives they can reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour and can average speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour.

They are the second largest family of birds with 343 species.

They can beat their wings up to 80 times a second during normal flight and up to 200 times per second during a courtship dive.

Their heart rate can reach up to 1,260 beats per minute.

Percentage wise, the hummingbird has the largest brain of all birds (4.2% of its total body weight).

Hummingbirds have very weak feet and use them mainly just for perching

There is your class on hummingbirds. By the way, the gecko is still alive. Back to school!

Until I blog again

VISITOR

On the long walk to home school, ie from the kitchen to upstairs, Josh and I noticed a wee gecko stuck in a spiders web. Being the kind souls we are, we rescued him and put him in a safe place while he heals. His tail and one of his limbs looks like it might fall off. He has changed color around 3 times, and yet still is alive at the end of the day.

So cool.

Until I blog again.

Linda

CUSTOM COUCH

I have been complaining about the couches we have in our rental house. Finally after 9 months of trying to be thankful in all things, including couches that give me sciatic pain, I could stand it no more. I tried to be grateful, but I am just not that spiritual. I told Paul I really wanted new couches so the kids and I could cuddle while reading or watching TV. We also have lots people over for supper. I love having people lounge around my place chatting, but the couches we had were not comfortable and the pillows kept slipping. Paul, being the wonderful husband he is, gave me the go a head to get couches. This was a big decision, we do not have a regular income and this was going to be a big bill.

Finding couches here in Panama is a challenge. I either found something that was "OK" for $700-1200, or something I really liked, but didn't love for $2000. I just could not spend that much money on something I did not love. I decided to get a custom couch built. A brave thing to do. I drew a picture of what I wanted complete with measurements, took pictures of a couch that was similar to the one I wanted and headed off to David to see who I could find to make this couch. I managed to find a fabric store that had a guy who told me "no problemo Linda" when asked if he could make me this couch. I got a quote 3 hours later and gave "Jose" the go ahead to make the couch. Simple enough, no? But wait. I had to go into the store to show him which fabric I wanted. A beautiful chocolate micro fibre fabric called my name. A day later I get a call, not enough fabric. I ask if he could order some. Jose says no. I ask if he could call Panama City to see if another store might have some extra fabric, he says no. I ask if there is another fabric store here in David he could call, he says no. I ask where the other fabric stores are so I can go and look for myself, and he tells me how will not do the job unless I use his fabric from his store. I am thinking "Work with me man!" and he doesn't seem to be wanting the business, so I cancel the job. What to do. I suppose I could go to Panama City, but then I would have to factor the cost of travel, transport of me and a couch and hotel into the cost. That adds up. I think about it for a few days and decide to go a head with the couch from Jose, I will do 2 separate fabrics, same color, different texture. Not ideal, but I live in Central America, I have really lowered my expectations and I really want something comfortable to sit on. I go back to the store. Jose sees me and rolls his eyes. Not sure what that was about. I speak with Jose and chose a second fabric to make the back cushions with. I give Jose a deposit of 1/2 the cost and I leave feeling nervous, concerned and even a bit confused about the rolling eyes.

3 days later I get a call. Amazingly Jose has found more material, do I want the entire couch in the same fabric I originally wanted. "SI!" I scream. He tells me it will be ready in a few days.

Sure enough, a few days later, I get the call. The couch is ready. We arrange for pick up with a friends truck for the next day. The next day Paul and I are driven to a huge warehouse that looks like a cemetery for dead furnishings. But there in the corner is my couch. The only thing that is intact in this place. It looks nice from a far. We walk closer, not bad, then closer. We notice a few things that need to be fixed, "No problemo Linda" We load up the couches, minus a cushion that needs to be fixed and head home. We call the kids and tell them to open the gate as we pull into our street, well our gravel road, because the rains start falling. We unload the couches, which are incredibly heavy and realize we might not be able to get them into the house. We measure and hum and haw, and finally twist, and squish and push them through the door. I am feeling like these couches are getting in if I have to rip out the door jam out myself. We set them up and realize they are high, I mean really high. 25 inches high. The kids have to run and jump to get up on them, and I have tall children. Both Paul and my feet do not touch the ground when we sit on it! This is a problem, we have short friends. I had asked for 18-20 inches in height, but I did not write it on the paper I gave Jose. That was a mistake. We also notice a few other discrepancies. The couch does not have any 90 degree angles. Everything is just a bit off, but it is a solid structure.

