What's more delicious than a beaver tail?

I hate Winter.  That's no secret.  But I don't hate Winter activities.  Necessarily.   

For example, one of the best things about Winter?  Cinnamon sugar Beaver Tails. 

Rest assured:  A cinnamon sugar Beaver Tail is not the dismembered tail of a beaver covered in cinnamon sugar.  Rather, it is the incomparable deliciousness of a flat piece of deep fried dough in the shape of a beaver tail ... and then covered in cinnamon sugar. 

In short, the best Canadian thing that's ever happened. 

Next to poutine.

And I'm quite happy to stand in a nine-mile line in the dead of Winter on the frozen Rideau Canal just to experience the pure ecstasy of a cinnamon sugar Beaver Tail with a side of hot chocolate - and an appetizer of poutine.  Even if the cheese curd doesn't melt and even if my arteries lose an inch or two of breathing room.  Still worth it.  

Thank you NCC.

Other tolerable Winter activities in the National Capital Region?  Ice in the shape of spiders.  Enough said. 



Left to right:  Ice Spider, Annadanna, Hubby. 

Another not-so-bad thing about Winter?  Wandering around a kiddie snow maze.  Actually, there are few actvities more fun than that, now that I think about it.  Especially when you're shorter than most of the kids in there, which makes for a much more exciting maze experience.  



This is the outside walls of the snow maze.  Photos inside are prohibited, for obvious reasons. 



This is me trying to climb the snow maze. For obvious reasons.  

The only problem is, while you can manage to worm your way into the kiddie snow maze, it has proven more difficult to make your way onto the kiddie ice slide.  Somehow standing in the nine-mile line for that particular attraction was comparatively less justified.  Who knew?


Oh, the envy. 

If only I had my own ice slide.  Then nobody could discourage me from standing in line to use it.  But, alas...

_

Brace yourself – this one's serious

I’ve gone back and forth about writing this.

There is no way to say what I’m thinking in a cute or funny way.  It’s impossible.  But censoring my little online diary here is ridiculous. 

So here it is. 

For me, this all started with a profound posting by my blogging idol The Bloggess.  She wrote about one of her fellow bloggers, Lori, from Australia.

Lori is a stay-at-home mom, and a funny, quirky blogger.  She blogs about her one- and three- year old kids, and her loving husband Tony, and her favourite colour.

And just after Christmas, her life changed forever.  Early this year, Tony died.  He committed suicide.  A very unexpected, traumatic, and emotionally scarring suicide.

He had a very unexpected psychotic breakdown and lost himself.

And Lori lost him too.

So.

What’s my point?

Well, Lori has continued blogging.  Brutally honest, tear-jerking, heart-wrenching blogging.

And before you question why in hell she is doing so – Stop.  Don’t judge her.  As far as I can tell, she has continued her blog for a few significant reasons.

First, to help her grieve.  To get it out.  To find at least some form of catharsis among this mess.

Second, to reach out to her readers.  I don’t know how many of you are into the “blog scene” but there’s a very unique and powerful community out there in cyberspace.  There’s a connection.  And people who read Lori’s blog – Before and After – support her.

Third, she refuses to be shamed into shutting up.  Nobody talks about mental health.  Everybody ignores it, or denies it, or keeps it hidden, or writes it off.  Not Lori.  She wants people to SPEAK UP.  She wants to write about what’s happened to her, and to Tony, and to do so with no holds barred.

And although she’s had a few negative responses online – occasional naysayers who disapprove of her – to them she says: F you.

And I say it too.  That blog is her personal space.  And for those people (perhaps including some of you) who may not want to expose themselves to her pain, that is respectfully their choice.

But for Lori – and for the people who are touched (and helped) by what she’s saying – she needs this blog – and so do they.

So.

Again, what’s my point?

My point is that Lori’s story has affected me.  I think about her often.  I have emailed her and posted comments on her site.  I have joined the hundreds who have reached out to her, for the sole reason that she has reached out to us. 

And while I don’t have a clue how she’s truly feeling, I can still relate to what she writes.  I can see myself in her hurt, even if I’ve never been in that much pain.  I can hear my own inner voices in her despair, even if they’re not saying the same things.

I don’t know what she's going through.  And I don’t want to.  But I can see her as a person, a human being with feelings – just like the rest of us.

And I absolutely ache for her and her babies, and for her Tony too.  And I admire her strength more than I can say.

You may like to read her recent blog postings.  You may not.  They are sometimes ugly and scary.  But they are always poignant and heartfelt and REAL.  And they shed light on something that so many of us are afraid to confront.  Including me.

This is The Bloggess' posting. At least read this. 

And if you're interested, this is the Before.

And if you're brave, this is the beginning of the After. 

And if you want to keep following this amazing and courageous woman as she continues to gain strength, this is today.


And if you'd like to help minimize just one of Lori's many worries, consider this:




_