The Great Interview Experiment

I would like to introduce a newly for me discovered talent Cindy care of the Citizen's 2nd annual project to make us all fell important;) I had a great time stalking through her archives and meeting the boys and aspecially her theory on LBDs.


1. You describe yourself as Sybil, something I totally understand, but would you care to elaborate a bit? Having grown up all over Canada I'm always interested in how we got to be who we are.

I do feel like Sybil. I am happiest when things are changing, although I am a total bitch when I am in the middle of a transition. My Other Half and I have moved a lot, we have tried living in the country, in the city and now in a small town. We have lived in the UK, the US and Canada. On the west coast and the east and each place suited us at that time in our lives. I say “our lives” because we have been together since high school so every move I have made has been with him packing the truck. Right now the change is from fulltime mother of three little boys to fulltime mother of three older boys while trying to figure out who I am. It’s the hardest one yet.

2. What are the 10 best things about living on the Bay?

i) The water calms me every time I look at it
ii) It is great for getting the mud off of dirty dogs and boys after a hike
iii) It’s nice to know that if I did want to run away I could hop in a boat and sail out of the Bay into Lake Huron, then into Lake Erie, then Lake Ontario, down the St Lawrence River and out into the Atlantic. Who knows? Someday I might need to.
iv) When there is nothing else to do we can always go down to the beach and skip stones, this occupies the boys for hours
v) The last day of school is celebrated with a bonfire at the beach
vi) It is fresh water so when you swim you don’t get all salty
vii) I love eating fresh Georgian Bay whitefish straight off the boat with a little lemon & white wine
viii) Some days it is the colour of the Mediterranean Sea without the billionaire yacht traffic
ix) It inspired so many of the Canadian Group of Seven painters whose work I love
x) There is nothing better after a long ride than jumping off the pier into crystal clear water

3. How DO you find that perfect LBD?

I am always on the lookout for the perfect LBD, unfortunately styles and my body shape seems to change more often than I’d like. I found one full length dress at Marshall’s years ago and I still pull it out for black tie occasions and wear different accessories (wow, that sounds very organized and practical, but it’s true) and I found the short one I wore at Target two years ago and never wore it until now. Cost per wear - $30!

4. I grew up with 2 sisters, I have a boy and a girl (grown) and one of each for grands. What's it like to have three boys?

It’s physical all the time. There are no arts & crafts in our house, there are punch & grabs. They are hyper-competitive and seem to have no “off” button, at least not one that I have found. I grew up with a brother and a sister and we fought - a lot - but nothing like my guys. My Dad, when he is with us, just shakes his head and looks up to the heavens and says, “I’m sorry Mum”. He was one of three boys too.

5. You seem to be involved in volunteerism. What motivates your sense of compassion?

My compassion comes from my family. Both sides of my family were/are very active in the community. My grandmother recorded books on tape for the blind and drove for Meals on Wheels. My mother organized afterschool activities for kids who couldn’t afford to participate otherwise and my Dad and brother started a camp for inner-city kids which has given hundreds of at-risk kids a chance to succeed. I grew up wanting for nothing but my parents always made sure that we understood how lucky we were and I hope I can do the same for my kids by being involved and trying to make a difference.

6. When you choose which blogs you want to follow, what are three things that interest you?

The first blogs I read were recommended to me by my sister-in-law. They were all different, some were by mothers, some weren’t but they all captured my interest. I love reading about other people’s parenting trials and tribulations but I also love to look at gorgeous photography of places I may never visit. I read some political blogs, I studied Poli Sci at university and I used to want to be the first female Prime Minister of Canada (Kim Campbell beat me to it) and some blogs I have found by meandering through other people’s lists or randomly clicking on links. That’s what I love about blogging, you never know where it is going to take you.

7. How did you get to Citizen of the month?

I had to think about this one because figuring out how you got to a certain blog is sort of like trying to trace a conversation between two people over a couple of glasses of wine. You start complaining about how your kids are talking back, then it’s on to your boss expecting you to do the job of three people, then it’s how your spouse never cleans out the kitchen sink drainer and suddenly you are reminiscing about your driver’s test. Huh? How did we get here? But back to the question, I think I found Citizen of the Month on drowning in kids blog.

8. Decribe your family, including yourself, with one word each. When I asked my mom to do this years ago, she tagged me the "bulldozer" qualified with, "come hell or high water you get it done."

My Other Half is the rock we can all cling to when we need it.
Number One Son is the calm in the storm that is our day-to-day lives.
Number Two Son is the clown, funny whether it is appropriate or not.
Number Three Son is the devil in not much of a disguise.
Me, I’m a chameleon, always changing depending on those around me.

9. What makes you sing to yourself?

I’m not much of a singer but I do love it when I hear something on the radio in the car that I haven’t heard in a while. ipods have sort of taken that away from us, it’s too easy to download songs. Kind of like how kids don’t have to wait for the one time a year The Grinch comes on TV anymore.

10. What do you do for YOURSELF, in your ever busy life?

I ride my horse and yes, I know I am incredibly spoiled. Last Christmas my family surprised me by leasing a horse I had ridden a few times at a friend’s barn. I hadn’t really ridden since I was a teenager and now I try to ride once a week if I can. It feeds my soul and keeps me from losing it.

Thanks top you both - this was FUN!