Now that we have finally come into some hot weather in Ontario, what do we do with the girls? So far not much but we have things planned coming up. The girls have had a couple sleepovers with a friend and trips to the mall with friends. Great time killer and air conditioned to boot as long as they have the money to keep occupied. We have a theatre show coming up which my wife is super excited for and I was able to get boxed seats at a rock bottom price for all 4 of us in the booth. I have heard many great things about Come From Away and am looking forward to seeing it.
The girls are involved in lawn bowling which I am not sure I have mentioned previously. They competed in the Ontario Provincial Tournament but didn't make the quarter finals. Both are actually on the cusp of competing in the finals because the games they did lose in the tournament were very close. The top 3 girls in the province are in their last year so it is wide open for next year of who could be the gold medalist and represent Ontario in the Youth Canadian Championship. This sport is a very unknown and small community that most people are unaware of. The Oshawa Lawn Bowling Club, that the girls bowl out of, has the brightest future out of many youth programs with about 20 kids in their program. I am hopeful that other cities can get their youth program numbers up and continue to compete in the future.
My wife and I also lawn bowl and it is a lot harder than people think. The bowls that we use have a weight in the bowl on one side and are oval and not round like a bocce ball. Most people say to us "oh like bocce" which requires us to respond yes but mostly no. Most cities have a lawn bowling program which has many seniors but very few youth or young people. It's actually a very competitive sport and a lot of money to be won by playing in multiple tournaments.
Some tragic news on a side note. A friend and brother(Freemason) was involved in a car accident last week and unfortunately died as a result of his injuries. I'm unclear of the details and probably don't really need them. He was our Master of the lodge and really was a great and kind soul. He supported me and praised me when I came to do work on practice nights. When I came after only 3 months and was ready to be moved to my next degree, he was so happy for me and that I was progressing so well. I am sad he won't be around to see my next degree and become raised to master mason but know he is in the grand lodge in the sky. Maybe I will see if I can pay tribute to him in some way when I do get raised. We had a masonic funeral for him on Tuesday which was an incredible sight. There was over 100 masons from all over the district and beyond. He was a well respected man and it showed by the turnout that he had. It was a beautiful and meaningful ceremony for masons which showed his family and friend how much we loved and respected James Masson. I still don't feel like I have closure because it was a closed casket but also since he was so young.
Rest in Peace Brother...
P.
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Getting back to Blogging
I had forgot about all the blogging until recently. Very busy and not a lot of spare time to write and put my thoughts into words. Things have changed quite a bit since I started and began writing on the blog. The kids are now 14 and almost 13 which scares the shit out of me. I can't believe how quickly they grow up and become their own person. Still moldable but you really have to establish a good foundation for your kids before they get independant.
My wife and I are both very active in our unions respectively. We are Unit Vice Presidents of two different local unions which eats up some of our spare time but has given an amazing opportunity for our girls to have an open view of the world. Very inclusive, smart and up to date with current events. I have to admit that we are very proud that they are not afraid to stand up for their friends or others who are being bullied or picked on. We recently had a conversation about the issues in our home province in Canada. Living about 40 minutes outside of Toronto, we have been under Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservative majority government for a year now. DoFo has done nothing but cut and back track on various issues. Cuts to autism funding, school funding, health care funding, etc. My oldest daughter is in grade 9 and took part in a walkout across Ontario to protest the funding cuts to education. I asked her why she walked out and understood what the purpose of the walkout was for. She was up on the issues and told me plain as day she was opposed to the changes purposed by the provincial government because it would not only affect her last year or two of education but also her younger sister who will be in high school in the next year and a bit.
Being that the girls are older and me not wanting to deal with the "woman" issues they sometimes are dealing with, I do make myself available for anything they need but joke with them that "I don't want to know!" I had "the talk" about 3 years ago now but felt in was my job to make sure they were informed properly and not by a stranger in school. My job as a parent is to prepare my kids for life and make sure I give them the best tools to navigate their lives once they embark out into post secondary school.
The girls never really got into any sports I was involved with as a kid. I played hockey and baseball but they have taken a different path which is great because it has opened our eyes as parents to new things as we get older. 5 pin alley bowling is their first sport that they really excelled at, growing and improving every year. The second sport which most people look at me with a surprised look is lawn bowling. They have a great junior program close to us and it has allowed the girls to compete at a very competitive level in a short period of time thanks to alley bowling. Both sports that the girls compete in has allowed them to be good enough to compete at the provincial levels and are very close in skill to moving to nationals. With the kids playing and us watching from a distance, we decided to follow their footsteps and take up both sports as well. Funny because instead of them following us in our sports we love, we followed them and now compete as a family in both sports. In 5 pin bowling we have competed against each other in tournaments at a adult level and also in our league on the weekend that my wife and I are president and secretary. In lawn bowling, the girls and myself won a tournament last summer which is a first for us but was an amazing experience to be able to be competitive against adults as a father and daughters team.
For now I will stop with the post because I have to go to work and give my fingers a rest. I have lots more to type but my time is booked for the rest of today with work and lawn bowling tonight with a possibility to go to the gym if I have time.
For now I will pause here and pickup soon.....not 3 years later!
I promise.
P.
My wife and I are both very active in our unions respectively. We are Unit Vice Presidents of two different local unions which eats up some of our spare time but has given an amazing opportunity for our girls to have an open view of the world. Very inclusive, smart and up to date with current events. I have to admit that we are very proud that they are not afraid to stand up for their friends or others who are being bullied or picked on. We recently had a conversation about the issues in our home province in Canada. Living about 40 minutes outside of Toronto, we have been under Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservative majority government for a year now. DoFo has done nothing but cut and back track on various issues. Cuts to autism funding, school funding, health care funding, etc. My oldest daughter is in grade 9 and took part in a walkout across Ontario to protest the funding cuts to education. I asked her why she walked out and understood what the purpose of the walkout was for. She was up on the issues and told me plain as day she was opposed to the changes purposed by the provincial government because it would not only affect her last year or two of education but also her younger sister who will be in high school in the next year and a bit.
Being that the girls are older and me not wanting to deal with the "woman" issues they sometimes are dealing with, I do make myself available for anything they need but joke with them that "I don't want to know!" I had "the talk" about 3 years ago now but felt in was my job to make sure they were informed properly and not by a stranger in school. My job as a parent is to prepare my kids for life and make sure I give them the best tools to navigate their lives once they embark out into post secondary school.
The girls never really got into any sports I was involved with as a kid. I played hockey and baseball but they have taken a different path which is great because it has opened our eyes as parents to new things as we get older. 5 pin alley bowling is their first sport that they really excelled at, growing and improving every year. The second sport which most people look at me with a surprised look is lawn bowling. They have a great junior program close to us and it has allowed the girls to compete at a very competitive level in a short period of time thanks to alley bowling. Both sports that the girls compete in has allowed them to be good enough to compete at the provincial levels and are very close in skill to moving to nationals. With the kids playing and us watching from a distance, we decided to follow their footsteps and take up both sports as well. Funny because instead of them following us in our sports we love, we followed them and now compete as a family in both sports. In 5 pin bowling we have competed against each other in tournaments at a adult level and also in our league on the weekend that my wife and I are president and secretary. In lawn bowling, the girls and myself won a tournament last summer which is a first for us but was an amazing experience to be able to be competitive against adults as a father and daughters team.
For now I will stop with the post because I have to go to work and give my fingers a rest. I have lots more to type but my time is booked for the rest of today with work and lawn bowling tonight with a possibility to go to the gym if I have time.
For now I will pause here and pickup soon.....not 3 years later!
I promise.
P.
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