Hangin' Out with Michael J Fox

One advantage of having more time is it gives me a chance to do things like this - i "hung out" on-line with Michael J Fox a week or so ago. Here's a link to the conversation (and they even posed a question from me which I had submitted prior to the program - comes up at around 10:45 of the video). Wish I had the opportunity for a retort though!

I remember when I was first diagnosed with PD (basically around the same time he went public with his), I wrote to Michael J Fox to tell him that, despite what I thought of his acting career (I never cared much for any of his shows/characters), I appreciated what he was trying to do for PD. While he clearly has more resources as a movie/tv personality, it is still admirable to see the level of activity he takes on given his condition. When I have bad days, the most activism you might be able to coax out of me is hitting the"Like" button on Facebook!

reelin' in the years

This could be one of those "back in my day, we used to walk 2 miles to school..uphill..both ways!" stories.

Or it could be a story about the frenetic pace of technological advancement and the gargantuan efforts of a man and his aging demographic counterparts to not get swept away in a tsunami of change.

Or it could even be a made-for-tv story, set to an emotional soundtrack with swelling orchestral and sentimental strings, wherein we learn of one man's efforts to fight against the ravenges of Parkinson's Disease that threaten to overtake him and his young family.

It could have been all these things and perhaps more. 

But the truth is, it's none of these. Perhaps less. 

The truth is, that in a day and age in which people instantaneously tweet their comings and goings, daily facebook updates are posted, Skype and emails abound - I am as frequently feeling eclipsed by the volume. I feel as though, with each passing day, this gulf grows between what friends, family and colleagues have put "out there" and what I have been unable to do, neglected to do or even deemed worthy of sharing. 

Initiating this blog is my attempt, such as it is, to bridge this gap. At least initially. A chance for our divergent paths to once again cross. A chance, for those who have paused to wonder "what ever happened to.."  to perhaps fill in some blanks. An opportunity to right all my wrongs in one fell swoop! And then. move forward. To where, and for what, I do not know. I'm sure some don't particularly care. But, if you've read this far, thank you for caring. Let's start reelin' in the years!

Where have all the children gone?

I remember undertaking a career change some 13 years ago with the express purpose of spending more time with our children as they grew. I'm sure its a familiar refrain that I sing, but who knows where the time goes? Our oldest is at U of T, and our youngest will be entering his final year of elementary school. 

  

Tess, Emma and Will circa 2004 and 2011

Sisters and brothers, yes. But very much becoming their own persons! From this past year, here's a few pics of them (in order, Tess with friends from Victoria College residence; Emma promoting her Me to We volunteer work; Will plugged in and on the go!

I had an incredibly insightful, and emotionally evocative paragraph to add here with my thoughts on parenthood, the pride I have of our children, yadda yadda yadda but as this is an open blog, my kids have vetoed its' inclusion. Gives you some sense of who's steering this ship :)