Cup 47 - Allison

December 19, 2014

When I started this blog almost a year ago, I was going over in my head a number of people I might "get" to write about.  Allison's name sprang to mind right away although, even then I knew it would likely be a whole year before her name appeared at the top of the page.  This is because it is almost a tradition for Allison and I to ONLY see each other once a year.  Yes, occasional spontaneous visits have happened if one of her kids had a soccer game in Tuscany, but generally we always know we will see each other every December for our annual Christmas shopping.  Without exaggeration, Allison and I have met to Christmas shop every year (except, I think 1994) since we were in grade 5... that's1980!

It started when her dad was the General Manager of Sears at North Hill Mall and we were armed with our parents' credit cards (if you can believe it) to remain within the confines of his department store while checking in, on occasion, with Bob.  Almost 35 years later, the tradition has evolved to still definitely include some shopping (although Al is generally a "late shopper" while I tend to have much of mine already complete but the time we pick a date) to now be very much about the dinner date also included in our evening - and the consumption of wine during said meal.  We met at South Centre this afternoon and shopped for a couple of hours before heading over to Milestones for dinner and to meet another childhood friend (Cup 48!)  While we were there, so was Santa!  And he and Mrs. Claus joined us at our table for a quick chat too - how fun!

Allison and I have known each other since before Kindergarten.  Our parents were friends and so we were too!  I can remember many sleepovers at her house in Springbank and especially remember that even as a little kid, she could sleep-in way too long and I'd be awake and waiting and waiting for her to wake up so we could play.  (She could even sleep through her mom vacuuming!)  I remember her favourite stuffed Grover, that she always had a German Shepard (still does), horses and the time her older brother, Jeff, ran over my leg with a quad.  After we moved to Cochrane, our school day visits ended but we'd still see each other at Rocky View sporting events, around the University of Calgary once we got there and...always at Christmas!

Today, Allison is an "important person" with the Calgary Stampede.  She used to be in charge of the Agricultural portion of the event but now oversees all of the midway rides, concessions, games and gates.  A former Stampede Queen, Allison is still royalty within their daily organization.  In addition to this successful career, Allison keeps her immediate family of four a priority while also overseeing the care of her mom, Arlene, who has been struggling for many years now with the progression of her Muscular Sclerosis.  She does it all and she does it all with a smile.  The look she is sporting, above, with Santa is how she conducts herself all the time. (At least, all the time - once a year - when I see her!)

Cups 45 and 46 - Sara and Sophie

November 29, 2014

My beautiful nieces!  They live five minutes away but I don't see them nearly as much as one might think.  A combination of all of our busyness, their commitments are ones of talent - soccer, gymnastics, violin and dance, dance, dance!  Today I celebrate their uniqueness.

The picture I have posted is one from my birthday (two days before Brier's last) although tonight I spent time with them at their house, babysitting while Mike and Jacky went to a Christmas Party. We "dined" together, watched Mr. Peabody and Sherman, they danced, played and - since I don't have to be the parent - I let them play on their technology for a little bit longer than they are supposed to!  We also read books and looked at art.  Sophie had a beautiful, handmade card waiting for me. 

At the time of writing, Sara is nine and Sophie is seven.  Their birthdays are January 29th and 30th respectively.  They are each smart and creative, silly and  sentimental.  They are thoughtful and funny, musical and athletic.  They both love to read and can draw intricate, colourful pictures, oftentimes drawing freehand, with a pen - never needing to correct a "mistake".  (How great to be young and not even have it occur to you that anything would ever need to be changed.  Confident perfection from the outset!)

Sara is extremely articulate and inquisitive.  She devours books at the rate, and of a level, of much older kids. Yet I love, love, love the "little girl-ness" still in her as she plays with her Monster High dolls, likes to dress-up and dance uninhibitedly to Katy Perry or Taylor Swift.  She is sensitive and sensitive about this sensitivity!  (Which is endearing too.)  Sara is the proud "mom" to two neat budgies, Sunny and Blueberry and cares for them proudly.  She is a natural leader and has many friends who enjoy her ideas, including her "little sister".  Sara is an awesome Big Sister.

Sophie is compassionate and sincere.  The blue eyes behind her stylish glasses tell you she is genuinely interested, concerned, happy, content, listening...or... whatever the case may be!  She has a silly side too and, as the Little Sister, does a perfect job of getting her older counterpart going.  Both girls have giggles you could listen to for hours.  Sophie is a collector of all things Lalaloopsy and knows the complex names of hundreds of characters!  Soph is a real animal lover and helped Derek and me to pick out our youngest cat, Sam, from the Cochrane SPCA.  When Sophie gives you one of her trademark tight hugs, you know she means it!

It is so great being their Auntie!  We have sleepovers and date days.  There are lots of memories in the vault - many more fun and proud moments to come!  Thanks for letting me brag about them!

