Category: family

Nightmares

by annemariedemyen, posted in family, life

Years ago, during my first marriage, I had nightmares on a regular basis. There were two nightmares that were particularly recurring. The first one would vary but I would dream that I awoke only to realize I was still dreaming. This would repeat over and over throughout the night. It was exhausting and frustrating. In the second nightmare, I was dead. The dream changed from night to night but I was constantly seeing my dead body. In one dream, my dead body was propped up in a child’s sandbox. It totally creeped me out that people were just letting their children play in the sand and no one even considered moving my body. It was disturbing to say the least.

After my first marriage ended, I read that the first dream was typical of someone who felt they were trapped in a hopeless situation. Relative to the second dream, I read that death in a dream represents the end of a situation. It blew me away how both of these dreams had been such an accurate depiction of my life at the time.

In the years since, I still tend to have very vivid dreams but I would not consider them to be nightmares. Most are just very wierd and it seems rediculous how realistic they seem at the time.

This morning, Dan left for work at 4 a.m., which is usual when he works the day shift. Kat got up to see if she would get fed, which she did not.  As usual, she tried, and as usual she failed which meant coming back to bed and waking me up in the process.

I had two hours before I had to get up. Fortunately, I promptly fell back to sleep. That was the end of my good fortune. I experienced two hours of the most vivid and disturbing nightmares that I have had in decades. There were any number of details that I felt could be symbolic of something. What that would be is totally beyond me. I do think that overall these nightmares were relative to my current situation with my daughter. I have no idea if they were a good sign or bad.   I looked them up on an online dream dictionary this morning but was none the wiser.    Now I am annoyed, tired and confused.  I hope this is not the beginning of another trend!

Winter in Saskatchewan

by annemariedemyen, posted in family, life

The mercury is dropping out of the thermometer so thought I would share a few pics of our winter season. These pictures are of years gone by as we have not gotten a lot of snow yet this year. We have however had a few days where the temperature has dropped to obscene nether regions so will take any sympathy I can get.☃️

On our way home from my son’s. They were having such a blizzard when we left that Dan could not see their driveway and drove over their lawn. We couldn’t resist sending them this pic when we stopped on the way home and saw this sign.😂
My favourite – icy roads at the crack of dawn😟

Saskatchewan

by annemariedemyen, posted in family, life

My family moved to Saskatchewan when I was three. The province had, and continues to have, plenty to offer. Our air is clear, our water is clean. We have lakes and forests which offer summer and winter activities. We have small cities that are reasonably easy to navigate, while offering a variety of services one would expect from a larger centre.

Lunching at one of our many favourite restaurants

Our weather varies from one extreme to the other throughout the year, but overall it is predictable.

Summer Hiking Trail
Winter Trail to our Vehicle

We have our share of social issues, but for the most part it is a relatively secure place to live. We have a number of industries – mining, agriculture, oil & gas, construction, to name a few – that offer a reasonable level of employment.

Agriculture

We have international airports in Saskatoon and Regina that offer us access to the rest of the world as well as local airports in smaller centres.

Saskatchewan ‘Land of the Living Skies’

I would like to move back to Manitoba one day, but for now, Saskatchewan is home. 💖

The Care Bears are Coming to Our Town

by annemariedemyen, posted in family, Social Issues
Genie at the Wheel

Fifteen years ago we bought our granddaughter a pink ride on car that played an annoying little Care Bear song. Genie loved that car and rode it non-stop for two summers. She obviously had her mother’s love for being at the wheel – and her questionable taste in music 😂. Six months ago, at fifteen and a half, Genie got her learners license and bought her mother’s mini van. Yesterday, less than a week after her sixteenth birthday, Genie went through her driver’s test and passed on her first try. 👍

Having her license, and her own vehicle, will be a good thing in a lot of ways. Genie will be able to drive herself and her younger brother, Rory, to highschool. She will be able to drive herself to work. She will be able to run errands and take her little sisters places they need to go. She will have the freedom to take herself places that may not otherwise be accessible to her. It will be an asset on future resumes. There are a lot of positives.

Of course, this independence comes with a lot of responsibility and concern for those of us who love her. When Genie gets upset, she walks or rides her bike – for miles. She can go so much farther, so much faster, with real wheels beneath her. Will she drive when she is upset? There are other less responsible and less kind teenagers that do not have a vehicle or their license yet. Will they take advantage of our sweet little girl who has worked so hard for what she has? Then of course, we live in Saskatchewan. For the better part of each year, our roads are covered with ice and snow and our dark of night extends long into what should be daylight hours. Driving is challenging for experienced drivers, how dangerous will it be for our newbie? Finally, Genie will be sharing the road with a host of other drivers, some who should not be behind the wheel of a vehicle. Will she have the skill to avoid them?

