It’s the age old question. Where did the time go? Last I was here, it was mid-February and I was in a good rhythm with blogging and things were cruising towards summer. Then all of a sudden, my life ran into the time vortex that we all desperately try and avoid. It ran into spring/summer.
Most of us are busier than usual in the summertime. You emerge from the activity slumber of the Alberta winter and you hit the ground running. Spring gardening, patio furniture organizing, trailer set up, and maybe the odd BBQ with friends. All of that plus more filled my last 6 months:
- We found time to fit a wedding in! Ours!
It was in the works for the past year but the date kept sneaking up on us. At Christmas-time, we discussed a spring wedding. By March, we had decided that June made sense as it fit into a soft spot in our crazy spring schedule. By May, we were putting plans together for a June wedding and had rented a great facility. The toughest part of the planing was the discussion that we only had room for 50 people at the Glenmore Sailing Club, making it impossible to invite all of our friends and family. It became clear that we would be able to invite only our immediate family and a few of our closest friends. We proceeded to scramble together a spectacular venue with some great guests and enough food and entertainment to have a great day. Before you could blink, June 17 was upon us.
I’m proud to say that we really didn’t have to panic much going into that day. Dinner, drinks, dancing was in place and as the weather turned into a beautiful afternoon, it was time to get hitched. I had not seen Mary’s dress until that day and she looked amazing. The dress was perfect for her and we had decided that we would meet together at the club prior to everyone getting there and have a glass of prosecco. We planned to greet all of the guests with wine and appreciation for making the day special for us. The party was on.
Our boys looked great in suits and dress clothes. We made sure that they were an active part of the ceremony, after all, that is supposed to be one of the big benefits of a second marriage. The sun at 6:30pm was spectacular and we stood with our friends and family and had a beautiful moment that will carry us forever. Mary did a great job reading her vows to me and I tried to add a bit of humour to the moment. I will always remember her laughing out loud at my stupid jokes and the smile on her face! I love her with all I have and wanted her to know it. It could not have been a better ceremony in our eyes. The rest of the night was a majestic sunset wrapped around a hell of a party. The loving and comedic moments that went on into the night, will be captured forever in our hearts and we are truly grateful for everyone who could be there and those who were there in thoughts only.
I am so lucky to have a wife who loves me as much as I love her. I look so forward to the journey that life will take us on.
2. I survived another year of coaching club basketball.
The joy of my spring season has been coaching my boys in club basketball. I have enjoyed this for the past 10 seasons and with this year, it was the completion of Nic’s experience. The emotional highs and lows of the game taught me so much during my youth and I always hoped that my boys would learn the same virtues. Cameron made me very proud throughout his career. He always worked hard and was a great teammate to those boys who he played with for years. He has kept those relationships to this day. He was a talented shooter who always did things during the game that amazed me. I was sad to see his career end a few years back.
Nic started earlier than Cam, and had the privaledge of getting pounded on by his older brother. This made Nic a tremendous player who always played bigger than his size. This final year was a real tribute to Nic’s gift and he ability to make the people around him better. He was one of a few seniors on the Elite travel team and really took the younger guys under his wing. He has had the pleasure of some tremendous coaching over the years (certainly not my doing!) and he has taken something from them all.
We had discussed taking these boys on a journey across Canada West Universities throughout the spring. Saskatoon, Edmonton, Victoria and Calgary made this a season like none other for me. It was great to showcase these boys throught the west in front of CIS coaches and schools. They had a chance to see what it would take to compete at the next level, in some of the finest Canadian facilities there is. Capping it off was a trip to Las Vegas in July (hardly warm…) to play the best talent in the USA. Throughout it all, Nic played tremendous. He did everything you would expect of a senior point guard, to make these boys better. We won a “Karate Kid” sized trophy in vegas which I was proud to tell the Customs officer that we had stolen from some kids in Vegas! A great end to a great run.
Now I get the pleasure of playing men’s league with Cameron on our newly minted team named “Blue Balls”. We will tear up the Senior mens league and I will do my best to keep up to “white lightning” as we have dubbed him. Nic will play grade 12 and he has a legit shot to play for one of these universities after high school. I am hoping he will get his chance. I am also working on Rian and Liam to play basketball after hockey season is completed. I may not quite be done coaching with those two coming down the pipe.
There are so many other things that have filled our lives the past few months. Mary has taken her boys camping a few times while getting her Hockey School company rolling. She makes me so proud the way she deveotes herself to this company and to the families she has involved. The kids love her camps and if they only knew that she took her first skating class only last year! She loves it more, thuth be told. She is so pleased when parents and especially kids, tell her that this is their favorite camp of the summer. She is a wonderful ambassador for her brand and she will be very successful with this in the coming years. If you are looking for a camp for your kids, Edge Hockey Schools will celebrate it’s 25th year in 2018.
As Labour Day approaches, we will try and take some time to reflect on the busy spring/summer we have had. We are so lucky to be happy and healthy in what we are passionate about. We work very hard everyday but do take a few moments to remind ourselves of why we do all of this. There is nothing we love more than to get together will friends and family and be regaled in your stories of your summer fun. We look forward to catching up soon.
Happy fall!
Marco