Tag Archive for: Matthew

Eighteen

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My youngest son turned eighteen on the weekend. Along with my oldest son, we took a road trip up to Ottawa to celebrate the event including a Senators hockey game at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Roughly 40 minutes into the game, two representatives from Bell came up to us with a gift bag for Matthew. It included a handwritten card:

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There was also a Senators shirt and a few other souvenirs in the gift bag. My wife had called the Canadian Tire Centre to see about getting a birthday greeting for Matthew on the main scoreboard but we were too late. However someone decided to take some time to make a memory for my son. The envelope was personalized and the representatives were both very sincere and genuine in their birthday wishes.

We stayed overnight in Ottawa and made our way back to Kingston on the Sunday. The drive was particularly challenging due to freezing drizzle. I had no idea that we could get freezing drizzle when the ambient wind chill was closer to -30 degrees Celsius. But freezing drizzle it was. It completely overwhelmed the front defroster and I could only see through a very small opening in the front windshield. We did stop once to chip away at all of the ice but it came back almost immediately once we started driving.

Regardless of the weather, we had a wonderful time and a great memory for Matthew’s 18th birthday.

Black Stripe Belt

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Or perhaps a red belt with a black stripe? Regardless, a major milestone for my youngest son. He has been training diligently for the past three and a half years and now he starts on his preparation for a black belt.

A red belt in his karate school signifies a student who is starting their year’s study to become a black belt. It takes 1 year from earning the red belt to be eligible to test for the black belt.

The ability to see a long-term objective and to work for a long-term objective is a rare talent. I am really proud of him.

Here is a photo of him waiting to be awarded his red belt.

Red Belt

Winter Wonderland

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This post is for members of our family down in Florida. I am not bitter. This post is for all my friends in sunny and mild climates. I am not bitter. This post is for all those folks who visit the blog and wonder what life is like in Canada during Spring Break. I am not bitter.

Oh. The photo of my house down below? Yes, those snow banks are as high as the garage doors.

Winter 1

And since there is so much snow, we use machines to get around the streets. These machines are called snowmobiles.

Winter 2

And finally, in case you think that a major snowstorm every week isn’t fun, look at my youngest son. That is why I am not bitter. Cold, mind you. But not bitter.

Winter 3