The heart does go on and on. T’s latest obsession is the Titanic, quite the step up from Paw Patrol! This was likely inspired from YouTube, as he spends lots of time watching videos about the Titanic and other famous shipwrecks. He loves to draw pictures and pretend play with great imagination about the doomed voyage. I’m amused at his growing knowledge and how he snapped at me for daring to confuse the Carpathia, the ship that rescued Titanic survivors, with the Britannic, a vessel that sank four years after the Titanic after hitting a mine. So we leveraged his interest to get chapter books t ..read more

A beautiful sunny t-shirt weather Spring Sunday gave T and I the recharge we needed. After breakfast, we practiced reading two chapters in his latest book then headed to one of our favourite nature spots: Rouge Park. I feel blessed for this urban oasis near our home. I appreciate the government recently adding a boardwalk and bridge that makes accessing the trails from the parking lot much more convenient. Nature is healing. Fresh air is refreshing. The sound of water is calming. Sunshine is reinvigorating. For neurodiverse kids like T, who has diagnoses of FASD and ADHD, nature supports m ..read more

Being able to receive and apply feedback, as hard as it can be to hear sometimes, is key to growth. In February, halfway past the Grade 3 school year, the hubby and I had our teacher conference with T’s teacher, CYW and the school’s special education coordinator. We discussed T’s areas for improvement: reading, writing and social skills. He’s reading at a grade 2 level. He does ok with decoding but needs to work on comprehension, reading stamina and to move away from picture books to chapter books. I was a bit bummed, because we work hard on reading and I thought he was doing ok. But I’m also ..read more

An overzealous adult crossed the line with our neurodiverse son and awoke the Papa Bear in me. While waiting at the airport for our early morning flight home after our March Break trip a few weeks ago, T was disregulated. He didn’t get a lot of sleep and he was short tempered, hyperactive and mouthy. During these situations, the hubby and I try our best to ignore the behaviour, while fully aware all eyes and ears are on us. We gave T fair warning that if he didn’t stop with the colourful language, which he would say out of frustration with the game he was playing, we would take his phone away ..read more

After a cloudy few months, we’re spending March Break at a place of happiness. We booked this family getaway last October, before I knew one of my closest friends would lose her brave battle with cancer in November. Never would I have guessed Ma would pass away a few weeks later. For better or worse, life goes on. I feel the urgency, the fleetingness, more so than ever. We returned to the same resort in Cancun, Mexico, that we stayed at last year; it’s a beautiful resort with fantastic amenities for kids. In the days leading up to departure, T excitedly counted down the days then hours. For t ..read more

On Saturday, surrounded by family and friends, near and far, we said goodbye to Ma. It was celebration and catharsis. I am thankful for the last few weeks to reflect and to remember what an inspiring life Ma lived, full of love and accomplishments. Loved ones from afar, including Philippines and Guam, joined the service virtually. I compiled a slideshow that highlighted Ma’s important relationships, as a daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, beloved family and friend, and respected colleague. It felt wonderful to find photos of memories long forgotten, including photos of Ma ..read more

During school lunch a few weeks ago, T proclaimed to his class he was refunding his parents. His CYW recounted to us with amusement, via text message, that T ranted out loud that he had told Daddy (the hubby) many times that he didn’t want meatballs for lunch and still got them. Due to this unforgivable offense, T said he was going to Walmart to put his parents back on the shelf and get new parents. After his soliloquy, the class laughed out loud. His CYW, who’s working with T for the second consecutive year, is a godsend. She sees the potential in him and his many strengths. Like us, she thin ..read more

We remind our little guy that he is stronger and braver than the monsters in his head. During a recent Sunday morning, around 1:30, I was woken up by the hubby having a fit. T had turned on all the lights in the house, downstairs included, and was up playing with his toys – because he was too scared to sleep. The next morning, around 1:30 Monday, it was my turn to be flustered, because he was up again; this time, on a school night. While T has always feared the dark, this was the first time it affected him to the point of getting up, turning on lights and staying up. Sleep is especially import ..read more

Live and love as if it’s your first and last day on Earth. Our caring, curious, funny and not-so-little guy turned 9 this weekend. How is that possible?! The past year brought adventures and hard losses and through it all, he steps forward with his fun-seeking, resilient and endlessly energetic spirit. Our consecutive hard losses have profoundly shifted my mindset of how I want to step forward with life. Life is a blessing and the gift to enjoy it with loved ones is something I will never take for granted. We kept T’s birthday celebration low key, as we did not have time to organize a party, b ..read more

Sometimes, a picture sums up life’s depth of emotions better than words ever could. Yesterday, we had lunch with family to celebrate Ma and my aunt’s birthdays. Ma’s absence was noticeable. Afterwards, my uncle, recently returned from the Philippines, gave me Ma’s urn. It was a strange feeling holding it in my hands. The logical part of my brain knew what it was; the emotional side shielded me from the reality. I placed the urn in our home next to a photo of Pa – where it’ll remain until Ma’s interment, when she will be laid to rest with Pa and next to my sister. I then unpacked framed photos ..read more