A miscellany of know-it-all-isms by Geoff Sowrey

Posts in category Family

Merry first Christmas, Choo Choo

Dec29
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

Sorry, kiddo, it’s been a while since I last wrote. I have no real reason/excuse, other than I just haven’t. That’s bad of me, and I will endeavour to write more often. Maybe one day, years from now, you’ll be able to read it all, too. Certainly for now, you will have no recollection of it, except through the mountains of photos Mommy and I took.

That’s something, incidentally, that you and your sister will never really fully grasp, I think. You’re the first generation where digital cameras are ubiquitous, and almost your entire first few years will be documented nearly daily. It wasn’t that way when Mommy and I grew up, and I can only imagine what your kids will say.

I suppose, as a result, you won’t be able to say your first Christmas wasn’t eventful.

READ MORE »

Tagged

A rainy train

Dec23
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

Every year, the City of Vancouver puts on a light show in and around the miniature train in Stanley Park. Last night, after the kids had gone to bed, Allen, Jean, and I discussed the possibility of going. The catch was tickets. Tickets for the ride are best bought in advance, and usually sell out in November. But that’s only half the rides — the other half are sold the day of, and you need to be present at the booth to get them.

Jean very kindly (extremely kindly? suicidally kindly?) went down this morning, in the cold and the rain, to line up and get tickets for the “best possible” time for us to ride, around 17:30. That is “best” as it’s early enough that we can still have dinner at a reasonable time, and it’s late enough that Nikki can join us from her job.

Tonight, I also remembered how miserable Vancouver can be in the winter.

READ MORE »

Posted in Trains - Tagged

A visit to the North Pole

Dec22
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

During one of her many perusals of the local newspaper, Jean (aka “Granny”) came across an ad for “North Pole, BC“, billed as a “gateway” to the North Pole via Maple Ridge. (Perhaps not the most obvious place to teleport to the top of the world, but just about as likely as, say, Spuzzum.)

So Jean arranged for us all (having to buy tickets being a big factor) to visit Santa in his own home, and witness a bit of a behind-the-scenes approach to Christmas.

Even if, y’know, it’s above zero, all green, and the only snow to be seen is on the mountains…

READ MORE »

Tagged

Our last day at the Calgary Farmer’s Market

Dec19
2010 1 Comment Written by Geoff

On 23 December, the Calgary Farmer’s Market will close its doors in the old CFB Calgary lands forever. It’s a dark day for the Sowrey family, as the Calgary Farmer’s Market has been a fairly significant part of our lives for the last few years (Costa Rica notwithstanding).

Shortly before Alex and I were married, we moved to a house a mere 10 minute walk from the Market, so we visited frequently. After our return from Costa Rica, going to the Market became a weekly event, to the point where we got to know some of the Market vendors fairly well.

Because we fly out to Abbotsford tomorrow, today was our last day. We just about cried.

READ MORE »

Tagged

A year in Canada

Dec08
2010 2 Comments Written by Geoff

A year ago tonight, my family returned to Canada from Costa Rica. We had lived abroad for a year and a half, and had done our best to make a go of a new life in a new country. But it wasn’t to be, and we finally came to the reality that we had to move back home.

So, a year ago, we packed up a highly uncomfortable hour of the morning, boarded our airplane, and spend nearly 16 hours travelling north. We arrived late in the evening, with an irate kitty, to the most amazing -18C weather I’d ever felt. Within days, we’d tried to reinsert ourselves into a society that we’d — at last in some part — tried to forget.

A year later, I’m starting to forget that we ever left.

READ MORE »

Posted in Careers, Costa Rica - Tagged

There are times

Oct02
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

There are times when
I wish I could do
Whatever I wanted
And then I remember you

There are times when
I wish you could feel
The aching of my heart
And know why it is so

There are times when
I see your sense of wonder
And for a brief moment
I feel it, too

There are times when
We hold each other tight
The universe stops
And there’s only us

There are times when
I wish
I had a different job
We had a different house
Lived somewhere idyllic
Had no wants nor cares
Where we lived in our reality
And fantasy was the world beyond

But we don’t

There are times when
I cannot be with you
And the moments apart
Ring of eternity

There are times when
I see you seeing me
And all I want
Is an eternity with you

There are times when
I could kill
Or be killed
Knowing that you would live

And then there are times
Like this
That I think about it all
And love you ever still

Posted in Children - Tagged

The end of summer vacation

Sep06
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

Well, kids, I’m not sure if you’re going to remember this August a few years from now (well, Choo Choo, I’ll be impressed if you remember today, tomorrow), but this has been a fantastic month. It’s been a long month, filled with lots of laughs, almost every single meal spent together, four provinces, several hotel rooms, and more than a few pools.

But tomorrow is the first weekday after Labour Day (which is today), and it means that we must part again. In a few years, it will mean you have to go to school. For me, it means going back to work.

In a way, they’re pretty similar…

READ MORE »

Posted in Children - Tagged ,

The Great Family Roadtrip 2010, Day 8

Aug11
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

We were up perhaps a bit earlier than I’d thought we’d be up, but I’d also forgotten we were stopping in Redcliff to visit Marnie and her kids. Thankfully, Grandpa had enough sense to jumpstart us for the day. That didn’t necessarily mean we were moving particularly quickly, but at least early enough to make a difference.

That, and two cups of coffee, of course…

READ MORE »

Posted in Children, Travel - Tagged , , , , ,

The Great Family Roadtrip 2010, Day 7

Aug10
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

Despite the nice appearance and newness of the hotel, the Canalta has stiff beds that are really meant for only one person — any movement is felt by the other person on the bed. The pillows are massive and overstuffed (please, hotels, understand that not everyone wants these — please provide a few thin pillows), and the air-conditioning in our massive room simply made things awkward. It would appear that neither Mommy or I slept well.

Monkey, you slept like a log. We had trouble waking you up.

READ MORE »

Posted in Children, Travel - Tagged , , , , ,

The Great Family Roadtrip 2010, Day 6

Aug09
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Geoff

We were all slow to rise today, but we made quick work of breakfast. You said goodbye to your Great Uncle Ken and Great Aunt Marilyn before we headed to the car. Our first stop was to drop off Granny at the airport. She wasn’t driving back with us, which I take to be a very wise decision on her part.

Then we headed back down to Portage, which is one of the main roads in Winnipeg. After a stop at Timmy’s for a coffee recharge, we set our sights for Saskatchewan and our overnight stop at Moosomin.

The question was what were we going to do in between…

READ MORE »

Posted in Children, Travel - Tagged , , , , ,
« Older Entries Newer Entries »

Feeds

Categories