This summer, Heidi and I took our\u00a0kids to Ontario to visit my family and to go to the place where I grew up. There was a high school reunion (I\u2019m not saying how many years\u2026) that we centered our trip around. The reunion was fun, but equally as fun was taking my kids around the town I grew up in\u2014Bowmanville, Ontario\u2014and sharing with them the many memories of my childhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most of these memories were ones that took place in the summer months. Like:<\/p>\n
Interestingly, what used to be a small (of course what I thought was huge) house in the country, is a now a daycare centre, the corn field across the street is now a subdivision, the sod farm is another subdivision, and what I thought was a three mile bike ride to the creek to hunt crayfish is only a few feet over and down a hill.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our old neighbours\u2014the Kilmers\u2014still live in their same house, and Liberty Street is still a busy street that is most likely still running over pets to make young children very sad.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n While driving around town, I spotted my grade 8 teacher walking with her husband. I stopped the car, got out and said, \u201cMrs. Schievink! Hello!\u201d We hugged, shared a few stories of our families\u2014she was impressed at how big our kids were and I marvelled at how she was exactly like I remembered her so many years before.<\/p>\n Bowmanville is full of summer memories that I will never forget and it was so good to share them with my kids. Lord willing, Heidi and I are creating similar opportunities for our kids to have summer memories that they bring THEIR children to see and experience.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But first, another school year.<\/p>\n Welcome back!<\/p>\nMRS. SCHIEVINK!<\/span><\/h2>\n
OUR KIDS\u2019 KIDS<\/span><\/h2>\n