Year End
Okay - so here I am, writing an entry for the first time in over two months. This will have to be my year in review kinda thing - Things were crazy this year. All of you know what I am talking about and if you don't - well, get yourself a drink and pull up a chair because this might be a little entertaining to say the least.
The year, this time, was dominated by the disintegration of my marriage. Honestly - I didn't see it coming. There were no affairs that I am aware of, just the belief on the part of my former wife that she didn't want to be married anymore. I am not going to get into specifics on the why or wherefore but, suffice it to say, it is over. I spent many weeks after the end of May depressed and more than a few nights in tears over what went down. I felt as though I had truly lost everything that had been important to me and that my own self-worth was nothing. I was truly good and broken from this experience. As a positive my girls stayed with me almost entirely throughout the experience and provided me with two pillars of strength for me to draw off of and renewed purposes in my life. If I couldn't be a husband like I wanted then I was sure I could be the father that they needed!
Those two pillars - Rahne and Avril - were amazing this year in light of all they were presented with. Avril entered school in September and Rahne went into the second grade! In her first month Avril won an award at school for good behavior and attentiveness. Rahne has had a little rockier of a year, providing me with a few stressful moments as she struggled to accept and process what has happened between her mother and myself but she is still the vastly intelligent child who seems to excel at all tasks she is presented with. Rahne is reading voraciously, attacking new books on an almost daily basis. I have taken to reading to them more, making our way through some classic literature that every child should experience at some point in their lives. It makes for a great bedtime routine! My girls and I made a trip to Winnipeg this summer for a friend's wedding and kept me surprised the whole time with how outgoing they were and how self-sufficient they were when it came to entertaining themselves. Rahne also went to Bible Camp for the first time this year! Her excitement knew no bounds when we took her out to Round Lake and she came back even more excited and in possession of her own NEW Bible, something she has prized ever since.
For myself - I found my faith slowly renewed after the events of May. This was the third pillar off which I drew strength. All things happen with purpose and reason even though we cannot always see those things at the time they happen. In fact, what I thought was the rhyme and reason were nowhere near where things have taken me! God brought a lot of new people into my life this year, right when I needed them the most and put them where they would do me the most good.
My sister Jeri Lee moved into the old office in September to help me out more with the girls. It has been a good experience for the girls to have their aunt live with them, it is nice for their sakes to have another girl in the house for them as they grow up, and it has been good to have the help when I have needed it. Jeri Lee, while not always perfect as a roommate, has been a welcome addition to our home and I am glad that she moved in. No, Jeri Lee, in spite of all these good things you still CANNOT have a puppy.
This summer and fall I joined a theater group at the request of my friend Hanna and played the part of Victor in the play Zastrozzi - The Master of Discipline. Despite a mediocre review (apparently I say my lines like a university professor at a lecture - which is the part I thought I was playing) I had a blast, thoroughly enjoyed myself and am looking forward to doing it again! In October I helped out at Belluz Farms Haunted Hay Ride as a Crazy with a Chainsaw. I did actually enjoy my time in the theater this year and it was nice to pretend to be someone else for awhile. I helped me to think about my own situation and came to a great mind-clearing miracle while I sat in the fields waiting for the next hay wagon of victims.
This brings me to the last great event that happened this year. On Halloween I met someone new. I never had any intention of meeting someone new for anything beyond conversation and coffee. What I got was Cheryl. I honestly cannot explain what it is about her that makes me want to jump and spin. I could probably go on for hours about her and the things that she does that make me happy. Cheryl has brought me to a new place in my life, of acceptance and stability, of kindness and love. The similarities in her life and situation are eerily similar to my own and her beliefs are close to mine as well. No doubt I will write of her again. ;)
Will I write much this upcoming year? I always say that I will and then I fail miserably. I will attempt to write the same amount as I did this last year. There are some interesting things happening this year in my life - I am going to Chicago next week, I will be involved in another play at some point, work will take me back to Toronto in the summer, and I am trying to work out a trip to Japan in May. If I don't go to Japan then I will be heading out West this summer with my girls and hoping to see all my friends! I have been asked to contribute to a book about Thunder Bay history and the book is due out in the summer. Rahne will be heading back to Bible Camp this summer and Avril is hopefully going on a trip with her Auntie Moe at some point. No doubt much is going to happen with Cheryl as well. I will try to keep writing notes to keep those who want to know up to date. I can promise that much at least. If you have any questions about anything I wrote then feel free to respond or send me a message or even call me on the phone. :)
Happy New Year to All of You!
