Coaching Hockey

Many in our family have played hockey and some have given the referees a hard time. One of our family has had a great career in ladies hockey and while attending university at Guelph decided to take a break from playing and began coaching. Darcy follows few rules within he framework of the team. The team is the players, the families and coaching staff. They all work together and there is no doubt who is the boss. Her girls are so disciplined and accepting of the rules of the game that it is a pleasure to observe them during a game.

I availed myself to a playoff game with Lynda and had a great appreciation for the ladies game. Fast skating, rough but not dirty and played within the rules. Darcy exercised her influence over the team and there was true organization on the bench. All the players were giving it their best and Darcy stood tall on the bench with arms folded and a game face betrayed her nervousness if there was any.

The players were well motivated and the score was close so special efforts had to be made to win. Win they did and the joy on the faces of the coaching staff, the team and the parents showed all that this was a good team. I was very proud of Darcy and how she coached her team

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Making New Friends

Moving to a new community has its challenges and I am sure we will experience many of them before we are really settled in. Personally I always look forward to new situations without forgetting where I have been and this time it will be no different. Having lived in quite a few areas and liking each one for different reasons I look forward to settling in with a community made up of mostly seniors. Seniors or old people have a different outlook on life and many have lived through experiences both good and bad and tend to remember the good.

So far I have met a few of the people who live close to us and have already realized the wide range of past experiences they have lives through. A very mixed  group of nationalities, working experiences and interests make this group rich social contacts and will give us a opportunity to share in their conversation and past life challenges.

We have been here a month and are so busy setting up our home we have not had the time to make an effort to become integrated but as the weather warms up so will our social behavior and we should feel at home here in our new environment.

Our geographic change was not great being about fifteen minutes from our old home so we are still surrounded by family and friends. Since many of my dearest friends are telephone friends there will be no change in that important aspect of our lives.

Easter Fanjam

This year we had our Easter Fanjam on Good Friday as it fitted the travelers best. All were in attendance except Shawna who is in Europe studying and Mitch who is working out of town. Twenty of the family and not one kid as we all reached the age of 18 and older.

We always have a feast and great conversations but this time two of the grandchildren announced the dates for their weddings and that had everyone running for their calendars to make sure the date was clear. Both dates were perfect as we all had free time for these special events.

Other news was that many of the family are moving to new homes but will still stay in  the close proximity to each other for visiting and family get togethers. Lynda and Peter were our hosts again and as usual we were treated to a delicious turkey and ham meal.

Our young ones have a responsibility to more than one family so have to indulge in several special meals and gatherings. Our family circle has branched out and include a variety of families which enrich our gene pool. It is a healthy scene to see just how a family with a small number in the beginning quickly increase with a few generations. Of course Doris was here and betrayed her 97 year old age enjoying every minute of the festivities.

Looks like we will be having some major get togethers in the near future with the special announcements.