Vacation's Over

It is with some sadness that I have to report that my two weeks of vacation have come to an end and I'm back to work.

Don't get me wrong...I enjoy my job and the people I work for are great and good friends of many years but there's just something a lot more enjoyable about sleeping in, staying up late, traveling, spending time with family, camping and not having to keep an eye on the clock.

This summer my vacation was spent close to home with plenty of day trips and lots of time spent at the trailer at Presqu'ile with my parents. I have been spent time at Presqu'ile every summer for the last 40 years and I always enjoy sitting by the lake, watching the fire burn and looking at the stars on a warm night.

My vacation was also special because my brother Scott and Sister-In-Law Erin and her sister Ashley made the trip up from Florida to get away from the heat. Unfortunately for them the temperatures were just as hot here if not hotter than they were in the Sunshine State.

Without going into every boring detail of the vacation I will tell you that we were kept busy most days with small trips around Eastern Ontario including Kingston's Fort Henry, the Captain's Table Restaurant in Hastings for fish 'n' chips, Healy Falls, Picton and Toronto. Can someone please explain to me why the Yorkdale Mall doesn't open until 10am on Thursdays?

Aside from the fun and relaxing stuff, the time off also meant we had to get a couple of jobs done as well. My parents have wanted a new kitchen floor so we took one day and were able to get that job completed. Of course things never go as smoothly as you expect so it's safe to say that the language on our job site was certainly rated PG. I have to give added credit to my brother for doing most of the work as he remains the most agile of the Kennedy men. My talents were noticed more when it came to moving heavy furniture and appliances or standing on a recently glued board to help it set in place.

We also spent a morning trimming a tree. No we weren't putting decorations on it for Christmas but instead using the chainsaw to take a few dead limbs off. So now the risk of having a branch come crashing through the front window of my parents place is somewhat diminished. Plus they also have more wood to burn at the campsite.

All in all it was a great vacation that left me well rested and ready to get back to work. The stretch run to the holiday season has begun and I now have four months to get my Christmas shopping done. It won't be enough time as usual.

I Think I Have SAD

As winters go, this one hasn't been too bad really. It took a while to get here but once it arrived, it came with a vengeance.

I'll admit, I'm a "Wuss" when it comes to winter. It is my least favourite season of all and despite having lived in a part of the world my whole life, where winter can be evident six or seven months of the year, you'd think I'd be used to it by now. But I'll never be used to it.

There are those who love winter or parts of it. Not a week goes by during the season where I won't run into someone who will admit to "liking the cold but hating the snow", or "liking the snow but hating the cold." I HATE both!

I've already had a mild case of frostbite to a couple of fingers this winter from trying to put air in a tire on my vehicle. That doesn't happen in the summer time. You don't hear people using the term "Wind-chill" in August. I don't know about you, but I don't enjoy going outside to pick-up the recycle box and in the time it takes me to walk to the curb and back, I have a "snot icicle" hanging from my nose. Sorry if that grosses you out but I'm not too happy about it either.

I also don't enjoy shoveling the snow from the driveway only to have the plow come by two minutes after I've finished to fill it back in again. I throw my winter clothes back on and go out to clean it up. After coming back inside, you can guarantee the sidewalk plow will be by to dump even more back into the driveway.

My sister-in-law Erin came to Canada for Christmas and was dying to see snow since she was raised in Florida and never had the chance to experience it. Luckily for her she did get to see a minor snowfall and was able to make a snowman and a snow angel. I think it was about minus 3 and we got a couple of centimetres. I'd like to officially invite her to come stay up here for the month of February when we go through stretches of days or weeks where the temperature doesn't rise above minus 14 and at night we see lows of minus 25 or worse without the windchill. Stand outside in the howling wind and try to shovel in that and then tell me it looks "pretty". Trust me...it's not that pretty then. I'm just bugging her of course and I'm sure she believes me when I say, she ain't seen nothing yet.

