It’s hard to believe we are already halfway through April. Here on the Pacific West Coast, we’ve made it through the hardest part of the year, meteorologically speaking. While we’ll surely still have rain in the coming weeks and months, the sun is shining more and the days are stretching out. We’re riding bikes and walking and planting gardens and thinking about summer plans. I love the West Coast and I love the rain but there is usually a time in January or February where I long for warmer weather and brighter evenings. Next year, I think I’m going to try and add more Vitamin D to my intake.
My job has gone through a huge transformation since my boss passed away and after the craziness and chaos of the initial grief and the Christmas retail season, I’ve spent the beginning of 2024 trying to figure out what it looks like for me now, both personally and professionally. Balancing my home and my work life has been a challenge since day one and as I’ve moved into this bigger role, I’ve had to figure out how to keep the two in balance. I know this is a struggle familiar to any working parent, and particularly mothers. Believe it or not, it’s a quote from romance author Nora Roberts that I often think of. When asked how she juggled her career and a family, Roberts said:
The key to juggling is to know that some of the balls you have in the air are made of plastic and some are made of glass.
The point being that sometimes you’re going to drop a ball and the best you can do is make sure it’s a plastic one.
At the same time, I’m also recognizing that my kids are moving into a new stage. We’re no longer the parents of really little kids. We’re firmly out of the baby stage and into the school age. Our girls are used to the school rhythms and routines (not to say weekday mornings are without their struggles in our home!). They have their own interests and friends and their own very distinct personalities. The type of care they need is really different than it was just a couple of years ago.
(Can you tell they’ve been reading Calvin & Hobbes?)
There are so many great things about the stages they’re in at ages 6 and 9. They’re still kids and still enthusiastic about being with us. There is still so much about the world that they are learning and being introduced to for the first time and it’s wonderful to re-experience those things along with them. At the same time, they are so easy to do things with. They are fun to shop with, to take to the library or to a restaurant. They can stay up their bedtime without taking days to recover. They can help out in real and practical ways around the house and get themselves dressed in the morning but they still love to play for hours.
Really, what it comes down to is that we have super awesome kids. Peter and I talk about this frequently and more with a sense of awe than any idea of personal pride. They are kids who enjoy school and being with their peers but who also enjoy downtime at home. (Rose started really reading independently over Spring Break and it was so amazing watching that click for her! Having two independent readers is pretty great though we obviously still read lots together as a family.)
Speaking of Spring Break, we did two little back-to-back trips and had a really fun couple of weeks. We spent a long weekend with extended family in the Lower Mainland and then went up to Whistler for a few nights just the four of us.
- Beach play in White Rock
- First time bowling (no bowling alley in our little town)
- Selfie in the Fairmont washroom
- Girls’ first time snowshoeing
- Walking through Whistler village. Too warm to ski that week but we enjoyed the sunny weather
- Train Wreck hike outside of Whistler
- Hike to Nairn Falls
- Mirror selfie with my girls
The end of Spring Break flowed in to Easter weekend. We kept it pretty low key this year – church, dinner with Peter’s parents, and our typical backyard Easter hunt.
This past weekend the girls both participated in the season-end soccer tournament. It’s been fun to watch them develop in their skills and confidence. We’re going right into spring soccer next and both girls have started swim lessons again. (Is registering kids for swim lessons super stressful for parents elsewhere?) We’ve been introducing a few small ways for our girls to practise independence. This is partly to make our family life easier and partly simply because it’s time and they’re getting older. Parenting kids this age is an interesting balance of helping them grow but at the same time helping them stay little as long as possible. It’s a great job to have.
Karissa Reads Books 
The picture of the hike to Nairn Falls surprised me and then made me laugh! I seriously thought it was a picture of her throwing up over a railing. Obviously, it is not, but it was comical for a moment as I wondered, “What did she eat??” And, of course, I am pleased as punch to see Justin Beaver.
As for your work; are you considering cutting back hours or looking for a new job?
Hahaha, I can see that now but I promise I will never post a picture of my kids throwing up!
I like my job and I’m being compensated fairly for my increased responsibilities so no, I’m not looking for something new. I’d like to get some more stability to my hours. I have my regular shifts that I’ve always had but now I’m covering for anything that comes up and doing a lot more extra work at odd times. The girls have afterschool care twice a week and on those days I work later but otherwise I really try to prioritize picking them up and being present for them after school. And that hasn’t always been possible in recent months but it’s my ongoing goal.
I never thought you would share a puke pictures, which is why I went from surprised to laughing in about 2 seconds! 🤣
Ohhhh, so it sounds like the boss passed away, and now there are holes in the schedule as folks try to figure out how to balance all the responsibilies.
That’s exactly it. Her passing left a huge hole and as the most senior employee I’m working a lot to fill what gaps I can. But I just don’t have the ability or desire to take it on in the way that she ran it so we’re working to run things differently now and so there’s been a definite transition time. It’s a small business so she was behind just about every part of it.
I hope you don’t think I’m prying. I was just wondering if her family is going to take over the business or if it is for sale to a new owner.
One of her daughters has taken it over. She has experience and is doing a great job but there’s a lot to learn. I’m working as the store manager now which also means helping her learn more precisely how the store runs.
Wow, this sounds like women empowering women. I know what you are doing is challenging right now, but in the end you may very well be helping to save a business and the jobs of everyone who works there. Kick ass, Karissa!
There are actually a lot of our local businesses that are women-owned and the way these other women have reached out and supported us has been amazing! There is definitely a bit of a sense that if I walked away, things would crumble right now, which is a new feeling for me. But I also feel gratified to be able to take this on and I do feel like I’m making a difference.
Gorgeous photos, as usual! Your girls have grown so much. It’s always a delight reading your life updates and seeing highlights from outings, it’s clear your family is such a source of joy and it’s beautiful to see you all enjoying that. And I love that Calvin and Hobbes are still capturing hearts and imaginations! My mom introduced me to them as a kid too. 🙂
Love the Nora Roberts quote- hope work settles soon!
Thank you! It’s so fun to introduce the kids to stuff I loved as a kid. Be that they’re both reading, it’s as if so many doors have been opened!