It has been quite a year of adventures and challenges this year of 2023. This year brought us losses, injuries as well as new jobs and many travels near and far. We are grateful for our friends and family as always, but this year we are even more grateful. We hope that this greeting finds you healthy and happy as we move into 2024.
This year has had the family travelling more than ever before. The first half of the year was travelling back and forth from BC. Unfortunately, most were sad and necessary reasons as my Dad developed a serious heart condition that would not get better. He passed in April with his wonderful partner Lynn by his side in his home which was what he wanted. We celebrated his life in June with a party, music and a few funny stories from across the pond.
In June, Heather went to Scotland and England with a friend from school. They stayed a few days with cousins in Inverness and then ventured to Edinburgh. On the way, they stopped in Alloa and placed some of the ashes from my dad who passed away in April. It was a lovely tribute. From Edinburgh, the girls took the train down to London for a few days before flying home. It was a great first adventure for Heather which was a very good thing, because she found out on that trip that she would be spending another four months in Europe later in the year.
Vanessa made the Team Alberta for the North American Indigenous Games for basketball. It was almost a whole year process and Vanessa was doing so well getting back into her favorite sport from her meniscus injury. Unfortunately, a week before the games, she tore her ACL in a tournament. She was lucky that she was able to go to Halifax and see the games, but was devastated that she was not going to be able to play. She did enjoy hanging out with her friends from the team and seeing the Halifax Harbor.
Todd, his parents and I went to the games as well and toured around Halifax, the province and a bit of New Brunswick in between the basketball games. It is such a pretty part of the country and we hope to return to see more as there are quite a few things I didn't get to check off my "must-see" list.
The summer had both the girls working. Vanessa was working at the local optical store where she does reception work and preliminary testing. Heather met her goal of working at Fort Edmonton Park as a paid costumed interpreter. She enjoyed that a lot but it was cut short for another job that was a dream opportunity. Heather worked at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial and Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundlanders Memorial for four months is France. The government hires university students as guides so Heather and 15 others stayed in France, in the town of Arras, and worked at the site. On her days off, she was able to travel around France, but also to Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, The Netherlands and England. She had such a good experience that she would like to possibly do it again next year. She just returned home this past week and is readying herself for her third year of university.
Speaking of university, Vanessa graduates this upcoming June and has already been accepted to the U of A for Criminology. She is keeping busy with her studies and just recently had her ACL reconstruction surgery which involves a lot of rehab for it. It will be a long process, but hopefully she can go back to basketball for fun at some point.
This fall saw Todd make another career change. He was able to become a full time firefighter for the county. His dream job since his early twenties so it just goes to show you that it is never too late to follow your dreams.
Because of the new job, Todd was unable to go to France with me to visit Heather. His cousin, Lynn joined me, and we had a great time visiting with Heather, touring around, seeing the sites and even had the opportunity to visit and pay our respects at the grave and crash site of a Giles cousin from WWII.
My 2023 year started off with the loss of a very close friend, fishing buddy and colleague. This year, I learned to live life to its fullest and not wait for someday to never come. Rodney had so many adventures in his life and so many plans for more. He took the time to enjoy life, friends and family. My family is still learning from his guidance to live life to the fullest and not wait for someday but do it today.
Love and Hugs to all of you this Christmas season and many happy adventures in 2024