I'm positive I'm suffering from SAD. at this point. For those of you who don't know what that is, it stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder. It is a winter mood disorder. Most SAD sufferers experience normal mental health throughout most of the year, but experience depressive symptoms in the winter.

I'm not the type to go to the doctor so I've prescribed for myself the only cure I can think of and that's a vacation to Florida. Unfortunately my vacation isn't going to happen until after February so with my luck winter will end in March and I'll be feeling much better before I go. Oh well, I'm sure the time away will still be good for me. There's nothing like a round of golf in the Sunshine State or a day at the ballpark to watch a Spring Training game to help lift my spirits.

Holiday Hoopla Over

Congratulations everyone, we made it through another busy holiday season.

Like most of you I'm sure, I made it to another new year with only minor injuries from my assault on the local mall and walking through the family gathering minefield.

I guess I make it sound worse than it really was but I make no secret about my disdain for the season or at least certain aspects of it.

I truly enjoy spending time with family over the joyous season and especially this holiday with my brother Scott and his wife Erin making the trip north from Florida to spend time with us.

The one main aspect of the Christmas season that truly drives me batty is shopping. It's not like I have a lot of people to buy gifts for but I can do numerous laps around the mall and still leave without buying anything for anyone but me. It's easy to shop for myself because I know what I want and I can just run in to the store, purchase the item and then leave.

When I'm shopping for family, the only thing that snaps me out of my trance as I blindly wander with the rest of the herd of shoppers is when I pick up the scent of the pizza in the food court. Time to take a break and regroup with a slice and sit and watch the other lost souls going by.

In the end I did manage to find a couple of gifts for my parents that I think they were happy with. Scott and Erin were the toughest challenge as they have everything they need and anything I thought of had to fit in their suitcases to fly back home. In the end I'll admit I just gave up and went shopping at the bank. Cash isn't the most personal of gift but I know my eyes always light up when someone hands me money. Not to mention I think I got the right size.

The one other hurdle to jump this year was spending time with family members I haven't seen in quite some time. I guess the real problem is that I like sitting at home and just spending quiet times playing cards with my immediate family. The thought of having to dress up (take off my track pants), hop in the car and go visiting isn't normally something that appeals to me and I wasn't too eager to do it this time either.

But I actually didn't mind it in the end. It was nice to talk with some of my cousins I haven't seen in quite some time and a Christmas meal with about 20 people at my cousin Stephen's was very nice. It may be a little selfish, but I was kind of glad that my mom was able to take Christmas off and just enjoy it. She helped out in the kitchen but she certainly didn't have to run the show like she would have at home and I think she appreciated that as well.

In the end the holiday hoopla wasn't too bad this year. Perhaps as I get older I'm learning to appreciate the time I get to spend with my family and extended family more because there will come a day when all we'll have are memories.

Family Values

As I've stated before, my family means a lot to me. I value the time I spend with any family members be it Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents (mine have all passed now) and so on.

There are a certain few relatives that for one reason or another have angered me a great deal over the years and I'm sure they know who they are. I won't get into that but suffice to say they've made it very difficult for me to forgive and forget and I haven't spoken to them in years. I have no plans to change that anytime soon either.

But there are other family members I spend a great deal of time with or I like to whenever possible, especially on my dad's side of the family.

Many of them are similar in a lot of ways but of course they have their own unique personalities that make our visits interesting. And the older I got, the more fun this time has become. Some of my cousins I don't see too often since they are spread out all across the country or lead busy lives but once a year it's good to catch up on things. Christmas isn't always that time but every few years it happens that the family gathers together to eat great food and share a lot of laughs.

Yes, I truly believe the older you get the more you understand the importance of family. Sure friends are great and a lot of fun but you can always count on family to be there when you really need them.

My parents have had the most influence in my life and I can honestly say I fear the day they are no longer with me. They've meant so much and have really been there for everything I've ever done and every up and down. My memories are filled with millions of little things and moments that I've shared with them. It's funny how the smallest thing can provide such a lasting memory.

