Hey everyone, it’s been a while…Seems to be the way I start most of my posts these days.. Being a full time working Dad keeps me extremely busy and I always want to capitalize on every single moment I have with Brett and our two little ones..
Where to start….We had our first family vacation a few weeks ago. We ventured off to Vancouver Island and stayed at “The Cabins at Terrace Beach”. It was an incredible experience, we stayed in the “Sabbatical” which was a large two bedroom, two floor upscale condo nestled in the forest and steps away from the Pacific Ocean. The scenery was absolutely breath taking. Most were surprised we would venture the way we did having such young kids. One thing Brett and I promised ourselves was we would still do all the things we did before having kids not only as a couple but as a family. Most thought we were crazy and it would not happen. We have not let having kids “Hold us back” at all. We have made slight modification on how we do things, and by that I mean we have two new little sidekicks to go on adventures with. We hiked, we explored miles off beautiful beaches, trekked through the mountains of lush forests, tried unique local food and went through fun shops along the way. We made sure that we had one outdoor adventure per day to breath in that fresh clean Pacific Ocean air. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful province and to exploring it with our kids and pup Nikayla is such a true gift.
One of the most beautiful moments through the entire trip was the fun milestones with our kids, everything from hearing Jordyn laugh for the first time to the “amaze and wonder” in their eyes with every adventure we went on. It was so neat to take in these moments with them. It was the first time they had ever seen the ocean, "walked" through a forest, heard waves crash in to the rocks. They loved it just as much as we did and that was something that was so special.
We also had our first ER trip for little Jordyn a week after we got home from our trip. As a new parent it’s so easy to be scared of everything and “Over React/Over Think” EVERYTHING! Jordyn started developing what appeared to be a bit of a respiratory cold, coughing, etc. It seemed like a mild cold…then came the fever.. Her first fever and her Dad’s first “Fever Freak out”. Brett bundled the kids up and took them down to our family Dr who squeezed us in and our Dr felt it was best for little Jordyn to see a pediatrician at the hospital because she was also not able to keep any of her bottles down. We rushed over and got in right away which was nice, after several tests the Dr. agreed to let us take Jordyn home on strict supervision of her symptoms and a modified feeding plan to help her keep her food down. We followed all the Dr’s orders and within 48 hours our happy little girl was back to normal. We find ourselves a little more sensitive to hospital visits due to them spending so much time there at the start, but I am sure those feelings will pass at some point.
On the most part everything else has been absolutely amazing with the kids. They are growing, they are meeting all their “Milestones Markers” and filling our lives with so much love and happiness. They teach us something new every single day and I thank them for that. I have said it before and I will say it again, Jordyn and Sawyer thank you for choosing me to be your Daddy, I love you beyond words and our lives together excite and fill me with so much joy.
A lot has happened globally in the last while that would cause concern for any parent. Thoughts of what type of world have I brought my children into has crossed my mind and filled my heart and mind with fear. I have two choices as a parent. I can instill these fears in my children, or I can choose to fill their life with not fear, but passion, love, optimism and pride. The latter sounds more appealing to me. I know I cannot shelter them from the grim reality of what is going on, however I do have the choice to share a more optimistic outlook on life. Sometimes in societies darkest moments its very hard to see, but they are always there.
One of the things that has pulled on my heartstrings was the recent shooting of Cpl Nathan Cirillo. This was a national tragedy that literally stopped all Canadians in their tracks. Here we have a man who’s a Father, Husband, Son, Friend and National Figure of freedom. I could focus on the fear aspect of terrorism or I can take that more optimistic look. I know the word optimistic and death do not generally go together, however let’s look at how all Canadians came together from coast to coast. I watched three full Hockey Arena sing O Canada in sync via video satellite to celebrate our freedom, our pride and the life of Cpl Cirillo. I could not help but have tears run down my face as I felt in my heart what every proud Canadian felt at that moment and that was “Love for my Country” and “pride and gratitude for those who protect our rights to freedom”.
I close this post and ask you to look around at all those you cherish and love and thank those responsible for their safety when it is beyond your control. Let’s take a moment of silence together and thank those who dedicate their lives for the love and freedom of ours.
Till next time my friends…..
