I am not a writer. I dabble in parenting, sport and making fun of myself. I'm good at coffee. I love where I live and the things I get to do.
Author: Christine Cogger
I am not a writer. I like my kids, coffee, running around and reading about you. I live in the most incredible part of the world and am lucky enough to live some pretty great adventures.
Tomorrow marks my last day of full time employment. It’s been an interesting learning experience; learning to juggle family, work, recreation and day-to-day life. Surprisingly, everyone handled it pretty well.
For the past few days, I’ve been thinking about what I’ll miss and what I won’t when I’m unemployed (or as I like to call it, semi-retired). Herewith, my list.
I will miss
Daily, intelligent adult interaction. Not that my people aren’t intelligent, but a girl can only talk about Lego and Star Wars for so long.
Thinking, problem solving, creating and doing. Learning some new tricks of the trade.
My colleagues. They really are a fun and caring group. They love what they do, and it shows.
Visiting with the boys at their camps, which was based just downstairs from my office. It’s a treat to spy on my kids.
Daily lunch runs. Even though I can run at home, lunch runs always felt like they had a purpose. I hope I can carry that purpose forward into… retirement.
I won’t miss
Being more tired on Mondays than I was on Fridays due to trying to cram 5 days of recreation and family time into 48 hours. Woe is me, I know.
Sitting all day. If I were more industrious, I’d have devised something like this. But I’m not particularly handy, so that’ll have to wait till my next job. Or until I learn to be handy.
Saying goodbye to my people every day and wondering what adventures they’ll get up to without me.
The commute. Sure, it’s scenic and relatively short. Yes, I like to roll down the window and sing along poorly and loudly or be a good Canadian and listen to the CBC, but I’m kind of over spending $100 a week on gas.
Fluorescent lights. Evil, evil invention, those.
I’m not too sure what the future holds, but I’m not prepared to worry about it just yet. The right situation will present itself.
I’m home again, settling in to my new reality. It was great to get home and see my little family and to try to find routine again.
While I do that, Dad and Nicholas have set off on an adventure – well deserved, I’d say. So without further ado, I’ll introduce my first guest poster: my brother, Nicholas. A much better writer than yours truly, that’s for certain!
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In the wake of mom’s passing last week, dad asked me to join him on a road trip to the Maritimes to clear our heads and gather our thoughts.
13 Years ago, I drove with my mom to the Maritimes for my first time ever as we drove King`s College for my first year at university. 3 years later, Dad drove me back for my last year at STFX. Both were very special trips for me, but this one evokes more memories and emotions than either.
It’s been nice and somewhat out of character for both Dad and I to have a free form vacation. We have an idea of how far we want to go East, but no set itinerary or agenda: we’ve simply hit the open road with some ideas of places to visit and of which old friends we could call in on along the way.
Our first stop was Westmount for lunch on Thursday afternoon with Bill and Patty Smith (parents of Maryann) who, over the years have proven time and again to be excellent and reliable friends. Patty served delicious homemade sandwiches and bruschetta salad, followed by coffee and a great conversation – mostly regarding the recent Quebec provincial election. Patty also made sure we left with a tin-full of home made chocolate chip cookies which we have been making short work of along the way.
I have driven back and forth to the Maritimes more times than I can count, and so has dad. So, for a bit of a change, we decided to drive the first stretch along the north shore of the St Lawrence to Quebec City, then on to dad’s friend Gilles Rivard’s farm in St. Joachim, at the base of Mt. Ste Anne. The drive through La Mauricie, past Trois Rivieres is so much more entertaining than the Trans- Canada on the south shore – more rolling hills, more vistas…, and by late afternoon we were pulling into the driveway at M. Rivard’s farm. Built and completed in 1779, M. Rivard and his wife have owned it for 35 years, and have worked diligently at acquiring all the bits of land surrounding it. Today it is a magnificent spread with waterfront on the St Laurence, a full working cattle farm, sugar shack, and numerous outbuildings. M. Rivsard is exactly what one thinks of when the term “bon vivant” is used. He loves good scotch, eats rich foods (“Steak. Bleu!“) and pulls no punches in regaling us with his stories.
I took a seat quietly while dad and M. Rivard reminisced about all the people they had worked with in the professional careers, and a litany of hilarious stories from their days as young upstart lawyers (Conservative, at that!) in Quebec City. M. Rivard treated us to a lovely meal at St. Bernard Steakhouse in Ste. Anne de Beaupré before dad and I adjourned to our private cottage for the night. We retired but not before a stroll out into the back field under the stars to listen to the river and watch the lights of Quebec City in the distance to the west.
