This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the fresh start that each new day brings.
The last two weeks have been rough with T.
I don’t know if it’s because the honeymoon phase at school has passed or if he’s finding the transition period challenging but we’ve had rough patches on an almost daily basis.
During daycare pickup last week, his teacher quickly walked towards me when I arrived to let me know there was an incident.
T had punched one of the kids in the arm giving them a bumpy bruise after the kid took the toy away from T.
I was upset with T the car ride home and all evening at home, reminding him that while the kid taking the toy was unacceptable, punching someone was not right.
Last Friday was a challenging day for T at school, with incidents in the playground during all three recesses, including him hitting a kid with a stick.
It was very hard to not get upset at these incidents and it felt like every morning and evening were filled with tension and tears.
On Friday night, as we looked forward to a long weekend, I told T at bedtime, “I know there were a lot of tears, screaming and hard moments this week, but we will turn it around this weekend.”
That’s the great thing about kids with FASD, of which T has an at-risk prognosis for: every day is a blank slate and a new start.
Our Thanksgiving family tradition is to do a short weekend getaway to enjoy the fall colours.
We visited Quebec the first year T came into our lives and before the pandemic we did a chowder-inspired trek to Vermont.
This year, we kept it local: an overnight visit to scenic Blue Mountain in Collingwood, just under two hours drive from home.
It’s been nearly 15 years since I last visited with friends for a day-long ski trip.
During the fall, it was so beautiful with changing colours; vibrant yellows, oranges and reds.
We boarded a gondola, a new feature since our last visit, that took us to the top of the mountain, where we enjoyed a nice long hike through trails and beautiful views of Collingwood below.
T really enjoyed the ride, telling us proudly that he was not scared of the heights.
As I watched T in the gondola, looking out into the world below, I said a silent prayer to give thanks for this moment of reset and renewal.
Every day is a clean slate. That is what I’m most thankful for this Thanksgiving. The opportunity and the ability to keep looking and moving forward to the better views that inevitably lie ahead.
That is a beautiful tradition. There are so many moments of challenge and beauty in parenting and I think, in particular for children and parents who work to manage these moments. Lovely reflection, as always.💖💓 .
Thank you, LaDonna. Taking time to reflect really helps one see the big picture! 😊
Have a great weekend!
♥️♥️
The colours are amazing. The tough times make the good ones more special. Hope the reset works.
Thank you, Gary! The challenges and adversity are the mirror reflection of the good times for sure. 🙏
Sorry to hear that T has been having some challenging moments. That’s good that you were able to continue your streak and go away for the Thanksgiving long weekend. It’s nice to just put all your worries behind and just focus on the present. It goes to show just how important it is to have these holidays and to go on vacation. The Blue Mountains looks beautiful in the fall!! Glad to see that you had nice weather to enjoy the outdoors.
Thanks Linda! It’s been a hard past while for sure but we know we’ll get over this soon. 🙂
Collingwood was lovely! We stayed at a cheap hotel downtown and drove to Blue Mountain (only 10 minutes) and we were quite surprised by how much we enjoyed it.
We had planned to do the suspension bridge and scenic tours that day but arrived an hour after opening, and they closed as they reached full capacity. Another major annoyance caused by T who took forever to get ready and leave. 😂
But the lovely mountains more than made up for it. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a late Fall activity to do. The fall colours haven’t quite peaked yet.
That’s crazy that the suspension bridge reached capacity after an hour of opening! Looks like the trails and outdoor activities are still popular even though most businesses have reopened. The nice thing about the Blue Mountains is that there are plenty of activities and attractions to keep you busy. Those fall colours alone are probably worth the visit.
I had all these plans to get some fall hiking in to enjoy the fall foliage. And yet it’s somehow already mid-October and I’ve done none of them. Where does the time go?! We’re thinking of heading up to the cabin this weekend and perhaps visiting Bon Echo since it’s nearby.
Yes, we were thankful for all the other alternate activities available at Collingwood. Cuz I had the biggest adult meltdown when we got to the suspension bridge late at full capacity. 😆
I noticed that the fall colours have not reached peak yet. Even in the city, lots of green leaves on the trees still. I think we still have 2-3 good weekends left to enjoy the fall foliage so you still have time.
Bon Echo is such a beautiful park and hope you enjoy your weekend trip. Almost here!!
LOL it’s hard to picture you having an adult sized meltdown! I would have been pretty upset too. Where are all these people coming from!? Places like this never used to be this busy before the pandemic.
