And so it begins my friends, that incredible battle between Fall and Winter. As winter ties to sweep in covering the ground in its cool blankets of snow, and Fall not ready to let go tries hard to melt the snow, as it falls, where it lands. Like two little boys fighting over who will be first in line. But no matter how lovely a picture I create with my words the fact remains it’s a tricky time of the year.

Parents’ send kids off to school with hats, mitts and winter coats, and by recess time they shed them and run around in their t-shirts. The next thing we deal with is the running noses, sneezing and the “almost cold” where yes they are coughing and have a runny nose, but they still feel generally okay.

As adults its a yucky time for everything, no longer can I hang my laundry on the line, or jump in the car without having to scrape a hard film of ice from the windshield. As teachers we have to force the kids out at recess on the colder days, and they often try to find ways to procrastinate with the dressing process. We start then 5 mutes before to ensure they have enough time to put everything on, but they we are taking time from their learning. Oh yes indeed there are those days when they are driving us crazy and we say who cares about those extra 5 or 10 minutes.

Worse yet are the indoor recess days. Often the time at recess and the before and after school time are likely the only times many kids will spend outside. For many they get home and get out the Xbox or Play station and fresh air and sunshine are soon forgotten.

Here in the bush the kids are the same, coats thrown on the picnic table as they race about in the cool air playing tag.

So all I ask is for Winter and fall to figure it out quickly. Is it Winter or is it Fall, stop fighting and pick a season boys. Who is it going to be.

The Sweat Lodge

A place of healing, the elder had told the children yesterday during the cultural teaching workshop. This is true, of course in my culture we simple call it a sauna (pronounced- sow na) in that thick Finnish accent of my relatives. But there are similarities. The Finlanders also make use of the sauna when they are ill. Often times we have cutting the duration of colds in the sauna, soothed our achy muscles and used t to help heal other ailments.

However the sauna does not have the spiritual qualities of the sweat lodge, and yet, there can be other similarities drawn from the sweat lodge and the confessional....oh bet you did not see that one coming. I recall the anxiety that came with waiting to head into that small dark room to unburden my soul by confessing that I called my brother a dooty head, or sad a swear word. Then to step outside the door feeling brand new, reborn as it were.

So too the sweat lodge, as the elder taught, is symbolic of the mother's womb. The drum is her heart beat, and when we emerge from the lodge, it is like being born again, our burdens lifted from our souls. The buring of sage, tobacco and sweet-grass, not unlike our own catholic rituals of burning  incense. The idea is the same, as the smoke rises our prayers are lifted with it.

I believe that as we look to one another we should notice the similarities that are there. These similarities occurred independent of each others culture and yet they are there. We are more alike than we realize.

Examine the pictures closely and you will see similarities. Traditionally for both you are suppose to go in "au naturel" the same way you were born into the world, but as time has passed we allow some covering for modesty sake.

accept the changes, embrace the the fact we are PEOPLE, more the same than we realize.

Thunder Bay Park Jobs step aside!

So I was sitting at my desk working when the classroom began to vibrate. I could hear a helicopter somewhere above the school. This puzzled me as the helipad for the air ambulance copter is quite a ways from the school.

But I learned something today. If you have a helicpoter you can park where ever there is some open space to do so......well not really.

This is the view from my classroom window and yes this pilot decided to land in the open space where the old school once stood. No he is not suppose to, the road coming into the community is right there and this was an extremely dangerous thing to do. So I guess similar to Thunder bay park Jobs, this is Lac La Croix Park Jobs....

I guess when you are and hour and 15 minutes from the main highway, people tend to do as they please and not think about how foolish or dangerous these things can actually be. In fact,  along the right side is a road that rund down along there, and the copter is dangerously close to it, anyone on that road could have been hit by the blades are all the cr@& that whipped into the air as he started to land.

So an important thing to remember is look up, there is danger from above.