“I’m booooored.”  Oh, how I love to hear those words come out of a child’s mouth.  My enthusiastic response is, “Wow! How lucky for you. What a great opportunity!” Usually at that point, my kids groan and walk away, though I have to say that I haven`t actually heard them say that phrase for many years now.   It’s not our job as parents to solve our children’s boredom.  Boredom is an opportunity for our children, a learning opportunity.  It calls on their creativity, their imagination, and their inner resources.  If we jump in as parents or adults and immediately try...

Is busy the norm for you these days?  Do you feel like you are shirking your duties as spouse, parent, employee and volunteer if you are not busy from the moment you get up to the moment you go to bed?  Does a long “to-do” list shape your day?   That seems to be the norm in our society.  Everyone is busy and on the go.  What happened to family suppers where there was time to talk through the events of the day and share stories?  What happened to weekly Sunday dinners with friends, where the kids disappeared and played for...

Family Christmas Candle Lighting  Various family members can read each scripture,  or one or two can take the lead.  You will need 7 candles in holders.  Carols can be sung without accompaniment & from memory.   One verse is sung of each carol  You may wish to have several copies of this for people to share.   Gathering:  Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12)  In the light, let us gather. Let us hear the story of Christmas.   Let us sing and rejoice in the birth of the child who is Emmanuel, God with Us.   Prayer: In...

I love the ritual of preparing the table for the Ukrainian Christmas eve supper.  Each step has a special meaning to remind the family of the holy event we celebrate.  Fresh hay is placed either under the table or on top of the table under the table cloth to tell of the manger in which Jesus laid.  A white or embroidered table cloth covers the table and in the centre is placed a loaf of bread braided with three strands to represent the Trinity and a candle in the middle for the Star of Bethlehem.  Twelve dishes will be served (no...

When I was about 4 years old, my parents took me to see Santa Claus at the Hudson’s Bay, in downtown Calgary.  During my visit with Santa, I was presented with a porcelain “wishing bell.”  For every Christmas since, it has been part of my Christmas tradition.  Once the tree is decorated, we stand around it, holding hands and each offer a wish – really a prayer – and then the bell is hung on the tree at the highest point.  The tradition that began for me as a child is now shared every year with my husband and boys.  In...

Slow Parenting – Take Time to be Family Slow down the reactions.                     Take time to breathe, notice and laugh.   Slow down the accumulation.             Take time for gratitude and gift-giving.   Slow down the fear.                              Take time to celebrate.   Slow down the solutions.                     Take time to listen.   Slow down the entertainment.           Take time to be restless and bored.   Slow down the virtual.                          Take time for nature.   Slow down the drive to achieve.    ...

Emotions are messy. It’s true!  I remember as a child hating to cry because it took so much energy. But they are called e-motions because they are meant to move.  They are meant to be expressed and they are meant to move us to a freer place in our lives where we can adapt and be creative in the situation with which we are dealing.   There are not good emotions and bad emotions.  All emotions serve a purpose.  However, if they aren’t expressed, if we push them down inside and try to hold back, they are just going to get...

Great-Aunt June is coming to visit. You haven’t seen her for years. You remember her as someone who always wanted you to stand up straight, use good manners and remember proper etiquette.  You have talked to your children about being on their best behaviour.  You are anxious to impress Great-Aunt Jane with just how well you’ve done, now that you are an adult and a parent.  The doorbell rings, you take a deep breath, and welcome Great-Aunt Jane.  Even at age 94, she enters with all the elegance and poise of your early memories.  You kiss her on the cheek, and...

June may be my least favourite month of the year.  It always feels so rushed. Instead of enjoying the warmth in the air and the beauty of spring green and early flowers, I feel instead as if I’m rushing to catch up.  Somehow June 30th looms as a deadline by which so much needs to be done, including all the concluding activities associated with school and sports and extra-curricular lessons.   The first year I taught school, I got to June 1st and realized that I’d covered only half of the math curriculum. I’d been having such a good time exploring...

We’ve all done it. Stood there at the book shelf labelled “Self-Care” in the library or bookstore and scanned it in hopes of finding that one book which would bring everything back into balance, which would answer that longing, that need, that struggle within ourselves.  We search for the right title, the one that will resonate with the need we feel but just can’t name.   But have you ever bought a self-care book that really did it – that really filled the need within you?  Oh, it might have some good ideas!  It might offer some phrases and thoughts that...