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.