The next day we load up the pillows and ask Jose to take 2 1/2 inches of height off the cushions. We replace the feet with shorter feet which lowers it a bit more. We pick up the altered cushions yet again and bring them home. The height is way better, then we notice this:

:

The cushions are way off. At least the height is great now. We are getting close to a properly finished product. Another trip to David, loaded with photos, measurements and even video. We bring the cushions home after a third alteration. Still not quite right. Now, only one cushion needs to be made around 1 inch smaller. Another trip is planned this week. So we really have a custom couch. There is not a couch like this in the entire world.

Are you exhausted from reading this? People ask me how I spend my free time. This gives you a glimpse into how something that should be simple is not. Living in Panama is usually really great, that is until you try to get something done.

Please don't ask me about our car repair from the accident I had in May. We are still driving a car that is being held together with duct tape and has a huge dent on one side. We are waiting for the other insurance company to pay for the repairs. When or even if it happens, who knows. Ah the day in the life of the Days.

Until I blog again.

Linda

SATURDAY FUN, SUNDAY PAIN

Last Saturday, a friend of ours had his 8th birthday party. The party was held at a pool/waterside place located further up the mountain. We all arrived with our kids, presents, sweaters and bathingsuits knowing it would be way too cold or/and rainy for the kids to be in the pool and use the waterslides. The kids, however had a blast. For 5 hours, they swam , slide and ate while the parents sat poolside in their wool sweaters chatting. The party lasted all day and by the time we got home, the kids were all exhausted and fell into bed early. The next morning I realized just how much sun my children really got, even thought there was thick cloud cover and even some periods of rain. Syd got the worse of it. She has such sensitive skin. I texted all the other mothers, and all the kids were burnt to a crisp. Talk about mother guilt! Syd's nose was blistered and her back was so painful. I actually had to keep her home from school for 3 days because she had open oozing wounds on her nose. It was not a pretty sight.

Besides the fact that they all burned, the kids had a riot. A great day of memories.

Sydney has a new friend here in Panama. Her name is Caroline. Here she is below with Alanya. The three of them have such a great time together. It does my heart good to see Sydney have such dear friends to grow up with.

Sydney, Caroline and Alanya

Caroline on the waterslide.

Until I blog again.
Linda

A NEW BABY

We have a new member in our family. A HUGE 8 month Rottweiler called "Uzzi". We are puppy sitting him for a little while. Uzzi is an outside dog so my allergies have been almost nil. Saying that, he gets brushed a few times a day and bathed once a week to reduce the amount of hair flying around. He is a really great dog. He is smart and the kids have really taken to him.


Here are a shot and a 8 second video.

Uzzy getting "da love" from Syd and Josh

Until I blog a gain.

Linda

SYDNEY TURNS 12

Sydney turned 12 the other week. So hard to believe it! Paul and I are so proud of our daughter and love the person she is becoming. Here are a few shots of her special day.

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As has been the tradition, the kids get any breakfast they want in bed the morning of their birthdays. This usually includes smarties and pancakes. This year Syd's choice was bacon in scrambled eggs and applesauce. The reason for the change, braces make eating a challenge, especially after an adjustment!

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Sydney wanted to go out for lunch at the very fancy restaurant Paul and I sometimes treat ourselves to. We surpried both kids by pulling them out of Spanish school on hour and a half before it ended and treating them to this special lunch.

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I asked Syd what she wanted for her birthday this year. All she wanted was to have her friends together. We were able to have a "surprise" supper for her. Here are our friends that helped celebrate Sydney on her special day! This is us before cupakes!

This is after a few cupcakes!

Family shot

Until I blog again.

Linda

MORE PHOTOS

It has been a month since we returned from our visit up north. Here are a few shots, loaded with incredible memories.

Here are the Day's with some of their grand kids.

