Summer is here! It is now 32oC....hot and sunny in the city. A lot of the folks are trying to escape the heat by going to the malls, popping down to the beaches, or for some of us, try to escape by heading north.
I've just gotten back from a visit to Algonquin Provincial Park, which is approximately 340 km north of Toronto. It is the oldest provincial park in Canada (established in 1893) with an approximatel size of 7653 sq. km.; that's about a quarter the size of Belgium, or for our American neighbours, half the size of Delaware. It is a great place for campers and hikers alike, with over 7653 lakes and 1200 km of streams and rivers to explore...all in all, a great place to get away from the rat race of city living.
This visit elicit mixed emotions for me. It was good to get away (two weeks of vacation), however while there, memories of the last trip there with my son surfaced. Yeah, it became a bit of a downer. Before my son dropped out of our lives, he said that after a year, it should be okay, the pain of separation and loss will go away. Well, he is wrong! It's just about two years and we are still mourning our loss. Getting back to Toronto (yeah, couldn't stay), my soon to be ex-wife saw the look on my face and gave me a hug. She just said, and why do you think she avoid going to places we visited as a family? and why she has no love for Trent U or will never return to Peterborough unless our son contacts us. Only then would she gladly go anywhere in the world if it means reconcilation with our son. We can only hope our son will remember all the good times we had, and maybe, just maybe, he will be able to balance his outlook and not delve soley on the negative.
Well, I've got another week of vacation, will avoid going to Peterborough for sure, and North Bay, definitely Pembroke.
Yep, I'm being a sucky baby. That's what happen when you have too much time to reflect. Yep, immersing oneself in on
Mother nature had us all fooled at the beginning of the week with temperatures soaring into the double digits. Well, we are back into the single digits...more "seasonal" as they say.
With the coming of spring and the academic year winding down for the college and university folks, my mind (and "coincidently", my wife's also) wanders to the though of our son. Again, like all parents, we wondered how is he doing. Is he still in school? If so, it is coming on to the hump time...finals and all; a period of high stress for all, professors and students alike. We both hope he is doing well, but if not...what does it matter? He can always repeat a course or two...no different than a lot of students present, and those before him who have since then graduated and gone on with their lives.
Funny, she mentioned she have had problems sleeping for the past two weeks, with her mind wandering to thoughts of our son, and with frequent dreams of him as well. A psychic once said that dreams of individuals, especially when they are close together, are not coincidences. I jokingly stated that it was because our son is probably going through a bad spot, and the mother/son bond kicks in making her aware of his distress. Of course, this makes it even more distressing for her, as we have no way of know how he is doing.
Just on the half chance, he may run across this blog, I would like to remind him he can always come home. No matter what he may think of us, we love him dearly and have always wanted him to have a decent life. We just want him "home", not necessarily come home physically (that would be nice), but to re-connect with us. Hey, an email once a month letting us know he is alive a well would be all that's needed.
Thinking of you son...........
Love,
Mom and Dad
Yesterday was such a gorgeous day! Not much you could ask for, sunny, with temperature of -4oC, rising to 2 degrees. My wife had an errand to perform in Mississauga which was quickly dispatched. On a whim, we decided to run up through Mississauga Road to Belfountain and the Forks of the Credit River. It was a good ride as we use to take Alex (our son) for rides through there when he was a little tike. We stopped at the Apple Factory at Mississauga Rd/Bovaird Drive, as we done in the pass. My wife mentioned how, in the early years we always made sure Alex got a treat, a pastry or pie, even when we were low on cash. Of course we ended up buying six delicious sausage rolls which we devoured in the parking lot - no taking home. After polishing of the sausage rolls, we proceeded to Belfountain. Again, memories....happy memories of happier times when we brought Alex here. sometimes we stopped and pickup up an ice cream for him. It's real funny, I remembered we always spoke of making sure Alex had memories of happy times as he grew up, something my wife didn't really have of her childhood.
Yeah, we miss our son big time....and will always hope he calls one day, just to let us know he's okay and is happy. As all parents, we want him back.
