Love is more than roses and chocolates.  Love is...

...sitting for hours in a cold hockey arena watching a game you don’t really enjoy to keep someone else company.

...not complaining when your better half invites over people you don’t know, but you pitch in to help get ready anyway.

...doing the glamourous jobs of dishes, vacuuming and even scrubbing bathrooms so others can take a break.

...chauffeuring, picking up after, feeding and disciplining four feisty children on your own because someone needs to work late or attend a conference. 

All this and more has been done for me.  <3

Happy Valentine’s Day.

   This is the time of year when I get the urge to reduce the amount of ‘stuff’ we have in the house.  We call it the spring purge.  It never fails to amaze me how much has accumulated since the last time we did it.  

    Where does it all come from?  I am not a pack rat or hoarder by nature, I donate clothing to charities regularly and I don’t have any collections.  And still the piles are growing, the boxes are stuffed and the closet is almost full again.

    So we go through things and try to be ruthless.  Will we really use it? wear it? play with it?  I think we are constantly surprised by how little we need and how much we have.  

    There is a real feeling of lightness and relief when we pare down.  I don’t know whether it’s because we have less to take care of, we know others will benefit from our donations or the house just seems that much bigger and cleaner.

    Whatever the reason, I can’t wait to begin.  

    Anyone need stained-glass window paint or old rollerblades?

Funny how traditions get started in our family.  I do something once, everyone likes it...presto chango...a new family tradition.  

This is not just a Christmas phenomenon, this goes for everything from our annual summer KFC picnic to watching Groundhog Day on Groundhog Day, to my yearly birthday getaway to Niagara-on-the-Lake.  

I sometimes think no one has noticed when I do something new, but invariably the next time around, I get flack for not having our ‘traditional’ finger food New Years supper or our road trip scavenger hunt on summer vacation.  Heaven forbid if I can’t find Rosettes cupcakes for the Demolition Derby or Taveners Fruit Drops for car trips.  High school interview day warrants a fast food lunch treat and April means a trip to Stratford to watch the Swan Parade. 

It’s getting so that I have to be very careful before I do anything...I could be stuck with it for life! 

I have a couple of friends who have written pieces for a bullying anthology.  It made me think of my own school days.  It wasn’t the most pleasant time I can remember.

    

I was a bit too stubborn and pig headed to play the game.  You know, the “do whatever it takes to be liked by the popular girls” game.  Never did well at that.  I marched to my own tune and paid the price for it.  My reports cards were riddled with “Does not get along well with others”.  

I did eventually learn how to get along with others and now have some of the dearest friends anyone could have.  

But I still don’t play the game.  

   I just came back from a two-week adventure in Africa with my DH.  We spent one week in Egypt gaping at colossal statues, walking through beautifully decorated tombs and climbing inside the Great Pyramid.  

    I don’t think I can even pick just one favourite 

creation of this awe-inspiring ancient culture.  It boggles the mind to understand what stunning architecture and monuments they created so long ago.

    From Egypt we flew on to Nairobi for a week’s stay in two game reserves, up close and personal with Kenya’s wildlife. 

    Kenya is a wildy beautiful country with the friendliest people and stunning scenery.  With the help of our expert guide/drivers we saw and photographed the Big Five.  Elephants, cape buffalos, leopards, lions and rhinos are the Big Five, not because they are the largest animals but because they were known to be the most difficult to hunt, back in the days when hunting large animals was considered sport.  

    Now they are shot with cameras and the rangers are on site to protect them from poachers and over-zealous tourists. 

    We had so many incredible moments on this trip and had so many fantastic experiences.  Africa will live in a part of me for a long time to come.  

  

     I convinced my DH that on our way to Africa it would be good for us to first stop in Rome for a few days to get over a bit of jetlag.  It was one of my better ideas.

    We spent today wandering the streets of Rome.  It seems you can’t turn a corner in this city without finding a stunning fountain, an ancient monument or impressive architecture.  

    We started out visiting the Colloseum and the Palatine Hill and Forum.  By the end of our walk, we were almost in a daze from the sheer magnitude of artifacts and ruins.  It must have been an absolutely incredible section of town when it was in its glory.  

    Then we had lunch of freshly-grilled paninis while sitting on the steps next to Trajan’s Column staring at the carved story that winds its way up the pillar.

    We slowly wound our way back towards our hotel through alleyways with quaint little cafes with elegant  little tables outside covered with linens and fresh flowers.  

    A quick stop for some delicious gelato (Italian-style ice cream) and we finished our stroll through the gorgeous gardens of the Villa Bourghese.  

    Is there a more romantic city than Rome?  I think not.  

    

 DH and I are getting ready for the first vacation we are taking alone since we had kids.  I talked him into an adventure holiday with a week in Egypt and a week in Kenya.  

    Staring at 4,000 year-old temples and tombs is for me, the safari is for him.  It’s pretty exciting to be going to such exotic locales and imaging everything we’ll see and do. 

   Oddly enough, the biggest hurdle we have to overcome is not the vaccinations, medicatiovisas, or major preparations for leaving the kids with our parents.  The problem is the packing.  

    Now, I’ve packed for six people for years and for every conceivable type of vacation; camping, cottaging, hoteling, visiting, cruising.  But this is the first time I’ve had a weight restriction.  Before this the only restriction has been how much I could cram into the van.  And most times it has been an engineering masterpiece how much I can fit into a van and still leave space for the kids to breath. 

    Because we will be flying on very small aircraft to remote camps, we are allowed only 33 pounds including carry-ons.  I have accepted this as a personal challenge; to pack clothes, accessories, toiletries, medications and extras for two and a half weeks and still be under the weight limit.  

    It hasn’t been easy.  I was over by eight pounds the first time.  Out came the extra shoes, the second bathing suit and the hair dryer.  Then I discarded the rain jacket, spare shirts and two pairs of pants.  Still over, I took out a book to read, a sweater and extra bug spray.  I was getting desperate and resorted to counting Q-tips and pouring out some of the shampoo.  

    But in the end I have succeeded.  Just.  And sorry kids, but everyone is getting papyrus as a souvenir.  It doesn’t weight much.