Paul, my brother Jan and I got to spend the entire day at Laronde with some nieces and nephews. It was soooooo much fun.

L to R-Linda, Mairead, Josh, Syd, Courtney, Nicole,Aiden and Paul.

Having many of the cousins hanging together at the farm was one of the many highlights. Seems like the girls outnumber the boys here!
L to R
Freya, Nicole, Lea, Sydney, Courtney, Aiden, Alanna, Mairead and Josh

Here is the Day side of the family in Old Montreal.

L to R - Linda, Josh, Sydney, Paul, Noah, Dave, Sandra ,Mom D, Brianna, Dad D.

Here are Mom and Dad R and a few grand kids. We all loved getting acquainted with all the cousins. They are all such incredible people!

This is a great shot, I love it. I am trying to take a picture, a nice picture, and everyone is doing their own thing!

Here are all the siblings. This does not happen very often: L to R - Jan, Frances, Margaret, Judy and Linda.

Sick of family shots yet? Not me. We had an incredible time filled with so much fun and great memories. This family "fix" should hold me over for a while.

Until I blog again.

Linda

A WAY TO MAKE MONEY????

So hard to believe it has been over 2 weeks since I last blogged. The kids have had 3 weeks off Spanish school and so they are working hard in homeschooling trying to complete their grades by September.

Between home schooling, Syd has had some dental work done. 4 extractions and upper braces to be more specific. This has not been fun for her, or any of us for that matter. The extractions were done 2 at a time with local anesthetic. She required 9 needles for the first 2 extractions. She did really well considering how stressful and painful this can be. Watching her go through this was an experience I do not wish on anyone. My poor wee baby! We waited 3 days between extractions.

Both Sydney and I thought the second set of extractions would be way easier, it was not. I think there was a combination of things going on. She was stressed, even thought she said she wasn't, but her eczema flare up told us otherwise. Her jaws were sore from the first extraction and she had a kink in her neck from sleeping the wrong way. She could not stop shaking and crying during the proceedure and she wasn't sure if it was the pain, the pressure, the stress, or everything combined. I actually had to ask the dentist to leave us alone for a few minutes so that Syd could calm herself down. The entire hour was not fun and we all, including the doctor, and those in the waiting room, breathed a sign of relief when it was all over.

Josh, being his ever supportive and honest self, looked at the length of the roots on her extracted teeth and said,"Wow, those are HUGE. That must have KILLED!" followed by, "I guess I need to be nice to Syd for a few days."

This decision to get braces was one of the first permanent life decisions Sydney has ever made. Both Paul and I were incredibley proud of her. Today, she has the top braces on and her eczema is no longer bleeding and inflammed. This Wednesday, she gets her bottom braces applied. Already her teeth are moving, there is more space and the crooked teeth are lining up nicely. Needless to say, my blender is getting a great work out between shakes and mash potatoes.

Here are a few shots.

Sydney got $5 USD per extraction. She would have preferred to have a lemonade stand I think! The 4 teeth are above the $20 bill.

Here she is! Cute as ever!

Here is a close up. Syd chose "hot pink" as her accent color!!

Until I blog again.

Love L

BIRDIE IN THE BARF BUCKET

Being a parent often brings situations you have to laugh about, if you don't, you may end up on the floor in the fetal position, rocking and crying. Last night was one of those nights.

I got a call from my sister. My niece, Courtney had been thrown off her horse and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Thank goodness her spine is fine, she never lost consciousness, but she does have a broken arm and needs to stay in the hospital for observation. When I get those calls, it makes me want to jump on a plane and head on back, and take care of everyone. This call had a terrible connection, not good when trying to hear the details about a potentially serious situation. I called Judy back on our cell and head outside to hear the rest of the story. I tend to walk while I am on the phone, especially if I am feeling stressed. I walk inside to the lovely view of barf spread out over our white tiled floor, and Josh, looking green, shaky and sweaty. The first thing I do is turn around and finish my conversation, away from the fumes. Am I such a great Mom or what! Once I finished my conversation, I headed inside to deal with poor Josh. I wipe his brow, get him to rinse his mouth, and lay him down in our bedroom. Josh looks up at me and asks if he could have a bowl of cereal now. I laugh and say no way.

