A to Z

I got a lot of emails after my last post (National Night of Pain and Terror). I’m glad that most of you found it funny; I’ll admit I laughed my way through writing that post. I think I have broken the hearts of two grandmothers though. I hear a bag of cookies is on the way for Maymuna as we speak. My brother (the blogger who doesn’t blog) loved the photo at the end, the one where I am holding both girls who are crying, where I have a giant smile on my face. “Three years ago” he said, “you wouldn’t have been able to muster a smile.” How true, Dan. Indeed three years ago I probably would have been crying along with them, in complete and utter despair. Shrieking at Ozayr to find the anti-septic cream.

What’s changed? I don’t know exactly. Maybe my sense of humour broadened. Maybe the mother in me now knows, after all these years, that skinned elbows heal and tired babies will sleep, eventually. Perhaps we’ve been through worse and perhaps I’ve gleaned some perspective on matters like these. I do believe I am an “A” type personality at heart. I am a bit high strung. I like to have things under control. I like to know exactly what’s going on with my kids (at all times). But I think my type A personality is tempered somewhat by the choices I have made in my life: the biggest factor being that I married a type “Z” personality in Ozayr. Really, he is the opposite (and compliment) to me in so many ways. And I think he’s rubbing off on me.

Take this weekend for example. We attended the CALA faculty retreat at Saint John’s University near St. Cloud. Friday morning to Saturday night. Thursday night I looked around, and realized I had done NOTHING. No packing, no cooking, no washing. I mentioned this ever so casually to Ozayr, and he said "well, it’s just overnight; we’ll just throw a few things in a bag in the morning and go" and went back to what he was doing.

It was okay because he didn’t panic. If he had said “hurry up and do something!!” I would have flown into full-fledged emergency list-making mode and probably would have stayed up all night. As it was, we just did it that way, and it just worked out, all on its own. With minimal amount of stress as well. Wonders never cease. Perhaps now that I am in my thirties, I am mellowing. Even Ozayr was amazed.