My Litte Brother And Sister

This was written by my cousin Shaylen about my little brother and sister. It had to be shared.

"

Life Is Beautiful, and Heartbreaking, and Amazing.

My Little Cousins Are Amazing.
And It Is Beautiful And Sad And Sometimes My Heart Could Explode.
And They Are Wise Beyond Their Years.
And They Are The Most Incredible Kids I Have Ever Known And Probably Will Ever Know.
And My Heart Swells With Love And Amazement And Joy and Sadness All At Once.
He Is Going To Be Such A Genius. His Sense Of Humour Is Dry and Hilarious And SO Developed For His Age.
She Is So Cute. And She Always Has Ideas, And She Is So Energetic And Giggly All The Time. Her Bedtime Prayers Break My Heart A Little More Inside Every Night I Hear Them.

I always forget how amazing these 2 little kids can be. But everytime I see them, I am reminded of the joys of life, and how unfair it is. I am reminded that my life is both better and not better than it seems, that I have so much to learn. They remind me to be grateful every day for what I have, because that is just their attitude. I went over there last night, feeling really crappy, and within 20 minutes I was laughing and feeling great. They just have a gift, and you can't NOT smile around them. Their happiness is contagious, their view of life intoxicating.

I love kids. Especially my amazing, beautiful, hearbreakingly great little cousins.

"

Spicy Song Of The Week

I am slowly going crazy. A year ago, I was lying on a beach in Goa, India. I had the best steak of my life that night. Now, I know...steak? In India? Well, for you geography buffs, Goa is a Christian province, so hey, let's kill some cows!

But now here we are, looking at the weather forecast and complaining. Midterms and bills and indecision. Let's all shed a tear for this grim place we call home. Calgary is gray and wet and cold. The social aspect to this city is dead, which isn't to say it was ever alive. If it was alive, I think it died when they got rid of Bonkers, with all those tubes and slides and nets and levels that we got to climb around in until --ouch! I got shocked!

So just remember, you could be living in a beachfront room for $6 a day, eating delicious food, riding scooters, and running a business that sells cheesy clothing to the locals.Or opening a Bonkers.

And believe me, you'd probably live longer without all the stress that we unnecessarily put on ourselves.

With that in mind, I bring you a song that perfectly describes my level of brain activity as we proceed through this monotonous week. It's vocabulary surpasses my own, and its themes are too deep for me to swim in -- I drown in this song. Drown with me.

Mannah Mannah

The Muppets

When my brother was 3 years old, I rediscovered this song. So I taught it to him: He'd say "mannah mannah" in a cute baby voice, and I'd say "do doo do doo doo". And he'd fall over laughing every time.

That's honestly one of the best moments in my life ever. What a great kid.

My Awesome Brother

Today I went home (where my parents live?) for dinner. I didn't realise how rarely I actually do this until I got there. Ishan really wanted me to play with him (pretty much the norm when I visit) and we were tired of playing hockey on playstation. So after dinner, I convinced him to sit down and play piano with me. At first he looked at me like I'm an idiot, "Josh, I don't know how to play piano!"

"I know, but we'll just make stuff up. Please?"

So I sat him beside me on the bench and we experimented. we found notes that sounded great together, and notes that sounded terrible. It was so fascinating to watch his little mind work, and it filled me with so much love and appreciation for Ishan and all his brilliance. He immediately recognized dissonant groups of notes and the more harmonious ones. within seconds of me explaining octaves, he understood and could find every C on the piano. he noticed the patterns of the white and black keys, and listened as he slowly brushed his hand from one end of the piano to the other. It really was a beautiful moment, as we both observed the simplicity of the sound as if for the first time. And then he was ready. I played the first six notes of Happy Birthday. "Let me try," he said. We then spent the next 45 minutes learning the whole song. He was eager to learn, and after he learned each of the four lines, he'd make everyone listen while he performed it. It was amazing to watch him struggle and get confused and almost make it all the way through only to mess up and demand to start over from the beginning. Shanaya and Jonalyn sang along. I just found it so beautiful to watch him learn and push himself. To actually watch knowledge and understanding form in a child's brain is pretty incredible. Especially when it happens so quickly. I think he really enjoyed playing too. He decided he wants to practice it so he can play it for me on my birthday. When he finally made it all the way through, we both smiled and high-fived. I'm super proud of that kid.

P.S. Playstation is pretty lame compared to moments like these.