Paul and I start cleaning the puddle. For those of you who know Josh, know he has a pretty hearty appetite. Paul and I look at each other and say "This boy needs to chew his food a little more!" Suddenly, I hear a crack and see Syd in the kitchen, holding her head with both hands and crying. What I mean by crying is, mouth open, tears streaming, face getting blue and no sound coming from her. Not good. I rush over and check for gashes and blood. There were neither. I comfort her and put an ice pack on her head. She had hit her head on our concrete counter on her way up from picking something up off the floor.

By now I have both kids on the couches with cool clothes on their heads. Josh throws up a few more times: on the way to the bathroom, in our bedroom, on the couches. Seriously, get some aim boy! At least now, the vomit is just fluid, no chunks. Paul and I continue the marathon clean up. We just shrug our shoulders and shake our heads.

At the moment, we are taking care of a friends bird, Ozzy. Ozzy is a friendly little fellow who thinks he is already part of the family. He eats popcorn with us when we watch movies, he chews on erasers when the kids are doing school, he follows me around if we have him out of his cage. He is a great bird. I am outside doing my 2nd load of barf laundry and I hear "MOM, Ozzy just fell into the bucket." I run and to see poor Ozzy floating in a bucket of barf. I rescue this poor, wet, stinky bird and bring him to the kitchen. How do you clean a bird? I have never had a bird, so I had no idea. Ozzy just looks at me with a cocked head and shakes, splashing most of the vomit all over my face. Nice. Paul gets a warm washcloth and starts wiping him clean.

This morning, the laundry is done, the floors are spotless and everyone, including the bird, is feeling better.

Josh and Ozzy, both feeling a lot better.

Ah, the day in the life of being a parent.

Until I blog again

Linda

MORE PICTURES

More pictures from our trip.

This was taken at 9:30 pm. It is light so late. We are used to sunsets at 6:30pm. Gotta love DQ Scor blizzards right before bed!!!

My men totally rock! We went to the 3D movie "Up" with Gerald and Judy, what a cute movie!!

Sydney and London

We were able to stay with Leong and Shannon's house while in Discovery. What a treat to have a my first cup of coffee with Shannon in our PJ's, just like the good old days! I used to walk out my back door and walk into her house saturday mornings for this ritual.




While away, Paul and I celebrated 19 years of marriage. Can you believe it? Our lives have been such a great ride. Looking forward to many more years together. Thanks for being such an incredible friend and husband. I love you more today then I did yesterday.

We were so excited to be able to be a part of Jorge and Julia's wedding. It was such a beautiful day. One thing they did that I loved was combine two varieties of wine for communion to symbolize the blending of their lives and their culture.

Sisterly love. Here are Kate and Julia, both looking oh so lovely!!

Until I blog again.

Lin

GRADUATION DAY

One of the reasons we chose to visit Canada in June was so that Sydney could attend her grade 6 graduation with friends she has been in school with for 7 years. Glendale was extremely accommodating and we were all welcomed back with open arms. I actually felt a little sad walking into Glendale. Sometimes you forget the things you have given up until you stand in front of them. Schooling our kids in Panama has been a challenge. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have had the kids in Glendale for their initial few years of formal education. Seeing all the incredible supplies, artwork, books, friendly faces, out of the box teaching styles, and teachers that actually hug me and welcome me into the school, reminded me of what I gave up moving to Panama. But I digress.


The morning of Syd's grade 6 grade was very exciting. Sydney showered, put on her new dress and I actually put a little make up on her. Syd, Josh and I piled into the 1996 Plymonth van my brother in law, Gerald, so graciously let us use. As I was turning onto Glenmore Trail, the van died. It simply died in the middle of the intersection, during the busy morning hours. I hopped out and popped the hood. Don't know why I did that, I guess it is something everyone does when their car has died. Nothing looked out of place,,, like I would know if it was.


