Welcome and gather ’round, for it is time for the annual retrospective. It is when we answer the eternal question: “Where has all the time gone?”  😉
I think the major milestone for this year is that Miranda started posting on her own. She’d done it before from time to time, but she took the initiative to start posting pictures of her art. Today, I got her to post her own story about her birthday party. Tammy taught her how to sew this year, and that’s led to lots of bear clothes. Miranda’s getting older, and getting bigger. Pretty soon, she’ll be having her first date… what do you mean, it’s already happened? Better make sure she can run fast. Which her series of shorter haircuts will help, no doubt.
Ian turned 8 this year, and he is staying true to form: he finds something interesting, and then focuses on it. Whether it’s building lego or drawing the Titanic, he certainly surprises. I think the surprise to end all surprises was him creating a video game while Tammy and I were out to dinner. He also attended two birthday parties this year, which is a milestone considering he doesn’t make friends as easily as Miranda.
The one person who really stepped it up on the news-o-meter was Tammy. The year started with her negotiations with GEOS for the Academic Coordinator position. Then there was her first business trip (leaving us so lonely). Some of the time has been fun for her, but most of it not so much. Not bad for her 43rd year on the planet, and twelfth as a mother.
For myself, I covered my major hobby elsewhere, so my news is a little thin. The year started with my 10 year anniversary at Esri. So I guess I started when I was 31, if I turned 42 this year. A lot of my energy in the first half of the year was taken up by lots of home improvement, including on my birthday and Father’s Day. Garage door opener, new paint in the master bedroom, bonus room and upstairs hall, plus the new panel and paint for the garage door.
But all of this was small potatoes next to Mom and Dad selling their home on Cedarcrest Drive and moving to their new condo. That led to me travelling to Victoria on Spring Break, to lend a hand and to return to Calgary with a carload of stuff.  We got to see the new condo when we arrived in Victoria in the summertime. Which car made those trips? Well, it would have been the Mazda 5, but after the Auto Show, something clicked that it was time to get an all-wheel-drive car for Calgary. Enter the Volkswagen Tiguan. Regardless of the vehicle, the summer trip was action-packed, with a bike race and a two-day trip to Pender Island. It still was over too soon. Not sure when the next visit to the coast will be, but I’ve got banked holiday time.
Colin and Carol visited us this year. Unfortunately, I felt awful with some sort of flu for most of the visit. They dropped off some winter tires, and we managed to sell them on Kijiji. Still need to give them the money…
I travelled a fair bit for work, but I’d say not as much as normal. There was a trip to Regina, and a day trip to Medicine Hat, and the usual trip to Ontario for Tech Trek, but then there wasn’t much until a trip to Vancouver, a trip to Toronto and a trip to Brampton. Let’s hope that trend continues into 2016. As for trips with the family, there were ski trips, watching the Stampede parade, watching drag races in Medicine Hat, or taking part in the Beakerhead parade. More of that, please!
Of course, a lot of the fun stuff that the kids did this year was at their summer camps. They were expensive, and required planning well in advance, but they were certainly rich experiences. I think the weirdest part was the day I checked on Miranda’s location, and she was about 100 km away in Kananaskis. Miranda and Ian were in separate camps all summer, which prepared them for the fall, when they were in different schools for the first time.
The kids continued with their piano lessons and their piano recitals. I managed to continue my pattern of missing most of them, thanks to either work or bike races. But I’ve enjoyed  creative time and practice time. Myself, I signed up for Piano Marvel, and have been working my way through the online lessons. Look for new music news tomorrow…
All in all, 2015 was another fine year for us. Sure, we were threatened by a tornado, but what’s life without a bit of fear, right? Â Right?
Now, I have not been posting regularly about Mom’s cancer here, as per her request. But I feel it would be completely inappropriate to end by stating it “was another fine year” without some comment on that. I’m not going to lie: this saga has been a punch in the teeth. A million kudos to Dad and to Stephanie for all they have done, while I felt helpless so far away.
I know that at the moment, things aren’t looking very positive, but I will remain hopeful for the best as we turn the page from 2015 to 2016.
Mom, I think about you every day. 💛 Stay strong. 💪
