2019 Christmas Letter

The kayak paddles were slapping at the cold chop with the spray coming back at my face. The frothy swells were curling up over the sides of the small boat and the tide was dragging us back toward the mighty St. Lawrence. The dominant, depressing observation was that one hour into this exhausting six hour odyssey - the damn boat was not moving forward. But, Carolyn would be thinking, at least we are not moving backward! Aside from that afternoon on the Saguenay river fjord in Quebec, through most of 2019 the wind and tide were at our backs and we had more than our fair share of fun and good fortune.

Bandit just a little scary

Maggie and David felt lonely in their 1200 sq. ft. bungalow with two cats and a hockey bag. So rather than watch Netflix and post stuff on Instagram – they got a dog. Not an un-serious lap dog either. A decent-sized rescue mutt that Save Our Scruff hauled back from Mexico as a puppy. Young Bandit the unruly puppy filled our house with joy, feces and fear of being nipped.
But, at the time of writing we all still have all our fingers and Bandit is a well-behaved and only slightly fear-inducing pet. Bandit has spent countless hours training her owners both in and out of puppy-owner school and is now enjoying her daily role at Lakefront Graphix with David.

Hannah is enjoying her time as one of the Lost Boys and now knows where everything is at U of T. She is not particularly interested in “growing up” but does graze at the adult buffet from time to time. Namely, she works in a psychology lab on campus – the Toronto Early Cognition Lab trying to divine what very young children are thinking. She also spends a fair bit of time downtown, condo-ing with the boyfriend Callen. He has a distinctly adult lifestyle with a serious job (wears a tie), a car and now, an Instant Pot.

Saguenay Sunset at our Campsite

Carolyn and I tend to plan our holidays around some outdoor activity like the early September trip with friends to cycle Lac St. Jean and guided kayaking on the Saguenay river just north of Quebec City. Despite the hardship and discomfort, we do it because it looks good on Facebook. In 2019 we did that kind of thing in California, Vermont, Lake Louise. Don’t get me wrong, we mostly did it in the Greater Toronto Area but we don’t post that. The formerly broken hip is now working just fine.

Speaking of the hip I am happy to report that Carolyn and Maggie hiked the Appalachian Trail in Vermont for a week in the Summer. That trip was previously scuttled because of my bike accident last July. One year later I was still not recovered enough though to sleep out with the mosquitos, eat bad food, carry 40 lbs all day and forego showering. I may never recover enough to trail hike.

While technically not part of 2019,Carolyn left her job Jan 1, 2020. She is not actively looking for a new gig. She explained that she is “retiring”. At first, I thought that she meant that she was starting to retire, as in, “I am retiring…and it will happen in 2025”. But apparently it is for real, so book your lunch date early and often. I have encouraged her to consider Uber as she is driving around anyway.

Sorry for the delay in getting this annual note out to you all but we are not that busy and you know how hard it is to get stuff done when you are not that busy. On that note, we are not that busy in 2020 and look forward to seeing more of YOU. Carolyn has explained to me that relationships are the key to happiness in retirement. Of course, they are not, it’s money (don’t tell her). So I am still working at Lighthouse Consulting while I figure out how to make writing, cycling and cooking into a well-paid gig.

From our family to yours, all the best in the coming year.