We woke up early, had a cup of coffee watching the river flowing East some more before quickly saying “adieu!” to Mme. Rivard (Gilles, bon vivant, was still in bed. Good for him!). We got back on the road, continuing East along the north shore, past Le Petit Massif de la Rivière St. François, and venturing beyond my experience of the Lower North Shore. Along the way, Dad, as is his wont, occasionally dropped anecdotes about villages and landmarks we passed along the way: the time during the ’72 campaign when they…, or once, while caucus was sitting at Murray Bay, the wives went to… etc.. etc… We stopped for a light breakfast in Baie St. Paul and pushed on to La Malbaie, where we pulled over to take in the view over the river before pushing on, all the way to Baie Ste Catherine.
As we waited there for the ferry to cross the Saguenay River, dad went inside to speak to the people operating the ferry terminal. I am not sure what he said, but when the young lady behind the counter came by to count the cars and passengers waiting for the ferry, she was in hysterics (“Ton pere est crampant!’she said, virtually in tears.) We crossed the mouth of the Saguenay to Tadoussac, where we promptly found our way to to the Hotel Tadoussac which was made famous in the film version of John Irving’s “The Hotel New Hampshire”. We had a lovely lunch *Christine: dad actually ordered (and ate!) une assiette de crudités* before doubling back on our tracks to St. Siméon, where we caught a ferry over the river to Rivière du Loup, where I am writing this now.
Tomorrow, we will try (but not too hard) to make it to PEI, choosing wisely, in my opinion, to speed through northern New Brunswick. This time, and the first time for me, we will head further East after Grand Falls towards the Miramichi and follow the coast to Shediac before crossing over the Confederation Bridge to PEI. I have a wonderful photo of Mom and Cathy Morris up to their knees in the Northumberland Strait with the bridge behind them from that first trip in 1999.
That’s all the news that is fit to report for now. We are happy, healthy, well fed and sleepy. Looking forward to more fun tomorrow.
I don’t know how to best express it, except to say thank you. Thank you from
all of us for your calls, your messages, your notes. It isn’t a platitude when
I say that it really does mean the world.
Mum would not have wanted us to mope around and be miserable. In fact, one of the last things she said to me was: “don’t look so worried, go do something!”
And so I will. I will do my very best to hold her near to me, to take her on my adventures, to tell the kids stories about her life and to look back on the good and not dwell on the bad. We owed her that much, I think. She wasn’t perfect, but perhaps she was the perfect fit for us.
A celebration of her life will be held in Knowlton on October 13th at 2pm at the Lakeview Inn. More than anything I hope at it will be an occasion to reconnect with friends and family and remember as she would have liked: with tales, laughter and a few tears.
Rory wanted to make me feel better. So he drew me some apples.
Today, my strong, smart, funny and caring mother passed away. She had just turned 70 years old and fought hard until the very end.
These past few days and weeks have been so hard, but it really is amazing what a family can endure. Although her body was diminished by years of fighting cancer, her mind was sharp until the end and for that I am thankful. I’m also thankful to have been by her side with my brothers and to have been able to ease the burden for my dad. I’m thankful that my kids will remember her as Omi; the Omi who read stories and planted gardens and didn’t like riding in Gondolas. I’m thankful for the extraordinary care she received; her doctors, nurses and therapists couldn’t be kinder, more caring people. Without them, we’d have been lost and this fight would have ended long ago.
In my minds eye, I don’t see Mum as she was these last few days. Rather, I will remember her as someone who loved being in her garden, reading, her friends, her family. Who was opinionated and very, very strong willed and who occasionally scared my friends. Who loved her grandchildren and all their silly antics. She was so proud of all of us.
She isn’t suffering anymore and I’m sure that wherever she is, it’s most likely by a beach, enjoying a cigarette, a scotch and the sun.
Liz invited me to play this game with her a few weeks ago. Since I have some time on my hands right now, why not? The rules are simple:
Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Then answer the questions the tagger sent for them, plus create 11 questions for the people they’ve tagged to answer.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4. Notify the people you have tagged.
5. No tag backs.
The catch for me is that I need to find 11 people to tag. So if you want to “play along”, post a comment and we’ll be off to the races.
11 things about me:
The texture of tomatoes makes me gag. I still plant them in the garden every summer. (Also: artichokes and olives. bleh).
I consistently think I am taller than I am and am always surprised when I walk by a mirror next to someone who actually is tall, like my husband.
I used to be terrified by thunderstorms, now I love them.
My first triathlon was Ironman Canada in 2004. I figured I didn’t know what I didn’t know. How right I was.
I love reading cookbooks and food blogs but hate cooking.
If I’m ever given the opportunity to go back to school, it would be to study religion. I’m essentially an atheist, so I think it will help me to better understand other parts of the world.
I almost always close my eyes in pictures.
I am not an advocate of air conditioning.
Smo stands for Small Mean One, a moniker I inherited in University.
I can remember exactly where I was when I thought of what to name Will, our first born. Not so much for the other 2.
I’ve been to Las Vegas over 15 times. That’s more than anywhere else other than home in Quebec/BC. This is not something I am proud of.