There are some steps to independence and adulthood that are more notable and daunting for teenagers and those of us who love them. This is a big one. Fortunately, we know Genie is responsible. We know she will not abuse this privilege or take this responsibility lightly. Still, we hear echoes of the Care Bear song and suddenly she is our innocent, vulnerable, baby girl again. 😲

Then💖
And Now💖

Christmas 2.0

by annemariedemyen, posted in family

We had the sons over tonight for a belated Christmas. Unfortunately, Mark’s Erin couldn’t be here as she had to work and Danny’s daughter Gabby is with her mother for Christmas. Mark was here with Dominic and Danny was here with Amanda and their boys Lucas and Cason.

Lucas, Cason, Bacardi and Dominic

The boys kept busy with cars and Lego. There were a few pillow fights and a little mayhem. It’s a small house so a little mayhem goes a long way😂

Dominic and Lucas, who are both four years old, did great having their first supper at the big kid table.
Cason loved the cardboard box🤷
The adults were more into the chocolate

We had a good laid back visit. Spaghetti and hot wings might become our go to Christmas dinner. All in all an entertaining evening.

Dan is finally off work now for a few days so we get to relax with the dogs for a couple of hours. Nice🙂

Baccardi and Cornelius

Round Two

by annemariedemyen, posted in family
Kat & Company

Getting ready to settle in for the second night of sharing my bed with three dogs. We made it through last night. I am not sure how this will work tomorrow night when Dan is home. I might regret convincing him to get rid of the king-size bed we had. 🤷

Christmas Tradition

by annemariedemyen, posted in family
Done👍

Finished my Christmas jigsaw puzzle. Actually I got a box of eight smaller puzzles this year but with Danny and family coming tomorrow I may not get them all done before January 2nd.

Growing up, we were not wealthy by any means but all the stops came out at Christmas. There were chocolates and candy, nuts and oranges. There were endless buns and pies, cookies and squares. There was turkey and ham, cabbage rolls and tourtiere, salads and a dozen side dishes. My mother was a phenomenal and prolific cook and baker! There were stockings filled with small treats and toys, always including a new coloring book and crayons. There were dolls, and teddy bears and trucks under the tree. Last but not least, there was always a new jigsaw puzzle. After Christmas dinner, the card table was set up, the puzzle came out, and we all took turns visiting around the puzzle, doing a bit here and a bit there, until the family puzzle was complete. It is a tradition I am sure we all maintained with our children and they carry it on today. 🎄

Maddy’s Annual Boxing Day Sleepover

by annemariedemyen, posted in family

Nine years ago we were blessed with the happiest little granddaughter we could possibly hope for. Madison came into the world smiling and has made it her mission in life to spread joy.



Maddy💖

We did not see Maddy cry until she was three years old and even then it was the most hilarious meltdown in the history of panty shopping. Apparently even if the panties were the right size, perfect color and had her favourite cartoon character on them, it was a dealbreaker if they did not come in a sealed plastic package. Lack of proper packaging had Maddy sitting in the aisle, sobbing her heart out. 😂. Maddy always has a plan, and perfect execution is everything. 🤣

Maddy’s Favourite Flowers of Course Because She Is Our Sunshine

One of Maddy’s favourite things is sleepovers with Grandma and Grandpa. A few years ago we were going through a particularly hectic December, here and at their home, so sleepovers were put on hold. I promised a disappointed Maddy that we would have a sleepover for Boxing Day. She was more excited about her upcoming special Boxing Day Sleepover than she was about Christmas. 😂 She had a plan and this was going to be spectacular. Boxing Day was finally upon us and Maddy was ready. I picked her up, we made a quick shopping run, came home to arts and crafts, had a special Maddy planned supper, read a few books, had a long bubble bath with lots of toys and capped it all off with brunch the next morning. Thus began Maddy’s Annual Boxing Day Sleepover.

By the next Boxing Day, Maddy had recruited her little sister Prim so we had twice the fun for our annual event.

Last year there may have been a few bumps in the road😂

This year there is no Maddy’s Annual Boxing Day Sleepover but we will be thinking of her and hoping that her eyes are twinkling, she has an ear to ear smile and she is having a very special Boxing Day

Happy Boxing Day Maddy💖

Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen

by annemariedemyen, posted in family
Genevieve

Our own precious Christmas angel turns sixteen years old today. From the time she turned us into Grandma and Grandpa, she has been the definition of sweetness.

As a tot, she was bubbling over with love and happiness. Over the years, she has only grown in love and kindness, compassion and sweetness. She took the best of all of us and molded it into her own unique self.


With Mom
With sister Brook
Grade eight graduation after party

Genie with her little sisters

With brother Rory

Pictures cannot show the whole story and she wouldn’t want them to. Our little angel has been through hell and back over the years. She doesn’t allow that to break her or use it as an excuse to give less than her best. She has used it to make her better and stronger.

She has taken cruelty and heartbreak and used it to strengthen her love and affection for her family. Her childhood was taken from her but she is the fiercely dedicated and protective big sister. She is a dedicated employee who was made a shift supervisor at one of our biggest and busiest supermarkets – when she was fifteen – while still in school and heavily involved in music and drama.

Genevieve is so amazing, beautiful, caring and responsible – and today our little Christmas angel is sixteen.