The year, this time, was dominated by the disintegration of my marriage. Honestly - I didn't see it coming. There were no affairs that I am aware of, just the belief on the part of my former wife that she didn't want to be married anymore. I am not going to get into specifics on the why or wherefore but, suffice it to say, it is over. I spent many weeks after the end of May depressed and more than a few nights in tears over what went down. I felt as though I had truly lost everything that had been important to me and that my own self-worth was nothing. I was truly good and broken from this experience. As a positive my girls stayed with me almost entirely throughout the experience and provided me with two pillars of strength for me to draw off of and renewed purposes in my life. If I couldn't be a husband like I wanted then I was sure I could be the father that they needed!
Those two pillars - Rahne and Avril - were amazing this year in light of all they were presented with. Avril entered school in September and Rahne went into the second grade! In her first month Avril won an award at school for good behavior and attentiveness. Rahne has had a little rockier of a year, providing me with a few stressful moments as she struggled to accept and process what has happened between her mother and myself but she is still the vastly intelligent child who seems to excel at all tasks she is presented with. Rahne is reading voraciously, attacking new books on an almost daily basis. I have taken to reading to them more, making our way through some classic literature that every child should experience at some point in their lives. It makes for a great bedtime routine! My girls and I made a trip to Winnipeg this summer for a friend's wedding and kept me surprised the whole time with how outgoing they were and how self-sufficient they were when it came to entertaining themselves. Rahne also went to Bible Camp for the first time this year! Her excitement knew no bounds when we took her out to Round Lake and she came back even more excited and in possession of her own NEW Bible, something she has prized ever since.
For myself - I found my faith slowly renewed after the events of May. This was the third pillar off which I drew strength. All things happen with purpose and reason even though we cannot always see those things at the time they happen. In fact, what I thought was the rhyme and reason were nowhere near where things have taken me! God brought a lot of new people into my life this year, right when I needed them the most and put them where they would do me the most good.
My sister Jeri Lee moved into the old office in September to help me out more with the girls. It has been a good experience for the girls to have their aunt live with them, it is nice for their sakes to have another girl in the house for them as they grow up, and it has been good to have the help when I have needed it. Jeri Lee, while not always perfect as a roommate, has been a welcome addition to our home and I am glad that she moved in. No, Jeri Lee, in spite of all these good things you still CANNOT have a puppy.
This summer and fall I joined a theater group at the request of my friend Hanna and played the part of Victor in the play Zastrozzi - The Master of Discipline. Despite a mediocre review (apparently I say my lines like a university professor at a lecture - which is the part I thought I was playing) I had a blast, thoroughly enjoyed myself and am looking forward to doing it again! In October I helped out at Belluz Farms Haunted Hay Ride as a Crazy with a Chainsaw. I did actually enjoy my time in the theater this year and it was nice to pretend to be someone else for awhile. I helped me to think about my own situation and came to a great mind-clearing miracle while I sat in the fields waiting for the next hay wagon of victims.
This brings me to the last great event that happened this year. On Halloween I met someone new. I never had any intention of meeting someone new for anything beyond conversation and coffee. What I got was Cheryl. I honestly cannot explain what it is about her that makes me want to jump and spin. I could probably go on for hours about her and the things that she does that make me happy. Cheryl has brought me to a new place in my life, of acceptance and stability, of kindness and love. The similarities in her life and situation are eerily similar to my own and her beliefs are close to mine as well. No doubt I will write of her again. ;)
Will I write much this upcoming year? I always say that I will and then I fail miserably. I will attempt to write the same amount as I did this last year. There are some interesting things happening this year in my life - I am going to Chicago next week, I will be involved in another play at some point, work will take me back to Toronto in the summer, and I am trying to work out a trip to Japan in May. If I don't go to Japan then I will be heading out West this summer with my girls and hoping to see all my friends! I have been asked to contribute to a book about Thunder Bay history and the book is due out in the summer. Rahne will be heading back to Bible Camp this summer and Avril is hopefully going on a trip with her Auntie Moe at some point. No doubt much is going to happen with Cheryl as well. I will try to keep writing notes to keep those who want to know up to date. I can promise that much at least. If you have any questions about anything I wrote then feel free to respond or send me a message or even call me on the phone. :)
Happy New Year to All of You!