Seasons Greetings’ 99

Well –  It’s that time of year again to get out our annual Christmas letter. This has been a busy and chaotic year (but haven’t they all been). Lets see where should we start.

The Cabin at Moyie Lake continued to give us more than our share of challenges. If you remember Deb had thought she’s spend summer ‘98 at the beach well summer ‘99 has come and gone and we’re still not there.   What started out as a small project that was to be completed by the end of May, is now a major project and is still not done – although it’s close. The water system was the hold up this year. Plumbers were difficult to arrange for small jobs (with expansions in both Fernie and Kimberley) and then a minor setback of our contractor nearly losing his right arm to a staff infection created ongoing delays. Although the major work was done by the end of June, we waited until Thanksgiving to get the water tank in and connected. We are still waiting for them to bury the water tank, and test the system, but other than that it’s liveable. The old appliances from our house in Creston are in, along with a bathroom and ensuite. Furniture from our house as well as Pat’s mom’s house have served to complete the rest of the cabin. (It’s so much easier in decorating a cabin when you are not looking at matching color schemes, etc. and the only priority is that it is cheap). Hopefully we’ll be able to get full use of it by the spring, and plan to stay out there most of the summer. Pat has this fanciful idea of spending Christmas out there this year – but don’t know if that is going to happen.

Pat’s mom sold her house in Creston in the spring and has moved to a retirement community in Cranbrook. She has two bedroom suite (which explains some of the furniture donations to the cabin), which includes all utilities and a supper meal. Other meals can be purchased but mom has found that with the coffee and snacks they provide, she hasn’t needed it. There is also a small kitchen in the suite, but it hasn’t seen much use. Mom really seems to be enjoying the place and has met many people. She is busy almost every night playing crib or bridge, etc.

Pat continues to work for the Ministry of Children and Families – and is finding it very frustrating. There are many uncoordinated initiatives coming down, it is hard to keep staff morale and focus up. Further, his management responsibilities have expanded, which means he has more things to be responsible for and less time to accomplish them. I think he would have left a long time ago if it wasn’t for the staff that he works so hard to protect from the rest of the garbage. The last time he left they demolished his staff teams, and I don’t think he is prepared to have that happen again. Pat has also been watching with much sadness the agency that he used to run, downsizing and eliminating some of the programs he worked so hard to get established. Although frustrating for him, he has learned the people count on him for his drive and leadership, and when that is gone, it’s easy for things to revert back to their old ways.

In February, Deb switched to a half time job with Mental Health in Cranbrook working with seniors. Deb is really enjoying the work although its been a change in focus. The job is 3 days one week and 2 days the next, which is supposed to allow her one day every two weeks by herself as the kids are in day care for three days every week.

Deb’s mom has also sold her house and is now living in an retirement village in Calgary similar to Pat’s mom’s. She just moved in October but seems to be really enjoying it and is busy getting settled in and meeting new friends. This will also make it easier for her to go traveling around without having worry about upkeep of a house and yard.

The children have thrived through another year, and have really started to develop their own personalities. Keelan’s can be best typified by a line he gave his mom when he was trying to touch some of grandmother’s precious things. He calmly turned around and look straight at her and said “Me no hear you , Mommy” but still listened. Keelan always has to do thing his own way, and just with a bit of token defiance thrown in (Pat’s not sure where that trait comes from). Keelan really looks up to his big brother, and gets more distressed when Mickey is not there than when either mommy or daddy aren’t.   Mickey is starting to be a bit more outgoing and is constantly being physically pushed by Keelan to try more and harder things. Mickey has started to get into more of the pop culture and we can’t keep him as sequestered as we did in Creston. (Pokemon are really big for him this year). Both kids are attending a new family day home three days a week. They both love it there, as opposed to the first place we tried in Cranbrook, and although it still not Lisa, serves the kids needs very well. Mickey has been wearing a patch over one eye for the last six weeks (4 days a week), and has another 6 weeks to go. It seems to have done the trick as there is already a noticeable improvement in the vision in his one eye. We got Keelan’s blood pressure stabilized on medication by early spring last year and once this occurred he began to sleep through the night. He seems far happier for it and so is Mommy. Right now we are waiting to take Keelan in for an MRI as he has a growth on the back of leg that is causing us some concern. We will hopefully know more by the new year but this has been very anxiety promoting for the parents.

This year we took a couple of weeks and went camping down the Washington and Oregon coast, in October. The weather was wonderful and there was not the traffic on the roads and beach as there is in the summer. Unfortunately, Keelan developed a sensitivity to loud noises, and didn’t like the tides on the ocean as a result. This meant that Mickey was often playing in the waves with one parent while Keelan was up in the sand and grass with another. Mickey and daddy also went for some long walks and one night were late getting back as they had gone on a more ambitious trail than they originally planned. By the third week of October it was starting to get a bit cold for camping in a tent and we headed for home – none the worse for wear…

Pat got involved in another fund raiser involving his hair this year. The CEO of the regional health council (who is also the head of the society that Deb works for and a neighbour) was challenged by Pat that if he raised more than $500.00 in pledges to have his head shaved for Breast Cancer research then Pat would shave his head as well. Well Pat’s “friends” and community partners pitched in and pledges were made to a total of over $1100.00 for Pat and the CEO. The result was that Pat got his picture on the front page of the local newspaper, holding up his 15″ lock of sheared hair. For a couple of weeks Pat looked like one of the wrestlers on television, and would have made a good bill collector. Keelan went around for most of the summer going “daddy baldy, daddy no hair”.  Pat has kept it short over the summer, and is just now starting to let it grow back (after all there may be another group that needs a fund raiser in the future).

Deb took the kids up for their almost annual camping with the cousins at Loon Lake this year. Unfortunately summer out west this year was a bit nonexistent so we spent more time in the campsite bundled up than on the beach. However the kids hardly seemed to notice and Mickey was able to catch his first fish (a small perch) so he was delighted. Uncle Lyle also took Keelan and Mickey for their first motor boat ride which totally enthralled them.

Ooops my memory is failing I almost forgot to tell you of Deb’s big Birthday…Her sisters and kids and her mom arrived on a ‘surprise’ visit shortly after her birthday. They wrote and performed a song to the tune of Clementine that chronicled for Deb what she had to look forward to in her now ‘later years’. They completed the ensemble with all the supplies she’d need…hair dye, cane, shawl, denture adhesive, support hose, incontinent pads, well you get the idea. They also made a poster of her life so far just in case her memory continues to go.

We wish you and yours health and happiness this Christmas season and into the new millenium.