We have a couple of maples in our backyard that have not started changing colour either. I was starting to wonder whether they were just a bunch of duds. It’s too bad that the weather for this weekend isn’t looking ideal as we’re starting to have second thoughts about our weekend plans.
I think families were looking for something fun to do locally in a long weekend. So I suspect a lot of GTA-ers. We also saw a license plate from Pennsylvania USA!
A rainy weekend up at the cabin is still fun. It looks like the rain will stop in the afternoon. So hopefully that keeps your options open for a getaway! 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
I wonder what these small towns think of us GTA-ers coming in and crowding their attractions! Probably not good things!! But it goes to show how we need more green spaces nearby. I heard that the US is opening up its land borders to us come November 8th. We’ve been contemplating whether to go there in December for a change of scenery.
Have a wonderful weekend. Stay dry!
Yes, I can only imagine! On one hand, it’s good for their local economy, but then it also takes away from their own private enjoyment. I also find with tourism, it also takes away from the local aesthetic. I’m always horrified by the amount of litter tourists leave behind.
The US will be nice but DP be careful! Where will you go first?
For sure. More people usually means more trash. We’ve noticed a big difference in the amount of litter on the trails at some of the parks we visited this summer. It’s such a shame.
We’re thinking of going on a road trip as we’re still a bit uneasy with flying. We’d like to go to Savannah and visit a few new states that we’ve never been to before, like West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky. I’m currently mapping everything out. There’s so much to do and it’ll be tough to fit it all in. If only we had more vacation days!!
Your US Roadtrip sounds absolutely heavenly. I say that with both admiration and awe and a tinge of envy!
I hope you can cram it all in and I am looking so forward to all the updates! Of those places, which one are you looking most forward to?
While I’ve enjoyed exploring more of Ontario these past two years, it’ll be nice to shake things up and go somewhere new. I’m probably the most excited to visit Savannah, Charleston and Nashville. Oh, and Mammoth Caves in Kentucky.
Those all sound amazing. Nashville is on our wishlist too. The caves sound awesome. It’s good to shake things up and have a change of scenery!
I have no idea what the weather will be like towards the end of November so I’ve planned a mix of indoor and outdoor activities. I am fascinated with caves and am planning on booking the 4 hour cave tour at Mammoth Caves!
Sounds exciting. Can’t wait to read your recap!
I always tell myself we have to have the bad days to appreciate the good ones. I hope this next week goes better for T. I can’t believe the colors in your trees, SO beautiful and what a fun trip. We aren’t suppose to hit our peak colors until around Halloween, later than normal.
Thanks Diane. I wholeheartedly agree. I know we’ve been through these patches before and just need to plough ahead through it. I know we will and can do it.
We’re very lucky with beautiful fall colours. We haven’t quite reached peak yet and have about 2-3 good weeks left before they’re all on the ground. Looking to a few more fall hikes in the weekends ahead.
Halloween is just around the corner. We’re all excited over here about it!
Take care.
Happy Thanksgiving Ab . So much to be thankful and celebrate indeed no matter challenging life and circumstances sometimes can be. Thank you for always bringing to us positivity, Hope, encouragement, honesty, kindness and love. Yes, your post is truly about love that is giving and selfless, something we all need in this present world. Take care.
Thank you! 🙂 We eat turkeys earlier in Canada than the US. The last Thanksgiving before T came into our lives, we visited Columbus, Ohio during your Columbus (our Thanksgiving) weekend.
I have to admit the last two weeks have been especially hard. Feels especially harder to try muster positivity but there’s always a reason to keep looking and moving forward.
I will admit that yesterday that seeing your very positive and wonderful experience in Texas was a nice morale boost for me. So thank YOU! 🙂
Enjoy the rest of your week and take care.
Thanks Ab. I didn’t realize how much all of me needed the Texas trip. Work has drained to much of my joy and positivity that I’m getting numb to it and accepted its normalcy. Then I saw a clearer picture being away from it, that I have choices . That I can choose to take care of me for a change.
I love the idea of a family tradition of reset and renewal. That is wonderful. And gor what it’s worth, I’m finding we are experiencing back to school challenges also so perhaps it’s something about being 5-6 weeks in. Sending lots of great wishes that the reset helps for a better week!
Thank you, Wynne. A reset is good for sure. We need like a giant one. 😆 It’s been a pretty challenging past two weeks and I really hope we can turn it around because I don’t want this to set the tone for the rest of the year. We shall see.
Best wishes with your little ones’ schooling year too!