Let Me Introduce To You…

It was Sunday, October 23rd just around 7:00pm. I had spent the last few hours working outside, doing my Autumn gardening chores. The sun had just set for the evening and I was enjoying a nice cold beer by the fire. I was burning my collection of sticks that I had collected over the summer, in a burn barrel placed in the middle of my garden. The ashes help to add nitrogen to the soil and this is a good thing, for my veggies next year.

I heard Joanne’s footsteps as they crinkled on the dried leaves, scattered over the ground underneath our Maple tree. I thought that she had come to spend some time with me and to get some fresh air. Jo’ had been complaining about headaches over the last two days and I thought that a little night air would do her good.

Well… her visit didn’t last for more than a minute, in which time she told me that she thought it would be best to go to the hospital to make sure she was okay. Her headache had gotten worse.

While she loaded a few bags into the car, I finished putting out the fire and soon we were off to the hospital.


A short while later, Jo’ was laying in a bed with all sorts of monitors taped to her belly that were hooked up to that machine that goes ‘Bing!’ A doctor told us that we would not be leaving the hospital that evening and that we should be expecting to be moved to the ‘Baby Delivery Room’ very shortly!!!!

Everything was a rapid blur after that point. Nurses fussed about. Doctor’s came for periodic visits. Other specialists prepared the ‘baby warmer’ that would later be used to make sure our baby was cooked thoroughly before dinner!!! Okay – that was indeed a silly and bad joke!


I won’t get into any more detail than that – simply because I want to make sure that some of the memories from this night of all nights remain forever ours – but what seemed like a very short time later, Joanne and I were resting and thinking about this miraculous gift that had just come into our lives!

I will share this, tho’… when I saw our son being born I felt very odd. I was holding Joanne in my arms, she was quite exhausted, the moment of delivery had just past and I was whispering words of comfort into her ear. She looked up at me and my heart began to expand so that my insides hurt. As I looked back at her, my vision blurred and a tear ran out of my eye. Joanne had also cried and my tear dropped to her face and joined hers. I never knew that LOVE could ever feel as joyous as it did at that moment!


A short while later, our son was washed, swaddled and in mommy’s arms for the very first time. We had a small choice of names for him and seconds after he was in Joanne’s embrace she told me that he looked like a Devon. Devon James Kogelheide was born on Monday, October 24th at 7:38am, weighing in at 6 pounds 9.3 ounces.


Like most new parents, our first day was a bit of a blur. Joanne’s parents lived the closest and they were the first to arrive to meet their grandson.


My parents and sister had to travel a 3 hour drive and they arrived in the early afternoon.


My sister is a very love filled person and I could see that she was working hard to hold back most of her tears of joy! I’m sure that Devon will be spoiled with the many wonderful treats that Sandra enjoys baking.


Soon, everyone was in agreement that mommy needed some sleep and for the next few hours I kept watch…


… but I couldn’t contain myself for too long and soon Devon was in my arms again!


With our world turned completely around, there was little time for much thinking over the next few days. We slept when we could and we took care of our little son as he needed.


Since then, it’s been all about building a healthy routine into his life. The first topic of discussion being to teach Devon about this thing called night and day.

Every evening at around 8:00pm “It’s Bath-time, It’s Bath-time, It’s Buh-Buh-Buh-Buh-Bath-time!” Then he feeds, gets changed and double swaddled for the night.


To bring in the day, he feeds, gets changed and then spends time dancing around the living room in daddy’s arms while listening to some good ‘ol Rock’N’Roll – something with a deep bass rhythm! The curtains are opened to let in the light and if the weather permits, he gets a stroller ride.


Every day, we would get new ideas about how we can do the things that we need to do for him. Every day, we’ve been getting better and better. Joanne and I have never been happier and we both know that Devon will have a happy life filled with lots and lots of love!!!!


Now… even though Devon spends much of his time sleeping and growing and will have no memories of this time in his life, that doesn’t mean that daddy isn’t having fun with him!!!


Halloween was my first day back to work and I thought that it would be fun for my Peacebus students to see me all decorated up. When I got home, Jo’ helped me to take a few photos so that I could have a new profile picture for Facebook.


It seems that I’ve now become addicted… addicted to writing funny thought bubbles for Devon!!! Did you notice how I used the lyrics ‘monkey fingers’ from the Beatles song “Come Together” in this pic.


Ha! Now I’ve gotten carried away!!

So… I thought that it would be cool to highlight some of the other worldly things that happened on Devon’s birthday, to finish this story…

The first news story that I heard on the radio, after Devon’s birth was on CBC radio. They announced that new figures show that the violent crime rate has decreased dramatically. They are at the lowest levels in almost 40 years!!! One reason is that today’s youths are better educated about how to handle aggression and peer pressure and that tolerance for these sorts of crimes has decreased.

One of my hopes for the future is that education will also decrease today’s youths’ tolerance for greed and environmental degradation!