The answer to Liz’s burning questions…
What race is on your bucket list?
Ironman Kona. I’ll get there one day. Maybe when I hit Sister Madonna’s AG.
If you could go for a bike ride with anyone, who would it be?
Alex Zanardi.
If you had a super power, what would it be?
The ability to stop time for everyone but myself. That, or invisibility.
Are you ticklish?
Very.
Time or money?
Time.
Is life going the way you wanted it to?
Yes and No.
Ocean or lake?
I’d like to think ocean but the reality is lake.
Do you have a favorite quote? What is it?
“Don’t say ‘can’t’. Try.” -Me, to my kids.
Do you remember your first race? What was it? How did you do?
A mountain bike race at Bromont, QC. It was terrifying. I finished 4th.
Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?
Incorrectly.
Do you think Bono and U2 will ever find what they are looking for?
If they haven’t found it by now…
My 11 questions for you:
If you could get on a plane and go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?
What word or expression do you most overuse?
What’s the last book you read?
If you won the lottery, what’s the first thing you would do?
Do you have a favourite season?
What’s your biggest vice?
Social media. Yes or No?
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Lance Armstrong: Good, Bad or Indifferent?
Can you remember what you wanted to be when you “grew up”?
I’ve been thankful that while here in the Eastern Townships, Quebec the weather has been spectacular and that I’ve been able to sneak out for some great mind-clearing runs. It really is amazing how many roads, nooks and crannies there are to explore. I’ve only gotten lost once – so far. While I love running in the mountains and trails back home, there’s something to be said for endless miles of dirt roads.
My summer holiday this year revolved around spectating and supporting at IMC. Turns out it’s the last one and it did not disapoint. I was pretty excited when I got the green light to head up a few weeks ago. I was kid-free for the weekend so despite 13+ hours of driving and no sleeping-in, this really did feel like a holiday.
I was excited to support Liz as she had done for me years ago. To watch the other athletes, to take pictures, to yell and cheer and clap. I was a bit apprehensive that being around this race would make me sad and ultra-envious that I wasn’t racing and in reality have no plans to “go long” in the near future. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself relieved not to be getting in that water with the other 2500 athletes. I really did enjoy my day of chasing athletes, riding my bike and eating an ice cream cone when others were feasting on gels and warm, flat coke. Maybe it was because I am not race fit, or maybe it’s because I’ve lost my racing mojo, I’m not sure. Either way, I did enjoy my summer holiday immensely.
I loved seeing the families out there supporting their loved ones with silly shirts and signs. I don’t think I’ve ever really noticed it as much before but it really blew me away how much these people get into. I hope that when my kids are older that they’ll do something like that for me, if I’m out there again. You can bet that if any of them do something like this, there will be shirts, banners and signs GALORE. I don’t care how embarrassed they get!
I’m so proud of Liz for turning her race around after 2 flats. To be able to put a smile on and enjoy the day when it could have gone entirely the other direction takes a mental fortitude that I’m not sure I possess! So kudos to you, ST. You did awesome. You’ve inspired me to improve while keeping the fun factor high and smiling while I do it.
A few photos to remember the weekend by.
View from our temporary home. I’ll take it.
He raced in this kit to raise money for cancer below the belt. Love it!
Yes, I’m 12. But who waterskis in a Speedo?
Pre-race cake
At IMC, the masseuse comes to you
Lizzie and Laura
Ironman sunrise
Off they go. Zero envy here.
Yellow Lake supporter
Awesome
Smiling!
Lead car. I’d love to be in there one day
Lunch. Worth the $3.
Lizzie, post-ride.
The legend, Sister Madonna. 82 years young, she finished in 16:32.
YES.
Coming home
Well deserved. I think I was most impressed that she could eat and drink that night.
Everyone seems to have a bucket list, a 100-things-to-do-before-they die/get married/have kids/etc. I don’t have a life bucket list (yet) or a 100 things list (yet) but I guess I have a bucket list of races, events or adventures I’d like to do before I kick it. Or stop being able to do these silly things, whichever comes first. Herewith, my list.
(Ed note: This list changes on a daily basis, per my mood and general interest level).
I have never been brave enough but figure I should do it one day.
An Ironman that gives me an outside shot at qualifying for Kona one day.
Maybe when I’m in the 80-85 age group.
What about you? What’s on your list? I want some suggestions and by suggestions I mean invitations. I realize this list is mostly running, time to work on my biking and adventure list – primarily more Chicks in the Sticks!
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No big adventures planned for the weekend (unless you call getting up at 5am to volunteer at an the Squamish 50 and then heading home for a wedding and dancing on a mildly sprained ankle an adventure) so I’ll leave you with some random pictures.
Have a great weekend! The last weekend of Olympics 24/7… cue the withdrawal.
Fankle which will not prevent me from wearing cute shoes to said wedding.
The SMO's stories 