Now, people talk about re entry, and I experienced it at that exact time. In Panama , by now I have 6 burly men all shouting at me in Spanish, with hands flying through the air. Every time I have had car trouble, I hop out, pop my hood and wait for the inevitable flurry of activity and the eventual fixing of my car. I wait, I hear nothing but cars flying by, Syd weeping, "I am going to miss my graduation!!!!!!" and her dear supportive brother saying "Yup, it sure looks like your going to miss it. There is no way we`ll make it in time!"


I look around, no one is stopping, no one is helping, people are actually driving by, avoiding eye contact. I have no cell phone. I try to wave some people down to help, but I am completely ignored. I guess I look like everyone else, which is a novel experience for me. No one stops. I feel a little confused and go over and comfort Syd and tell her we will get her to school. My first thought is grab a cab, the only problem is there are so few in this area and I only have $20, that won`t get me very far.



I decide I must take action. I must get my baby to her graduation. I safely run my kids to the side of the highway. I then confidently walk in front of the first car stopped at the closest red light. I knock on the window and there in the drivers seat is sweet little old man, probably around 93 years old , who asks me how he can help. I sweetly smile and say "Have a nice day. ". The next car looks promising, I glance behind me to be sure the light is still red. The next car rolls down the window, and there is a man, around 55 who has the obvious signs of obesity, hypertension and possible cardiac disease. I ask him if he has a cardiac condition and he answers with a surprised "Why, yes." I walk away starting to feel a little discouraged and extremely useless.


Suddenly I see it!!! A landscaping truck with 2 young, strong boys smiling at me. I run, stand in front of their truck with my feet firmly planted and my hand on their hood and yell " STOP!" I tell them to get out, push my car over to the side and give me a cell phone. They both blink and answer "Yes Mame, anything else?". I must have had the Mama Bear look in my eyes, because they seemed a little afraid of me and they did exactly what I had asked them to do, and very quickly I might add.

I took the following picture, because I told Syd that soon we would laugh about this and that it would make a great blog entry. At the time, she was pretty angry, but she got to her graduation, only 5 minutes late. Thanks Leong for picking us up!

Syd is kind of hiding because she is embarrassed by her blotchy , tear stained face :(

Until I blog again.

Linda

VISITING IN CALGARY

It was simply amazing to know we have so many friends that we could have spent the entire time in Calgary visiting and catching up 24 hours a day. By the end of our time, we were all exhausted. Here in Panama we may have one major event a week. A potluck, a party or a simple coffee. In Calgary we had our days jammed with food, friends, family and fun. Here are only a few shots of our time in Calgary. I have so many pictures, I will post a few separate blogs to show the best ones!

This is Josh with his best buddy, Connor. One incredible gift was seeing my children play with friends they have so badly missed.

This is a group shot of almost all our "old" small group. (L) to (R) Rob and Amanda, Robert and Gen, Linda and Paul.

Syd had a sleepover with a bunch of her friends.(L) to (R)Tristina, Melanie, Evie, Nicole, Racheal Sydney, Linda, Liz and Becky.


Joshua pretending he is not enjoying the love from his cousins, Nicole and Marley.

We were able to go to a farewell the Biro's at Laura's house . Even thought it was a brief visit, we picked up where we left off. This group of woman are like family to me! (L) to (R) Laura, Keira, Linda, Sonia and Erynn

Sydney's grade 6 graduation at Glendale, with the grade 6 girls. We were so please Syd was able to be a part of this day.

One evening we had a neighbourhood BBQ, just like the good old days. We all camped out in front of Bernie and Anne's and waved at all the curious on lookers as they drove by!

(L) to (R) Ann, Shannon, Syd, Lynn, Brooklynn and Linda.

Looking through olds photo albums. Courtney, Syd, Nicole and Judy.

One of Syd's close friends is Grace, on the right, and her sisters, Cam and Beth, (Not in this photo.) Syd has skyped Grace may times and we have all seen Tessa the dog on our screen, but not in person. The person in the pink wig is Josh, trying to fit into a household of girls!

My dear friend Liz (seen on the right) had a lovely lunch for me and some of my friends from Glendale school. It was wonderful to drink water out of crystal glasses, eat an incredible lunch and get all caught up. (L) to (R) Paula, Elaine, Kim and Liz.



Off to upload some more picture.

Linda