In 1978 The Rolling Stones released the album ‘Some Girls’. Over 30 years later, the song ‘No Spare Parts’ – that was recorded during this time – is found and dusted off. On Devon’s birthday, this song is released to the world.

have a listen….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mkZ2CCVlXuE

Our world’s history is also filled with many other peaceful events that happened on this same day…

2002 – Police arrest spree killers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, ending the Beltway sniper attacks in the area around Washington, DC.

1986 – Nezar Hindawi is sentenced to 45 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down by a British court, for the attempted bombing on an El Al flight at Heathrow.

1973 – Yom Kippur War ends

1964 – Northern Rhodesia gains independence from the United Kingdom and becomes the Republic of Zambia

1949 – The cornerstone of the United Nations Headquarters is laid.

1946 – A camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket takes the first photograph of earth from outer space.

1911 – Orville Wright remains in the air 9 minutes and 45 seconds in a Wright Glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.

1861 – The First Transcontinental Telegraph line across the United States is completed.

1648 – The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years' War.

1360 – The Treaty of Brétigny is ratified at Calais, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War.

Hmmmm… I’m beginning to see a pattern - huge leaps in technological advances, human unifications and social justices!


Maybe, just maybe, Devon’s generation will accomplish what humanities existance has always sought after – Peace On Earth!!! I may not be able to predict the future for our world but I do know that I will always stand by my son to support and guide him as humanities journey continues…

Jim

Epoch

In the fields of chronology and periodization, an epoch (from Greek Εποχή epohi meaning "era") means an instance in time chosen as the origin of a particular era. The "epoch" then serves as a reference point from which time is measured.

Over the last few months, my wife and I have been preparing for the arrival of our son. One of the tasks that Joanne gave to me was filling this empty wall, in the baby’s room, with a nice wall mural.


My first idea was to create a fun image with rolling hills and silly dinosaurs. I thought that it would tew kewt to have a dinosaur head poking through the clouds, with the dino’s head bent down while he took a bite of a rainbow!


Jo’ wanted me to paint a mural design filled with lions, hippos and banana trees with monkeys.


After a few weeks of chit-chat, we were no further ahead with an agreement. One day, I was working on a different art project and I found myself ‘googling’ for images of turtles… and then I became inspired!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/turtlebookink/


I found a great image and after I had used my computer to flip it around, change colours and do a few other things that I do, I had the beginnings of a plan. Jo’ thought that my ideas were great and soon the paint started flying around the room.


While all of this was going on, Joanne was preparing to have her baby shower. What a wonderful event that was! The family, friends and neighbours that filled our house that day made us realize that we would never be alone when facing the challenges that parenthood will bring.


The atmosphere reminded me of ‘the days of old’ where people and communities busied themselves with making gifts with splendid decorations. Hand knitted blankets, booties, toques and sweaters were unwrapped with a smile. My sister, knowing how passionate Jo’ and I are about recycling and reusing, presented us with many educational children’s storybooks and DVD’s that she had purchased second-hand!


Of course, some items were new purchases, but the environment was always the inspiration behind them. We received books about how to raise a ‘green’ baby, with helpful hints about healthy eating, safe cleaning products and more.


One day, I was surprised to find a large package that had been delivered to our door. It was from my best friend and his wife. They have recently had two sons and so this box was filled with many hand-me-down clothes. Ken’s wife Laura, is now a stay at home mom and she is building a business creating baby products using recycled fabrics. Many samples of her creations filled this box, as well.


Ken and I have a history of sharing music. One of his contributions to this package were a few music CD’s that he had organized, with songs ‘not just for kids’ by Johnny Cash, Jerry Garcia and John Grisham.


Even the students from my Peacebus have surprised me with fun gifts for our child. Jo’ had to put up an extra shelf (and yes – I did tell her that she should have left that task to me… but Joanne loves doing stuff like this) above the baby’s crib, to hold the toy dogs and blue bears, decorated with scarves filled with peace symbols.


So… I’m sending out a huge THANK YOU!! to everyone for their kindness, thoughtfulness and love! Joanne and I are full of appreciation!!!!


Now, I just have to get that wall mural finished…


… and there we go!


Here’s a shot of the whole wall so you can see the full image that our son will soon be enjoying.


Here’s mommy enjoying the mural. Now we just need our son to be born!


WHAT’S THIS?!!!!!!!!! Hmmmmm… something tells me that this is the beginning of another story…

Jim

Another Spirit Soon To Breathe

Way back in February I wrote a story that described the conflicts that had arisen in my mind concerning my employment, and the struggle that I went through to find peace in the lifestyle that I wanted to create with my wife Joanne.

http://bitsandpeaces08.blogspot.com/2011/02/stepping-back-to-move-forward.html

After many deep searches within my heart, I realized that I had to go back to being the driver of the Peacebus. My first day, back to work, just happened to be February 14th – Valentine’s Day – the day of love and peace!