Cup 44 - Donna

November 27, 2014

This was the visit that almost never was.  Thanks to Donna, I now have snow tires on my car!! Perhaps I should back up a bit...

Going back a FEW months I texted Donna in August to invite her to a Clothes Swap party I was having with teacher friends.  It had been quite awhile since we had been in contact but I was still shocked when her reply was, "I live in Edmonton now!"  What?!  She told me she would explain the whole story the next time we were able to get together.  Thankfully (thankfully?!?!) my Teachers' Convention commitments take me to Edmonton at least twice a year and so we made a dinner date for tonight.

And then it started to snow.  And we agreed to meet at 5:30 which meant afterwork rush hour.  And I had her home address instead of the restaurant address in my GPS.  Long story short, it took me 75 minutes to drive 7 km.  Granted, had I entered the correct address I actually passed the place much earlier but I kept Donna waiting for a LONG time before I finally trudged in and eagerly ordered a big glass of wine!  But enough about the Adventures of Andrea...

It was SOOO great to see Donna again!  Originally the friend and colleague of Heather (Cup 36) and also a member in the same Book Club as my mom (Cup 19 - haha) Donna and I were drawn together through our professional dive into school administration.  Donna is super smart, very insightful, extremely effective with people and just an all-round natural born leader.  Even tonight, as she was humbly describing her involvements with her new community association her transferrable skill and drive was evident - although I had to point these similarities out to her as she had not connected what she is doing now to anything she has done before.  Donna is taking this year off but is still making a difference to those around her.  What lucky neighbours!  (And one of her neighbours is actually Andrew Ferrence so some might think she and Anhtu are the lucky ones but....nope, it's Andrew!)

And then there is the rest of the "whole story".  Donna defines Resilience. Blessed with the miracle of Baby Sally (who is actually now 4), after more miscarriages than most would ever admit, Donna has since battled through the confusion of losing two more babies - Stuart and Clive - to still-births as well as dealing with other miscarriages.  This is mind-boggling to me!  This is also the reason their family decided a bold new address was in order and who in the world could ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever argue?! Donna tells her story with reflection and resolve and I feel privileged she shared it with me.  (And, I know I am endorsed to tell the story here too.  At some point, near the beginning Donna made a comment to the effect of, "Get out your pen to keep all this straight for your blog!" As an aside - it hadn't even occurred to me I was out for one of my Cups of Coffee.  I was just excited to see my friend and, as is usually the case, realize much later on I should ever write about the person!) But now back to our heroine... to look at Donna one would never guess the depth of the pain that must be lurking inside both she and her husband, Anhtu.  While we were enjoying a carefree night of reminiscing I can only speculate there have been other nights where questions for the universe are the only focus.  All readers here are probably asking a few right now!  She is inconceivably forgiving and still grateful for other things.

While it's unbeknownst to anyone but her how far along the healing process Donna is, it would appear she is not letting these heartaches define her.  Resiliency, yes. Wallowing, I don't see it. Donna is striving to be an example - likely to little Sally most of all.  Hers is truly an inspirational story of how her family has dealt with the grief, found silver in the small things and is moving forward (no matter how difficult) because humans are amazing creatures and can be strong when determined.

It sure put a long, snowy drive into perspective!

Cup 43 - Carla

November 15, 2014

Carla - while unique in so many amazing ways -  also reminds me a lot of me in other (less amazing?) ways.  I'm not sure how SHE would / will feel reading this statement but I would hope she doesn't mind!  Carla joined the teaching profession as her second career, and while this fun fact is not similar to me, since starting teaching seven years ago she is continuously reinventing her practice, either through changing roles or through an evolution towards leadership herself. (At least, this is what I see.  Again, I know she knows I hold this view of her but am unsure if she holds it of herself.) 

Confident in her practice probably partially thanks to her exceptional organizational and technological skills (not a similarity) Carla is also able to volunteer some of her time to the ATA and other extracurricular endeavours.  She keeps an open mind and has a balanced perspective. She can juggle multiple tasks, as evidenced by her Executive position as Local Secretary (although when she has tired of this title I plan to recruit her to our Convention Board and Executive!  Worst kept secret now!)

But enough about her professional attributes! The most important thing about any person is their character.  Carla is talented and funny. (She can sing and play multiple instruments - she recorded a CD!)  She is genuinely kind, interested in other people and has a fun sense of humour.  So does her husband, Terry.  They are a perfect pair and clearly have lots of fun together. (And, they were married at a more "seasoned" age which is something else I relate to.) Another trait I recognize is her being a sports fan and casual participant.  I haven't seen her play ball but if she can bat like she golfs then her team is in good stead.  

