Well, we rang in the New Year in grand style. Fell asleep before midnight and woke up with a headache without having consumed any alcohol at all. The plan was to share some New Years mimosas but alas, no. I'm ok with that, aside from the headache that is. New Years has become a little more about reflection than an excuse to party as i've gotten older. I can't say that i have had any dramatic revelations over the past year, but i have a couple thoughts about what has happened and where i'm headed, so if you care to indulge me, here goes.
I might have turned into my dad because i can say to my kids, "when i was your age, it was way colder and the snow was so deep that...." you know the line. Last winter was that winter. cold as hell and deep deep snow. While i am grateful for the easy time of it we are having this winter, last winter reminded me of when i was a kid. As miserable as it was, i'm glad i got to experience it with my boys. It will sort of be that reference point from here on in. Remember the winter of 2011? it was so cold, and the snow!.......
Over the summer, we took what may well possible the last long road trip holiday vacation that we will take as parents with children. Only our youngest was with us, the older boys, stayed home with summer jobs. It really hit home when we stayed at Rampart Creek campground near Jasper. There is a rock formation on top of the mountain when you look across the creek from within the campground. It looks like a truck. One of the older boys, Kyle i think, named it truck top mountain.I showed it to Wyatt, i had a tear in my eye........ but no one saw.
There will be other vacations together, but i think the ones where we travel, day to day, looking for a sight as the evening approaches might be behind us.
After, an adventure, that turned out to be way more intensive than i had hoped, i finally completed the bus driver training and got the S endorsement on my licence. I'm good to drive bus anywhere in the province. Originally, i had just planned to take the basketball teams that my kids were on to tournaments but i've also done a few field trips. This fall, i took Wyatt's grade to Jasper to hike up a mountain and, i took a couple trips that had classes that my kids were not in. Went to the Arden Theatre in St. Albert and saw Peter Pan, and saw The Velveteen Rabbit at the Capital Theatre right in Fort Edmonton Park. It was a lot of fun, i enjoy the kids.
Before Christmas, my oldest son Joey, helped to organise an alumni basketball game at the school. The proceeds went to help a girl from the school with cancer. I was pretty proud of him for that. Plus the fact that after following High School basketball for the last 7 years, i finally got to see two of my boys play against each other. It was fun to cheer for both teams.
Now, this blog of mine. I have alot to learn yet. I hope you bear with me and that i can continue to be interesting enough that you want to stick around. I'm hoping to make it a little more about who i am than my facebook rants used to be. I hope i can still make you smile, i still think the same, i'm just trying to mix in some more about me.
I am sure the New Year will be exciting. Thank you to all my friends who followed me here. Thanks to new friends i've made recently.You all help me to be a happy fellow, Hope i can return the favour.
I've informed my daughters that regardless of how old they get they will be required to go on a vacation or camp out with me every year. It's in their contract.
ReplyDeleteThe younger one says, "okay. If it's in the contract, that's fine."
The older one gives me that look (you know the kind) and says, "I don't remember signing a contract. May I review it?"
I expect that we will do things together like that still. It's just the travel every day road trips that we probably won't do together any more.
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