The evening before I went back to my previous job, this beautiful sunset graced the skies and I knew that I had made the right decision.

My first day back with the Peacebus was a great one, filling me with many positive thoughts; about myself, the future of the world and my part in it! That evening, after dinner, Joanne and I were relaxing in our living room, before it was time for bed. Joanne leaned in close to give me a kiss and said, “I have a very small Valentine’s present that I’d like to give to you.” And then she told me that I was going to be a Daddy!!!

This day had changed the direction of my life in two ways! We were – and still are – very excited!!! Babies see the world as new and grand and great. They recreate for us all its possibilities and give us the inspiration to believe again.

We kept this news quiet for a few months, because – although it is painful to think about it – the fact remains that many pregnancies end up being miscarried. But, soon enough, Joanne gave me the ‘thumbs up’ to share this news with my friends.


I used Jo’s first ultrasound picture to create this image for my new profile picture on Facebook. It was great reading so many positive comments that were left for me, from people from around the world.

We’ve had a very busy year, so far, and I expect that it will continue to get busier and busier for the next seventeen years or so! LOL! Joanne has been spending her time reading all sorts of books on babies – to learn about things that can be expected during this time. My first job was to move all of art supplies, tables, computer, etc out of ‘the babies room’. My ‘art room’ is now cozily situated in the basement of our house.


Since Jo’ and I both believe in supporting a localized economy, most of the items we have purchased for our baby have been used. At first, we spent our time looking for items that we knew we would need no matter what sex our baby turned out to be: strollers, playpens, changing tables, cribs, etc.


Then we had another ultrasound and were delighted to learn that we were going to have a boy. It was time for me to change my profile picture again!


There are many wonderful used baby clothes stores throughout London and now that we knew our little munchkin was going to be a boy, we could start preparing early. A few weeks ago, one of the stores had a huge sale. Joanne spent most of her time selecting clothes. Most of the clothes are decorated with images of animals and fish and several items had ‘environmental’ messages written on them.


I headed straight for the toys department! When we got home, Guido helped me to inspect this big bag of oversized Lego blocks. He approved!


I got busy creating a peace of art inspired by my love for Joanne!


I also selected a few really cool books that Jo’ and I will be reading to our baby over the next few years. You can also see some of the small rocking toys that I selected, in the back of this photo.


Joanne asked me if I chose the books for our baby or for myself! Just look at this cool watercolour painting that I found inside one of these books.


Since musical creativity is an area where children excel in learning, I knew that I just had to buy this small drum. Joanne cringed!


It wasn’t until we got home, and I had a chance to check it out more closely, when I discovered that the drum was also filled with other musical toys, like this bee shaker…


… and this caterpillar tambourine. Joanne cringed again!


But wait! What’s this, way at the bottom…? Ah! A ladybug xylophone!!!! I started playing a little tune for Jo’!!

I looked up at Joanne and asked her why she didn’t seem as delighted as I was. “I can just imagine you, our son, and all the other babies in our neighbourhood having ‘jam’ sessions in our living room. I have a feeling that the two of you are going to drive me crazy!” We both laughed cuz we both knew that this would probably be the truth!!!

This will be a mostly ‘stay at home’ summer for us. We have a lot of work ahead of us, getting ready for the big day. Joanne just recently finished painting the baby’s room – after weekends of wallpaper striping, hole patching and priming. I’m just starting to prepare a design for a fun wall mural for this room and I imagine that will take me some time to complete that task.

We usually do quite a bit of camping, but Jo’ and I both agreed that sleeping on the damp ground will do her muscles no good at all, especially now that her back causes her a bit of discomfort.


So we’ve agreed that a few day trips to the beach will have to suffice, instead. Of course, Koly was in total agreement!


I think that Jo’ was thinking of the beach when she bought this rug for the baby’s room. I just love it! Buying used items does not mean that you have to buy poor quality. In fact, we are both discovering that we are able to purchase many top-end products for very reasonable prices. You just have to take your time selecting the items that you want until you find what you are looking for.

It really brings me a lot of joy to see Joanne so happy. She will be the best mom in the world!!! The first month or so, saw Jo’ experiencing a lot of fatigue, but lately she has been glowing! I can tell that she is enjoying being pregnant!! I just hope that she continues to feel this way when we hit the peak of summer’s heat in a few more weeks.


But that is still a ways off, so for now, we’ll continue saving our oceans from pollution by buying high quality used items, we’ll continue to grow and harvest organic vegetables in our gardens for next spring’s baby food, we’ll continue to enjoy day trips to the beach where mommy can relax so she can build a healthy baby and we’ll continue to enjoy trips to Toronto to see world famous Rock’N’Roll bands! Ummm… well, we’ll enjoy at least one trip into Toronto anyway… I think it may be a while before U2 comes to town again!

But that’s another story….

Jim