Dearlove.ca

School photos are pretty timeless.  While the rest of the world has progressed in leaps and bounds, school photos now are basically the same as they were 35 years ago.  The only real innovation seems to be the vast array of additional products that can be purchased with your son or daughter’s photo on it, including my personal favourite, the bobble-head doll.

So imagine my surprise when I got the boys’ proofs and saw the biggest innovation in school photos in decades.  Let’s see if you notice it, too.

That’s right – it’s a new pose!  After years of close-up head-and-shoulders shots, they’ve introduced the casual hands-in-pocket standing pose.  I think it looks pretty cool, although their faces are tiny on wallet-sized photos.

I’m not sure I understand what’s going on with the background.  To me, it kind of looks like the boys about to be sucked into some kind of time portal or vortex, and the red / orange smears at the bottom look a little bit like flames.  A cynic might suggest it looks like the boys are posing in Hell – perhaps it’s a not-so-subtle suggestion that the boys should be baptized.

A year ago I posted a to-do list of five items I wanted to work on in 2011.  They weren’t resolutions, simply some priorities and goals.  52 weeks later, I thought I’d look back and see how I did.

Don’t procrastinate

Fail.  For example, every day I come home and see the peeling paint on my front door.  It’s been on my to-do list for a couple of years.  I didn’t get around to it in 2011.  And that’s just the front door – you should see the rest of the house.

Call a friend at least once a week.

Fail.  I think I might have called a friend once a season (that’s four times, for my arithmetically-challenged readers).  For some reason I can’t seem to find 20 minutes a week to reach out and touch someone.

Write letters and cards.

Fail.  I recall sending one card in 2011 (not including the 250-ish Christmas cards I sent for work).  Definitely some room for improvement.

Try one new recipe a week.

Fail.  I think I averaged a recipe a month.  I can’t remember a single one that stood out and has become part of my regular rotation.  Sigh.

Read at least one book a month.

Close, but still a fail.  I almost squeaked by on this one.  Last year’s reading list consisted of:

52 Loaves: One Man’s Relentless Pursuit of Truth, Meaning, and a Perfect Crust (William Alexander)

War (Sebastian Junger)

The Toughest Show on Earth.  My Rise and Reign at the Metropolitan Opera (Joseph Volpe)

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (Mary Roach)

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void (Mary Roach)

The Best Laid Plans (Terry Fallis)

A Game of Thrones (George R.R. Martin)

A Clash of Kings (George R.R. Martin)

A Storm of Swords (George R.R. Martin)

A Feast for Crows (George R.R. Martin)

In my defence, those Game of Thrones books are long – each one is like reading three normal books. If I had chosen to read something more concise and less maddeningly expansive, I would have easily reached one of my five goals for the year.

On the plus side, my failure to achieve any of my goals for 2011 means I don’t have to waste much time coming up with new goals for 2012.  I’m simply going to recycle last year’s list and see if I can improve on my dismal performance.

There is one new goal to add to the list.  This is the year I turn 40.  When I turned 39, I decided I should greet the next decade in the best shape of my life.  I figured this shouldn’t be that hard, as I’ve never really been in shape to begin with.  Of course, nearly five months have gone by and I’ve ridden the exercise bike a total of three times, so I’m off to a good start.

When I look back on Christmas 2011, it will probably be remembered as the last time A believed in Santa.  Over the past few weeks we’ve had a number of conversations about the existence of Santa (the word on the playground is the fat man’s a fraud) and I was pretty sure he had crossed over into the world of non-believers.  His skepticism disappeared over the last couple of days, though, and he was totally into the on-line Santa tracker and putting out the traditional milk and cookies.

Morning came much too early, as it always does on Christmas Day.  We managed to delay the inevitable rush to the presents by about half an hour, but eventually we ran out of negotiating ploys and capitulated.

The boys seemed happy with their matching Sens jersey. They also got tickets to the Sens game on January 8th – it will be a nice way to celebrate the last day of Christmas vacation.

K showing off the snowman he got from his brother, courtesy of the school’s Christmas shop.

B and the boys working on a 1,000-piece puzzle (this scene of familial bliss lasted about 4 minutes in total before A & K went off to play with Lego).

It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of turkey dinners.  However, I tried something new this year and roasted it in the Big Green Egg.  The verdict?  Blah.

K and I went for a walk with his favourite gift, a penguin pillow pet.  Midway through our trek to the RCMP stables he took a break to have a nap on a snowbank (yes, we had a white Christmas after all).

Coal spent most of the day sleeping on the couch.  It’s probably wishful thinking that the boys would follow his example one of these days.

The day ended with a bit of Beatles Rockband.  I visited 22 different stores trying to find a second guitar controller for the Wii (including a depressing visit to a pawn shop on Christmas Eve) but came up empty.  If you come across one of these relics from the Guitar Hero craze of 2008, give me a shout.

Mornings can be hard sometimes.  You wake up cranky, and the last thing you want to do is make lunches, make breakfast, fetch your kids some clean socks out of the dryer, sign the permission form for the school field trip, etc.

I was having one of those mornings recently, and to top it off, neither of the boys was listening to a word I said.  I finally snapped and launched into a fairly heated lecture about respect and paying attention, complete with, “Wipe that smile off your face!” and, “Look at me when I’m talking to you!”

A went upstairs, head bowed, and I could hear him crying in his room.  After a few minutes passed, I went up and apologized for losing my temper.  He muttered, “It’s O.K.” and went back to his room.  He came back a few minutes later and handed me the following letter:

to:  Mom and dad
From:  A

dear mom and dad,

I love you both very much and I exept your apology dad.  I hope we can make up to each other by you walking me to my door.  That way we will be able to co-oporate together and set things right.

Sencierly,

A

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

And suddenly my day was a bit brighter…