I remember waiting for my 16th birthday with a mixture of fear and anticipation. I knew my life was going to change drastically. Freedom and independence were calling my name and it all hinged on whether I could pass that formidable test…the driver's test. I hopped into my parents’ big blue suburban and off I [...]
My mom had a plaque hanging in her kitchen that read "This house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy." It is one of my favourite sayings and one I quickly adopted as my motto after getting married and having a home of my own.When life gets busy and I [...]
A big part of who I am has been developed through my experiences with soccer.I started playing the sport at the age of seven and continued until I finished high school, ten years later. I was lucky enough to have my dad, Pat, as my coach for nine of those years and I learned so much from him. He [...]
At the end of January, our Staff Retreat Planning Committee put together an amazing staff retreat (I am on the planning committee). The committee gave the staff three options; snowshoeing at Cypress Mountain, Countdown Escape Rooms in Abbotsford or cooking and sharing an International meal with a team of other staff.Very excitedly, I choose to [...]
When I look back over my school years, I have many wonderful memories. I attended a small Christian school. I was the oldest in my family, born late in the year, and kind of a quiet kid at school. So I appreciated the fact that I pretty much knew everyone there. It felt safe and [...]
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry…”I know, I know, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry…” and yet the teacher in me has each day planned. Notes written down, lesson plans typed out, photocopies made, PowerPoint slides all ready.All I need to do is whisk into [...]
If you were to guess why teachers love teaching, what would you say? It might not be what you think.... Would you guess it’s because we love kids? Possibly. Do you think that we are in it for the moolah? Ha! That’s a good one. Or perhaps you might say, “those who can’t do, teach,” [...]
175 kilometers. Almost all uphill.My son, Justin, and I had spent two days bicycling from Princeton, up to the Coquihalla Summit. For the most part, the trail was washboard gravel that rose steadily upwards. Then there was the 25 kilometers that strayed onto a gas pipeline. 25 kilometers of pushing our bikes up steep hills [...]
