Alas - June

So much has happened over the past few months.
Our school opening was the highlight. My getting healthier has been another.

Dad died in December and I got...unwell. My doctor said it was stress from having lost both my parents but I thought better. Anything and everything that came my way took hold of me, including what seems to have been H1N1. I lost a lot of weight. I had to cancel several presentations/conferences. I finally started feeling better.
The past three weeks have allowed me to spend some quality time working with friends, new and old.
I have one more engagement this month - Aboriginal Days with my friends in Rocky Mountain House. Then...home for a couple weeks...Yorkshire for Victoria's 16th...Beijing for the release of three books in Mandarin...back to Paris and...Whew!
...For now, a little rest - on this special day - Father's Day!

Spring as it should be...spring in Victoria

This has been, all but for my health, a typical spring - tens of thousands of miles in the air...hotels...conferences and schools! I remain focused on my good fortune and what I can do to make a difference. My dad died in December and with that, my immune system took a time out.

I spent months struggling with one thing or another. Between that and Ontario's harsh winter, I had to remind myself what spring can be like...what good health feels like and how fortunate we Canadians are in every way. This picture was taken in our garden in the month of March. No kidding!

...touring is not all work

Steve Rensink (Makwa) and I celebrated with his son Nolan on Nollie's 14th birthday. The Jays beat Houston on this night. We did it all - hot dogs, popcorn, drinks and candyfloss. Travel has perks...  

It's spring. Paris has come and gone. I've been to Edmonton, Burlington, Brampton... Today, I am packing for Barrie where I'll spend the next week (after a day in Delaware). 

Home from Paris

Spring and all that goes with this busy time of the year...

We've been to Paris for the Salon du Livre. Paris in the spring...tells the story. It was amazing and we are blessed to have spent the past nine springs in Paris.

We stopped over in London for a few days. In the past, we've trekked up to Yorkshire but time was a little short. Thus, a few days in London. We will spend a couple weeks in Yorkshire this summer to celebrate Victoria's 16th. We will also be going to Beijing and back to Paris in September.

For now, it's home and there is no place like home! We love Canada - Victoria...the land, the people and everything that goes along with being Canadians. Here we are having dinner with cousin Garry who came all the way down from Leeds to spend the afternoon with us!

Where have I been all this time?

I have never really lived this experience prior to now.  My doctor (and my wife Vicki) believe that the stress of my mom and dad dying has made me less than well? I believe there is something other than stress that has made me unwell. I have been tested and these tests show nothing wrong. I have been put on various drugs. Nothing. I finally decided to change my diet. After 14 years on the road, I've developed some less than ideal eating and exercising habits. It is difficult and sometimes impossible to eat as I should especially when I find myself in isolated communities. For three weeks, I have been on a Paleo diet. I am feeling better. I will eat better and exercise regularly. We all have the power to live healthy lives. We simply have to get it done. I have so many reasons to live a healthy life. Pictured here is one of them:

My dad died this morning

My dad died this morning. He was 96, unable to eat or drink. He was eager and ready to go. Our family has been blessed by the man he was, by the way he lived and by the way he died. His two children (and my wife Vicki) were there at his side as he crossed over to be with the person who meant most to him. Our mom came for him almost two years to the day that she died. Dad was one of our many blessings. For this and for all my blessings, I am thankful.

Home for the holidays

Winnipeg, Niagara on the Lake, Edmonton, Fort McMurray and now, for the first time in three weeks, home.

I was on the road when winter hit. I wondered whether or not I should take my parka and gloves. I did, thank God.

I brought winter to Winnipeg...then to Niagara on the Lake and...winter was waiting for me in northern Alberta. Yet, I'm from the Prairie so I had no problem with the cold or the snow.

And today, I'm home. I have come home to see my dad off. He is 96 and has lived a blessed life. Our mom died two years ago December 10th and that is very possibly the date she will come for dad. My only sister Diane and I have learned so much from these two beautiful people. Their final teaching is possibly their most lasting and most important. They have taught us how to die. Dad can't talk, eat or drink. Yet when, for a short period of time, he opens his eyes...he reaches out to us and pulls us toward him for a kiss. My wish for every one of you this Christmas is that you have this kind of love in your lives.