22 - North Shore News — Wednesday, August 23, 2000

sBirthday Parties!
SqQo5

from only per person

including a pan sized pizza each, pop, 3 games
of laser tag and 1 hour in the party room.

Parties take approx 2 hours in total and yes, we do supply the
Dlates, forks, napkins & cups. We also have a fridge far your
Cake and ice cream

LASER DOME

ay UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT - LASER TAG
$141 West 16th Street, North Van Ph: 985-6033

“NATIVE JEWELLERY
WEDDING RINGS”

441 West 3rd Street,
North Vancouver

988-9215

Please come to our |

OPEN HOUSE

Saturday, August 26th, 1fam - 2pm,
at North Star

and see what Montessori
can do for your child.
cegpeeges .

North Star would like to thank the following additional sponsors #

to our ‘Evening of Stars’ Silent. Aucticn:

Antique Market * Boston Pizza * Capilane Suspension Bridge

@ Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden Society of Vancouver Fujiya Japanese Foods. B

Happy Planet Foods © The Kramer Family Larry's Sports
Mavericks Sports Grill « Pacific Space Centre » Par-T-Ferfect . .
Fage & Wilson Wholesaie Jewellers ¢ Reitman’s Capilano Mall

my

tion ~
| - New Principal
Appointed

announce the appointment of

_Mr. David North as its new prin-

“cipal. Mr. North brings 32 years

: of experience as an educator and

‘administrator with the Vancouver School Board and

=the Canadian Department of National Defense in

., Germany. He is described as an advocate for children,

supportive of staff and appreciative of parent involve-

. |. ment. Mr. North shares the vision of parents who wish

j .to provide a sound academic education for their chil-
dren within an environment of Christian values.

ACCEPTING REGISTRATIONS
FOR K-GRADE 7
_ FOR SEPTEMBER 2000

Tel: 984-8226

| SPEED Is
os : sensePa

Part of the Provincia! Road Safety Program.

living

LLL Goi nes Wi

I twisted my back the
other day, nothing par-
alyzing mind you, but
enough to remind me
that the rubber band
spinal flexibility of
youth has given way to
the oak bough rigidity
of middle age.

I have lots of good stories
to justify my aching joints,
football stories, skiing stories,
diving off cliff stories, but the
truth is, | think parenting has
done ray back in and the backs
of alot of my friends who are
also parents.

Ir all begins before we have
children. Okay, fet’s admit it,
women have ita lot worse in
those nine months before giv-
ing birth chan men do. [can’t
imagine walking around all
day with a 10-15 pound medi-
cine bail strapped to my waist,
much less trying to sleep with
it there at night. So I begin by
taking my hat off to all the
ladies who have given up any
semblance of long-term pain-
free backs by having children.
There are no guy stories to
compare here.

Having said that, it doesn’t
mean we, of the less pain- tol-
erant gender, don’t have our
own risks, Let’s start with the
renovations we have to do for
the new baby’s room, the
200-pound crib we have to
carry up the stairs and assem-
ble (without the manual of
course), and the 200- pound
crib we have to carry down

Parental
Guidance

the stairs and back to the store
to pay the $25 assembly fee
the next day. Then there’s the
niany contortions we get into
trving to help our wives avoid
strain. We awkwardly rush to
grab things we never worried
about before pregnancy, in the
car, at the table, over the desk,
each one with the potential to
twist something in a strange,
but gallant direction.

With birth, comes the risk
of throwing something out
with too much chest thump-
ing, followed by midnight to
two in the morning walks with
our own medicine ball fussing
in our arms. Unaccustomed as
we are to full deep bends
without a warm-up, we reach
down to pick up junior from
the floor, only to feel that gen-

~ de twinge that comes just 24

hours before the full-blown
paralysis sets in. And of course,
we go to work with a bad
back because what “man” can
call in sick because he hurt
himself picking up his 10-
pound baby?

With toddlers, we lack the
essential hip structure that so
many moms have built in, and
on which they seem to effort-

lessly balance their litte ones.
We keep them perched on our
shoulders, riding our backs, or
hanging upside down from
our outstretched arms. Every
ounce in their body is shifting
us sideways and as our back
muscles tense to counteract
the force, BINGO, a hot iron
drives down our spine.

Zhose long walks with
junior clinging to your pinky,
resulting in the necessity of
walking slightly hunched to
one side, have the same long-
term effect of tilting the back-

bone in an awkward way. How

about teaching them to walk
(bent over), skate (bent over
and falling on your tailbone),
ski (bent over and falling at
high speed) and ride bikes
(keep weight balanced that is
completely off-center to our
own centre of balance)?
There’s very litle we do with
our small children that doesn’t
put some strain on our backs,
and I'm not even counting

‘picking up after them or

inevitably stepping on the
errant skateboard outside the
back door!

Then, just as they get old
enough that we don’t have to
bend over to help them with
everything, they want to wres-
de, and the PE. teacher has
taught them a few nifty-keen
moves like the spinal twist
takedown to surprise old dad
with. With egos at risk, we
continue to pin them on sheer
belly-power alone, only to
retreat to our rooms secking
heating pads and liniment oil.

th parenting

At last, our children grow
and prepare to leave us. We've
grown foo old, too bent over
to entertain them anymore.
and so they move offinto the
big worid. Well actually, they
ask us to help them move their
furniture, and inflict upon us,
the final assault on our already
weakened spinal columns. We
wave goodbye, limp into the
house, and prepare for a long
and peaceful recovery.

A week later, with a rested
back but a heavier heart, we
hunch over the phone to
speak to them and lift heavy
boxes as we clean out the.
garage to find the old photo
albums to pore over. It is then
that we discover that the dull
pain of parental backache is
not so much an annoyance as
it is a badge of parental
courage.

—— Graham Hookey is ste
author of Parenting Is A Team
Sport. He can te reached at
Shookey@yahoo.com.

WEDNESDAYS .
Drop-in Summer
Storytime: A half-hour. of
stories, songs, fingerplays and.
puppetry for the whole family.
Wednesdays. and Fridays at:
10:30 . a.m., ;
Memorial ‘Library. Info: 925-..
7408. 2

Drop-in oo Toddlers a

Storytime: For ages 2 to 3 at’ ar

the North Van" City. Library.

Wednesday at 10am. or 112":

am: For -more_ information, *.
please call 998-3480. ay :

THURSDAYS |.”
Drop-in Babes. Storytime:
For newborns to. 24 months
at the North Van City Library.’
Thursday. at 10:30.a.m. Info:
980-4424, a ES o

|... SATURDAYS ....
Saturday... Storytime “and
Craft: For 4 to 8 years, ‘10:
a.m.~at- North - Van‘: City
Library. Pre-register. for
September: 980-4424. :

ONGOING
Rh of the World: A. .
multi-cultural ° adventure © in:
which . children can ‘explore
different . types. of play: from
faraway places through music,
games and toys: Cost is $5 for:
a two-hour session. By pre--

. gegistration only: 987-5618...
. ‘Maplewood Farm:. Open’

Tuesday to Sunday from 10°

-- a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit “goat hill”:

and the “rabbitat” then watch -

, the ‘cow-milking » demonstra---

tion every: day at 1:15 p.m

Fo: more info call 929-5610.

‘<

See more following page »

West. Van .°"