"Guest Blogger"

Thank goodness! I'm bagged....again!

Before I hand it off though I just need to say a great big thanks to Gail and Doug.  It's your fault I had a tummy ache all afternoon!  I think it was from the 17 chocolate covered strawberries!!  Seriously guys....thank so much for thinking of us.  The "edible" bouquet was fantastic!

Ok....here you go with my guest.




Today was a splendid day.

I came down earlier this week, and again yesterday evening to be with my parents, and it’s been really great to be around the family.

This morning, I went with my parents to pick up Kylie from her week at camp, where you get to ride horses and do other fun things. She was assigned her very own horse for the week, named Sundown (who she requested). Once we got there around 11:00 to pick her up from the camp, the kids were just coming in from their last ride with the horses. It was really something to be able to see Kylie skillfully ride, and then dismount and tie up her horse. She clearly had a wonderful week, and spent a good amount of time saying good bye to all of her friends and camp counsellors.

Later in the afternoon, we then got to go pick up Colby from his two week camp. He was smiling and happy when we saw him, and he also clearly had a great time at camp. It’s really gratifying to see this for both Colby and Kylie.

I’m glad that they’re back. Colby’s reaction to learning about the fire, and the losses, was measured. He asked lots of questions, the inquisitive boy that he is, and then was quickly making jokes and having a really good sense of humour about it all. I love that about him. He’s an immensely smart and curious kid, and his natural curiosity and intuition about the world will take him to great places in life.

Likewise, Kylie has a strong sense of confidence as well as empathy. I saw this in the way she skilfully rode and directed her horse Sundown at camp, while also being nurturing and caring to him. After getting home from camp, she noticed a Chipmunk in the pool, and literally saved his life. She got him out of the pool, dried him off with a towel, and again empathetically nurtured him and watched over him until it was clear he was going to be alright and eventually scampered away on his own. There was a moment when we weren’t sure if he was going to be okay, because he was quite still at first, but she never gave up on him.

All in a all, a lovely day, and I’m so grateful for my family!

Love,
Michael