Of course, her athletic stints can only happen when she doesn't have a cast on her foot or have to rely on a knee scooter to get around!  Carla had a little "mis-hap" earlier this Fall, leaving her unable to teach for the term.  Hearing she was going a little stir-crazy at home, I "volunteered" her to assist me with some of my Convention Program administration.  It was during this visit to her beautiful and "homey" home where we got to catch up a bit.  I realized (not surprisingly) how much I like her and miss having her optimistic attitude permeate my world on a more frequent basis.  (Which must be where my "recruiting" idea has come from.  See paragraph 2.)

Carla is a lovely, down-to-earth friend to so many.  Colleagues admire her and students adore her.  I am one of those fans!

Cup 42 - Brier!

Brier 2000-2014

Not a lot I need to write. Those who knew him already know there aren't enough words.  I made a video though.  That was therapeutic!  You were a Good Boy, Brier!  THE Best Dog!  XXXOOO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5OjuGVD9bQ

Cup 41 - Tiffany

November 4, 2014

Tiffany came into mine and Derek's life, first as a causal friend but then played a professional role, which before long led to her becoming a highly valued and significant friend.  Tiffany is another one of those incredible, successful moms who somehow manage to do it all.  The fraction of the "all" which we have enjoyed has been largely as she wears her Veterinarian hat.  A friend to our cats she is extended family to Brier.  Or....she will be for a couple more weeks.

Tiffany came by tonight to consult on Brier's quality of life as we have been suspecting he is on a gradual decline although us seeing him everyday makes that difficult to discern.  She did agree that all signs point to him being weaker than when she saw him last and that "making a plan" was probably in order.  I think the decision is as hard on her as on us!  

Brier has played a role in her life too.  She and Curtis parent two boys, one of whom is autistic and has always been nervous around dogs.  Brier met them at Bowness Park one weekend a few years back to play ball.  It went really well. Following this, he also had weekend sleepovers at Tiffany's house and those visits went even better.  She credits Brier with helping Logan overcome some of his worry around dogs and this is where the "extended family" descriptor comes in.  We think Brier was the lucky one!

But Tiffany is much more than a veterinarian or surrogate family.  She is a beautiful, intelligent, hard-working, fun-spirited and adventurous woman. She is not afraid to make tough decisions on behalf of her family as she has a practical streak to overrule her free-spiritedness.  She is sincerely caring and down-to-earth.  She is fast to do a favour and never expects anything in return.  We have been blessed to enjoy parties with her, as well as shed tears.  Her friendship has meant the world to us!

Thanks Doc!

(PS - She is also very tall!  In the picture above, Derek is standing on a stair!  At that same party (my 40th), friends of mine drove up, saw her in the window and decided they were too underdressed, compared to her, to come in!)

Cup 40 - Jen

October 21, 2014

Jen and I met a little over six years ago. although it has only been in about the last three to four that she and I have become good friends.  Prior to that we were colleagues of the "acquaintance" variety given that she originally worked at my school part time and then was on a maternity leave and in a substitute role.  As with any great relationship, people have to spend time together to get to know each other and I am ever glad I've had this opportunity!

In common are our "approximate" ages, our love (hate) affair with good food, Keurig coffee, pets, shopping, Grey's Anatomy (I feel like I've blogged about this show before), our sense of humour (she's funny - and I like to think I have a good sense of HaHa too...).  We even did a "Starter" triathlon together. One of the most important commonalities, though, is the way we are wired up to work with kids and colleagues and to have an innate desire to lead.  I blush inwardly when she sometimes refers to me as one of her "mentors" because this seems far too lofty a regard when I know I have learned just as much from her as potentially otherwise.  However, she is currently the assistant principal in the office where I used to assume that same position so I suppose I did share a few pearls of wisdom with her over time.

In her outside sections of our Venn diagram is the fact that she is an amazing mom to three girls who, being in varying stages of their  life / career / education, she advises steadfastly and loves fiercely. They all genuinely love spending time together and possibly hold some sort of record for Mother-Daughter selfies.  All beautiful people, Jen regularly is mistaken for a sister of her older daughters. (And I don't mean to highlight the word "older" here.  It's just that her younger daughter is, like, six!) Jen juggles their worlds, and that of her devoted - though remotely working - hubby.  How she manages all of the hockey, dance, part time jobs and various school commitments (her own and her girls') is a feat.  I know lots of moms do it, and they all deserve high praise, but this is Jen's Cup of Coffee so we're bragging about her today!

Jen and I met at OJs tonight to catch up on life in general.  Despite a lot of "shop talk", including much about our own learning / university programs, the mood was light, time passed quickly and it was just another fun, casual chance to relax with a like-minded soul.  Where we used to see each other every day, now we have to carve out intentional moments.  This is "good" because it means we have each evolved into new opportunities but it is "bad" because now her Keurig machine is on the other side of the City from mine!  Thankfully Jen is always just a text, email or phone call away (yep, still know how to use a phone as a phone!)  I'm proud of both of us and especially because our common career trajectories ensure we will get to continue crossing paths.