Summer 2016 - SHAD

Off to SHAD

Jordan is all packed and ready for SHAD. What an experience he is going to have.  He has connected with many of the other UNB SHAD participants on social media and they are a talented bunch of kids for sure.  This will be a great opportunity for him to learn and network. I will miss him - a whole month away!
Cam is working at a venture capital company this summer.  He seems to be enjoying the work so far, and getting involved in lots of different aspects of the small company.  A good experience I guess - even if he isn't getting paid!
I'm off to a Leadership Institute for the next 4 days - should be educational, hope to meet nice people and learn a lot.
After that - some vacation time!

El Chagüe

March 2014. A group of 19 students, my colleague Cris and our world challenge leaders Zack and Jake arrived at the tiny school of El Chagüe, Leon, Nicaragua. We arrived to a line-up of excited little children all dressed in crisp white shirts and navy skirts or pants, holding a welcome sign. We sat and listened to a small concert and then drank a sweet, white, milky corn drink and had a sweet bread. The students began to play with the children, games of soccer, baseball and 'rugby'. The school is small, 5 classroom and about 100 students.

Two of the classroom were painted in December by another service project. Our plan is to use some of the money we raised to put doors on the long drop toilets and to paint the remaining classrooms. We set to work scraping the first classroom once the children leave at 12:00.

At 4 some children come to collect us to eat dinner at two of the homes in the community. We walk about 1km to a family home and help to make tortillas on their fire before eating a lovely dinner of rice, beans, carrots, cucumber, plantains and fried cheese. A chicken steals my tortilla off my plate, twice! There are children, chickens and dogs running around everywhere. They have an interesting hand well to get water.

We slept in the classroom, a little dusty but not too uncomfortable, and cooked meals on the camp stoves.

We spend the next two days scraping, painting and building garden beds, eating at family homes in the evening. The third home had a couple of teenagers that speak English and a soccer game broke out after dinner with the older children.

Some of the boys found a board and painted it and turned it into a sign for the school. We hung the sign and when the teachers came to school on Monday morning, they were delighted!

We left the school bright and clean, with gardens ready for the niño's to plant and doors to provide privacy in the toilets. The students feel satisfied that they have made a difference.

 

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Things I miss while Cameron is away at university.

It goes without saying that I miss Cam very much while he is away and think about him every day. I wonder what he is doing, how his classes are going, who he is friends with, if he is happy or sad that day, if he is warm enough, is eating fruits and vegetables, is being sensible, is managing to work out, and a million other things. Today he is home and I am thinking about all the things I miss when he is not home.

I miss his tall, strong hugs.

I miss hearing "what's for lunch?" ... at any time of the day!

I miss hearing "what's for supper?" ... half an hour after we have eaten supper!

I miss the sounds of Arsenal on the TV.

I miss his noisy, messy presence immediately felt throughout the house when he is here.

I miss watching him rough housing with Jordan.

I miss him chatting to me about important, and unimportant goings on in his life, and the lives of his friends.

I miss his shoes all over the front hallway.

I miss watching him play with Inja.

I miss all his friends coming over, a basement full of teenagers and making breakfast for hungry youngsters.

I miss watching him play soccer and hockey.

I miss peeking into his room in the late morning and seeing him still sleeping.

I miss shopping with him.

I miss hearing "Mom, I'm starrrrving!"

I miss seeing him all sweaty and happy after scoring a goal.

I miss him tickling my feet while watching TV.

I miss all these things and hundreds more. I feel very blessed to have two wonderful sons, and to have Cameron wanting to come home to be with us. I am very happy that he is an independent young man and is capable of living away from home, but I confess to love having him here, making the family feel complete. I will continue to resist the urge to call him everyday, and to be happy with a Facebook chat or text regularly and relish our weekly phone calls!

 

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Happy New Year

We ended 2013 and began 2014 much the way we did a year ago - at Killington with the family (except last year Mom and Dad were with us and this year we had Aidan join us for Xmas). With Cameron graduating from high school and starting university this year 2013 was a year with lots of firsts for the family. It was also a year with lots to be thankful for and many happy memories created by both Cam and Jordan.

 

Although it is a few days into the new year, with back to school today and tomorrow it unofficially starts now. What are my hopes, resolutions and wishes for the coming year? This time next year I hope to be reflecting on another successful year for us all, one filled with travel, laughter, friends and family. My aim this year is to judge less, eat less, move more and try something new. Last year I tried rock climbing - and learned that I don't like heights that much. Cam and I did a 'mud run' together - that was a lot of fun. I hope for more of these new experiences this year.

Here's to a good second semester for Cam, and second reporting period for Jordan.

 

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New school year

I go back to work tomorrow - this will be my second full year at HTS. Jordan starts high school - grade 9 in two weeks and Cameron starts university at Western in one week! It will be a year full of new experiences for the family.

We have had a lovely summer.

• Two weeks in Italy for Jordan and I where I learned so many things about the young man my baby has become.
• A week in California, again for Jordan and I catching up with old friends Kate and Leigh-Ann. Lots of laughs, walks, talking about our errant teenagers and good food.
• Lots of afternoons spent on the new deck and pool with our new garden as a backdrop.
• Lots of books: I have read my way through 6 Lisa Gardner novels and a few other books as well.
• Walks with friends, my Monday walks and talks with Lee.
• Cameron working as a camp counsellor for the YMCA and discovering an affinity for the little campers 4 and 5 years old. He has really enjoyed his job this summer.
• Cameron's various misdemeanours at the start of summer have thankfully (touch wood) settled down to a peaceful summer of making memories with the friends that are splitting up and going to different universities this week.
• Back to school shopping for Cam's dorm room. Needs, wants and would loves!
• Jordan learning how to navigate the Toronto transit system and learning lots of survival skills at a U of T camp.
• Wonderland - riding the coasters with Jordan.
• Two weeks of Onondaga camp for Jordan where he met an Italian girl! He grew taller, leaner and more confident as he always does at camp.
• Mike has worked all summer with no real breaks - not good, hope to get him away sometime soon.
• Mike and Cam drove up to Windy Lake for a quick cottage weekend with Jim and Rita.

And that was the summer! Now for an exciting and hopefully successful school year for us all.

 

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Whistler!

After wanting to ski at Whistler, BC for many years finally we just leapt in and booked for the family day long weekend. We have always thought it too far for just a few days - it is a five hour flight followed by a two hour drive. We arrived yesterday in time for an afternoon on the mountain (this is not a ski hill!). The conditions were perfect, about 4 degrees and lots of groomed snow.

 

We are staying at Stoney Creek Lagoons, a nice two bedroom condo but it is quiet a walk to the lifts - especially in ski boots!

 

Our drive on the sea to sky highway was gorgeous, I really could live in Vancouver. The off the grid, vegan environmentalist out doors lifestyle is really cool!

 

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Piazza Farnese

Sunday morning in Piazza Farnese:

Two cyclists pass through.

The two Italian soldiers are standing in the shade of the building while guarding the French embassy.

A woman stands at one of the two fountains sketching the fountain in her sketchbook, pencils in her pocket.

Two garbage trucks stop so the drivers can have a chat.

A man wanders in and buys the newspaper.

A man pauses and then walks into the church for the 7:30 mass.

The sounds of the sisters of St. Brigida are singing.

A woman buys the paper then sits on the bench outside the Palace Farnese (embassy now) and reads and smokes a cigarette.

Seagulls fly overhead.

A group of children kick a ball around in the corner, avoiding the odd car and taxi.