As an example, I remember my mother helping out at my elementary school with the fluoride days or walking through a blizzard to walk myself and some other kid's home from school. I recall my dad letting me drive around in his transport while he worked and our afternoon break was a stop at the little drugstore downtown where we could get a meal of french fries and a pop. It also meant a great deal when I'd be playing football and even though he couldn't get off work, I'd see him stop the truck on the highway long enough to watch a bit of my game.

And that doesn't even scratch the surface for everything else they've done and sacrificed to feed me, dress me, get me home safely after a night of drinking with the guys. There was always love in our home. Sometimes my brother and I would step out of line and pay a penalty and we'd wonder where the love went, but looking back, even the punishment was a form of love and guidance to keep us on the right path.

And of course my brother Scott means a great deal to me also. He didn't always however. I'm not going to lie, there were times as kids I thought he hated me and I think I might have felt the same towards him. With five years difference between us it made it tough to be close as he didn't want his little brother tagging around after him. Oh boy did we have our confrontations over the years but the bruises healed and the scars faded.

The turning point in our relationship came when I made it clear to him that he could no longer pick on me or push me around. You see, there was that moment in time when my "big brother" was no longer the "biggest brother" and one quick toss of Scott into a pine tree turned the light bulb on in his brain and he realized he'd be better off having me as an ally.

Since that moment, everything changed for us and despite the fact he lives in Florida with his wife Erin (who I haven't had a good chance to torment yet) we get along better now then ever before. We're still very competitive with each other when we play computer games and cards but that's because we both hate losing.

Scott and Erin recently came home for a visit for Labour Day weekend and it was nice to have a big brother around to do things with again. It only lasted a short time but he'll be back for Christmas and I'm sure I'll visit Florida again soon.

Family is important to me. Life is too short as it is and that's why spending time with the people you love shouldn't be taken for granted. Cherish the time you have with your family because it will end all too soon.

17 Days of Bliss!

Well, I've finally found a few moments to tell you about my trip to Florida which I just returned from.

It was 17 days of fantastic weather but more importantly it allowed me to spend some time with my brother Scott prior to his big wedding on November 5th. We hadn't seen each other in over a year and it was great to be able to hang out like brothers are supposed to do. Of couse we didn't get to spend too much time with each other as he was busy preparing for the big day and then spent the honeymoon in Hawaii but the time we spent together was super.

I flew down with mom and dad and we stayed at Scott and Erin's place. I have to say, that first week I ate more awesome food then I have in awhile. I think we ate out almost every night and Steak and Prime Rib was my choice almost every meal. I love cow!

The rehearsal party was held at Michael's on East in the Wine Cellar (beautiful setting) with the wedding party (I was Best Man) and family from both sides. Yes, I ate more cow at this party. After the party, the girls went their way and the boys went to Hooters for a couple pitchers of watered down American beer.

The wedding day itself went very smoothly, although it was damn hot...about 85F. Needless to say I may have lost a few pounds while wearing my monkey suit. The reception was lovely. Did I just use the word "lovely"? Everything looked great but once again it was a tad on the warm side and my hankie's got a work out.

I ate more bovine at this gathering also. Judging by the amount of laughter during my speech, everyone either loved it or my fly was undone. I danced with the bridesmaid's and several of my aunts during the evening. I hadn't danced in quite a while and I think it showed. Overall it was a fantastic and emotional day. The saddest part of the day was knowing that the reception was being held at an amazing golf course and I wasn't allowed to play it.

The final week of my vacation was spent relaxing and shopping. I didn't buy much though...just three pairs of shoes, several shirts and some new shorts I won't get to wear again for another six months. I spent most of the time swimming in the pool, sitting in the spa or laying out by the pool catching some rays and working on the tan.

Overall it was another great trip. If you'd like to see photos of my trip, go to this website http://photobucket.com/albums/b244/Bundy68/ and click on the appropriate page.