My Daughter's Birthday

This blog was still a draft (from 2015) as I did my Christmas blog yesterday and I began a clean-up. So today I will finished it because in a month time it is my daughter's birthday; and after 9 years in computer never-never land it is time to be published. Also next month we will gather as a small family gathering in Ste Jerome (20 minutes North of Montreal). These small reunions may even bring together the kids with their grand kids,  so we appreciate the opportunity as long as health allows. Also it is nice to tell this story of her birth and show the bond which exist with her mother. And ofcourse myself. (as I told my granddaughter, no one know who the author is or the people' life)

So the draft of this blog written in February 2015 (below) even now company in 2024 are repairing customer dis-satification of Facebook and charging for it..

2015 BLOG wasL

If I was to explain to you that my lifetime career and  employments  were with computers; ( computer room supervisor and later analyst) you may be surprised with this blog. As I  indicates clearly that I know nothing about the new computer technology. Of course for the last 6 or 7 years I have been using my retirement as President of a non-profit organization helping the poor and homeless.

As this blogs states, today is my daughter's birthday and I attempted to send her a gif, (a graphics image), with a small birthday message on her Facebook. First mistake was ofcourse with social media webpages like FaceBook which offers a service but is more involved with advertising and collection of data of it user.

 The next problem was if I found a gif and wanted to share it; it would be send  to my Facebook page but if I attempted to change anything I no longer was able to connect to the gift gif website.

When I was living in Quebec and learning French my daughters spend a lot of hours of effort helping me to speak a good French. Their efforts were necessary because I was raised in the Maritines where there is a lot of Salt Air and of course a lot of swimming in the sea. I was to later discover that my inner ears were damaged by the Salt Air or salt water swimming. 

When I was tested by the federal government, many years later about my difficulty in learning French  it was discovered that I was "Tone Deaf".  Due to this tone deaf, I discovered that  I could not distinguish the sound between certain  the French word. For examper the french word for "farm" and the French word for "woman" sound a bit similar and I could not hear the sound so could not reproduce it. So in the comment on her birthday wish, which I sent to her on Facebook; I said maybe I should sit down with her and learn about Facebook and how to use it.

Always a curve in the road of life

  My first big learning was that although Facebook is free their transmission of ads based on information they collected from our use of Facebook is their principle way of making money. A few ads would not be annoying with a free website, but when I post to Facebook on my tablet or iPhone and a few seconds after posting, I discover my post is gone to be only be replaced by ads, it is extremely annoying. (No wonder I'm not using Facebook that much anymore).

At 73 I believe that I am using a computer, my tablet and the  rather older style "iPhone" as well as anyone. I understand that using a computer to view Facebook does have more advantages then trying a Facebook app on a tablet or an iPhone. I understand that because of the size of the tablet or iPhone certain options will have been omitted. And certainly I did not think that the ads would be any left. I knew that  using a tablet or iPhone instead of a computer meant a difficulty reading on a smaller device.

Since it is my daughter's birthday I'm  doing  this blog to  maybe document her birth, as several family members follow this. Her mother waited with patience as she was a bit later than the announced arrival date. When it started, we drove to the hospital and into proper care without any  Emergency  interruptions. however once she was into a bed and induced labor induced by means of an IV the whole story of my daughter's birth started.

With doctor and nurse helping her and using a heart monitoring machine, we were listening to the baby heart. The doctor said that something was wrong as we became aware thateach effort to induce labor seem to stop the baby's heart. When I realized what was happening as the doctor explained why the heartbeat was stopping; I became extremely sick to my stomach and had to be walked by the nurse to the bathroom of the room. Left there,as the nurse returned to help the delivery, I was attempted to settle my stomach but the sound of my vomiting brought the nurse back. The nurse and Doctor should have been concerned and helping my wife with the delivery,but instead the nurse was spending a lot of the time with me.

Well it happened the doctor decided that they would rush my wife off to the operating room and do a cesarean. As I waited and worried, in the hall outside the operating theatre; I began to feel a bit better and within what seemed  a few minutes the nurse came back with my daughter. There had been no cleanup; as our baby was taken from her mother and brought directly to me. As I look down at the blood covered my daughter; I was lost in my gaze and  reactions, standing speachless

, However, as the nurse wiping some blood from the face and forehead so I could give her a kiss to the forehead; reality appeared. Every father should certainly experience this joy.  I know it isn't the bonding that a mother mother has with her child but it was an incident which I will always remember and which laid the foundation of father and daughter love.

 Both my daughters are wonderful ladies, girls and I am very proud of them. As I always work nights and often that  shift ending to arrive home prior to the midnight feeding. ( both girls), I may have bonded as a father more than most.

The raison this blog is about Facebook is that as I attempted to send a birthday greeting to my daughter  I commented on how when she was five or six she and her sister, both help me with my French. And, now I returning to my previous teacher with a suggestion that I should make a visit to learn about Facebook.  Always appreciating how my daughters, even before their school started where helping me. For that raison I expected that they would follow in their grandmother's step. My wife's mother and sister were both teachers.

Christmas Day Visit 2023

 

Today is Christmas day 2023 and it is 7:30 PM as I am waking up from my day of sleep. I was very happy to have a visit this afternoon  from my oldest granddaughter. Although she was tired and in a hurry to get home from work, she made my Christmas day joyful, and stayed at least two hours. She was a good listener as this years Christmas gift to myself was new dentures and "You look different" was her first comment. I am sure I also sounded different.

We talked about God and about native spiritual ideas which has been a major part of my 80 years. She took time to do my long hair into a Braid, as a Elder would greet a new student. As a baby, I was often her daycare gardien as it was before the present DayCare structure.

My blog writing, usually about my sports; is not hard these days as I usually dictating it on my iPhone and sending it to my computer where my blogs are build. Often, as grandparents we realize our missed opportunities as we should have educated our girls in religion. But it seemed society has also educated them in it"s new moral culture. Today neither of my girls are married but both have grandchildren and live good and honest lives. They have grandkids  to baby sit as their children often request of them. My youngest daughter  seems to be always babysitting her grandkids somewhere at the 4 different homesteads around Montreal. She is a life-line with her free time and all the DayCare strikes.

 

 In my study of the Native Spiritualism, I have always tried to do  my daily "Greeting of the day" and my "Hair is still a Traditional cut".  The Natives that still "Greet the day" are usually following a type of spirital structure of the Native based on "Seven Arrows Beliefs". ( as 7 directions of N,S,E,W,up,down, inward) working toward a triple harmony. (Self, Others, Our small world)  

During our  Christmas day visit discussion, I introduce my granddaughter about another God, the spirituality of the natives and the value of being a good person. In the "Greeting",  I introduced her to the three harmonies of life. To be in harmony with yourself whether it’s to be crying because you did something badly or something really hard like a broken heart..

It is hard to be in harmony with yourself and that is the help that your "life companion" is suppose to give you. I am lucky that my emotions are usually kept in check.. Yes, I can be sad and unhappy but I believe as I have for many years; That my sadness in the absence of happiness should not be something that others bear. So I see life as good and bad times and I wait with patience for these bad time to pass and good times to return.

No-one likes to reveal their feelings and emotions it is like being nude. We are not good at showing off ourselves or who we are. I say this, because in a relationship or marriage, you must allow your partner to share those moments which are not pleasant and sometime they can not help.  But of course you must respect their decision to not help. For they may not know how. It may be something that is in a relationship that needs development. It is what LOVE is all about. "Let Others View our Emotions. (LOVE)

JJT for Marie.