It is presently -5oC with a clear blue sky, it is a gorgeous morning in Toronto!!! This is also a special weekend, as it is our son's birthday tomorrow. What we would normally do is go up to Peterborough to see him. Yeah, we have our usual "where would you like to go" bit. He loves going to a particular japanese restaurant the last few times we saw him. He doesn't know it, but we love it when he regale us with stories of the restaurants and dives where he and his friends went to...for us he becomes the foodie in the area know where not to go. For myself, I love hearing the stories of what he has been up to....living vicariously through him, and for that little while, discarding all the cares and worries of the day. I don't think I ever told him about this...wish I had. As the saying goes, hind site is always 20/20 vision.
Well son, in case you are able to read this one day....happy birthday, and regardless of what you believe, your mom and I thinks of you everyday. Sometimes we smile with our memories of you, and yes, sometimes we cry feeling our loss. We are going out today to celebrate your birthday, as usual we, talk about you.
Love you son.
Here is wishing everyone happiness for the Christmas holidays, and the best for the coming new year.
A special message for my son....your mom and I are thinking of you. We hope life is good for you and would like you to know you can always come home. We love you and miss you very much son.
Wow! It has been four months since I've wrote anything. It's been very busy at work for me, as I would imagine many people as well. Just a message for my son....with hope that he reads this.
Your mom and I are content in where our lives are headed. She has received a new contract at the school and will be teaching again next semester. Her time will be split between two campus', Progress and Ashtonbee. She was a little disappointed that one of the contracts originally offered was withdrawn by the chair of the faculty as it was one of her favourite subject. However it was replaced with a another, more lucrative one, albeit teaching another subject. All in all, it worked out well, and she's keeping busy.
Both of us are quite aware Christmas is just around the corner, and it will be the second Christmas without you. I have not mentioned to your paternal grandparents that we have lost touch with you, and they ask of you quite often.
Of course, I usually tell then you're well and enjoying school (believe it or not, they keep track of how long it's been since you went off to school). I did tell them and the family that no Christmas presents for you this year please, as you won't be home and will be with friends. No, I decided not to tell your grandparents the truth, as they are both old with heart conditions, and don't want the news of a lost grandchild to be the cause of a downward spiral. Mind you, your grandmother suspects something is not quite right, and boy, there are times when I had to deflect quite often.
We miss you......
I woke up this morning this morning with the pager going off at around 3 am. Yup, there goes the thought of a night's sleep without interruption. Of course, my mind wanders to the fact that it's the long weekend with predicted highs of 25oC and sunny all around....Thanksgiving, with the thought of maybe I'll go see my parents on Monday as my siblings will also be there to celebrate Thanksgiving. Then with deep sadness, it dawned on me that it is also approaching the one year mark my son removed himself from our lives.
To my son.....I miss you big time. I hope things are going well and you have found peace. Yep being maudlin again.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
For the folks with kids, it's that time of the year where shopping is in earnest for the beginning of school in a week. I'm pretty much out of this stage, but cannot help but wondering what my son is up to. Whether he is in fact preparing -like all the other college/uni students - for the new semester, looking forward to getting school supplies and anticipating the gathering of school friends for another year...or, alternately, like most of us, have settled into a more predictable pattern of existence...that of going to work, paying the bills, or to saving for an acquisition of big or small. Yup, life is pretty much a cycle...even with those of us working for a living. There is the vacation which marks the beginning...or end of another year, month etc.
This summer have been relatively good, not too many hot days (for me it's temperature greater than 25oC) and no drought. I've been using an old camera to take some summer pix...most of the recent shots are along Cherry Beach, Rosetta MacLean Park and the Rouge River Park bordering Toronto and Pickering. Do enjoy, and if you have any stories to share about these places, just jump right in.
Cheers!
It's one of those days where you spend the time at the beach, or in one of those air conditioned malls. Too hot (in my estimate anyways) to be out and about, seeing that the temperature is 34oC, but with the humidity, feels like 40oC. I actually went down to the Beaches area last evening as there was a jazz festival in swing. The temperature was a comfortable 24oC, with a cool breeze. Not so today! Wow! we Torontonians complain about the cold in the winter, and the heat in the summer. I must say, autumns and springs are
I didn't realize these declared "special days" could have such an effect ones psyche. I dreamt my son came home. I was so happy!!! I cried and hugged him, telling him I missed him sooo much....then I woke up. Life sucks at times. Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there.
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