Jan
2022

The dog days of winter…

I turned 15 this week! I had a great birthday with some of my favourite people. I had a great day and got spoiled!

He said

Thankfully, Thursday this week the replacement crankshaft for the spin bike arrived after a lengthy journey from China, through Japan and then Anchorage, Louisville, Mansfield (OH), Buffalo, Mount Hope (Ont) before finally hitting London and our house on Thursday afternoon. As soon I was home from work and had my dinner, I was downstairs getting to work on replacing the broken crankshaft with the replacement one. In short order I had it in and the spin bike ready for workouts again. And it couldn’t have come soon enough! As much as the treadmill and running was a surprisingly amenable solution, I was really missing the bike. By Friday morning I was happily back at it!

This week marks the end of the latest round of restrictions which means Emelia will be able to return to in-person practice for Cheer, and I will be able to get back to Friday morning hockey. Gyms, restaurants and malls will return to the next stage of reopening. The plan continues – as long as things keep progressing in the right direction – to move to the next stage of reopening on February 21 and then, the final stage on March 14th. Emelia is delighted to be going back to in-person training and y’all know how I feel about hockey. It does feel like we’re headed back to some sense of normalcy, but we’ve been here before so excuse us if we’re not ready to believe it, just yet.

This week the temps have been record lows. In fact as I type this, we’re into day 2 of a frozen sink drain. There’s usually some version of plumbing freeze-up every winter and thankfully it is never as far as broken pipes or burst water lines but it sure is a nuisance. Thankfully, today through to Wednesday will see the temps to go above zero so hopefully that will help us out. But, the temps for sure make it really hard to imagine a return to outdoor biking and camping season too. (which is probably good as my bike is in a state of semi-dismantle for some winter servicing). But the reality is we are sitting at 7 Mondays from the first day of Spring and 13 weeks from camping season!

And while we’re thinking about Spring and Summer and life spent outside on my bike, after my goal of getting in at least 1 outdoor ride on my bike every month I have been thinking what else I want to accomplish this year. Sure I will want to take another stab at completing G2G again this year, but I have been looking at a couple of races and thinking about entering them. In the past I have done the virtual versions of The Ride to Conquer Cancer, and The Great Cycle Challenge but this year I am thinking about adding in the MS Ride as well. But, I am also looking at a couple entering a couple of legit Gravel races in the Dusty Nostril in Milverton in August and the County Grand Fondo in Prince Edward County in September. If I did all those things, it would be a very busy summer so I am thinking in reality I will need to audit it down to 4 events, but we will see! It would fun to add a legit race-type event to my list this season!

The other big thing this week was Emelia crossed over from being a 14 year old to being a 15 year old on Wednesday. I am sure Danielle will have more to share about it, but this marks the second, significant age milestone that Emelia has had during COVID. While we aren’t able to have the celebration we want to, we have plans to do a second more official gathering when the restrictions finally lift. But, we had a low-key affair Wednesday evening with her two best friends since the age of 4 in Anna & Grace.

Emelia: You’re beautiful. You’re smart. You’re caring. You’re courageous. You’re funny. All more than you give yourself credit for. And… You’re 15! Happy Birthday, love you, Boo!

She said

Our focus this week was squarely on Emelia. We celebrated her second full COVID birthday. Again, this year we were in restrictions so it meant a very quiet birthday. For a girl who likes to be around her closest friends and family it was a perfect way to quietly celebrate her. This past year has been very rough for Emelia, what she has overcome we are beyond proud of her. She has really come out this year stronger, more determined and understanding what it feels like to have the important people in her life around her. We are grateful to her close friends who helped her through this year, the ones who stuck with her and had her back through everything. She has come out stronger and we are so proud of her.

Her birthday we only had her two best friends over for dinner and cake with all the COVID numbers and restrictions this was the best we could do. You know what? She loved it. Said it was exactly what she wanted. Last year because we were in lockdown she was happy we could have the girls over for dinner. The real celebration for her will come next weekend with restaurants opening, she and her closest school friends are going out together for dinner and celebrating on Saturday. She can’t wait!

I wanted to say something to you this week, Boo. We are so proud of you, you are one of the most fierce, giving, loyal people I know. You have fought hard to get where you are now, you have taken on every challenge with determination and found your own voice and own way. Never change who you are for anyone! We love you sweetie more than words can ever express. Hope 15 is full of adventure and love!

Thank you to friends and family who took time to message, call and come over for visits to let Emelia know how loved she is.

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