On December 30 Amanda and I sat by the fireplace with a glass of wine and talked about what we thought 2012 might be, the girls were busy with things and we had a couple of hours to get caught up and talk about the upcoming year, these are the times that mean so much but we get so few. It also connected us to the year that was.
I am thinking a rundown for each of us would help. Kaelan continues to be a joy despite becoming a 13 year old girl. For years I have been warned by parents of teenagers to "just wait" and I have lived in abject fear of my youngest daughter becoming the 4th incarnation of the Exorcist complete with spinning head and projectile pea soup and while at 13 and a half we are still "Breaking Dawn" on teenagerhood...so far so good.
Now that is not to say that there have not been moments where after she has left the room I have asked Amanda who that girl was? After all being made from our flesh fruit never falls too far from the tree and yes I think that I have lost my former spot of being the smartest guy in the world and hover somewhere close to babbling idiot but I love being around her and at this point I am still above being tolerated by her. I will continue to bask in that light as long as I can.
Kaelan is training for her second degree black belt and her training will start to become quite heavy now that January is here. I am proud that she continues as so many fall off after obtaining their black belt. I am hopeful that sharing martial arts will keep us close as we go through the tougher side of being a teenager.
Dance still plays an important part for her as well and she will begin pointe classes this winter to go along with her dance. She gets very excited about these classes and towers over me in her pointe shoes! This was the year where Kaelan surpassed Amanda in height. The moment we discovered this will be forever implanted in me. We were in our kitchen and Amanda and KK were standing next to each other and I asked them to stand back to back and yes she was taller, Kaelan squealed, I laughed......Amanda cried.....
A big accomplishment for KK was successfully completing her bronze medallion this fall, one more step to getting her life guarding. This is no small feat as it encompassed a 3 hour written exam and a 4 hour in pool test. I love that the 4 hour in pool test was not the challenge for her that it is for many. Can you say rock solid fit....
Claire...very soon we will reach the third anniversary of meeting her as it was this time three years ago that we were preparing for our first trip to meet her. She has been a busy girl as well. This was the year where she started out with her own journeys in dance and martial arts.
Amanda signed Claire up for dance at the same studio where Kaelan started when she was 3 and Claire, after an initial adjustment period now loves attending her Saturday morning classes. She proudly puts on her dance outfit on Saturday mornings and is happy to share her "moves" with Daddy and KK. This past Christmas' show was priceless and you could see just how much she has grown since starting.
Our little ninja also loves going to the Dojang. Believe it or not I was trying not to have her start until she was about 5 but I was over ruled by 3 women. Amanda, Kaelan and Kyra. Kyra is a young woman at DeSantos who is an Instructor and 3rd Degree black belt, I was a proud team member with her this year when I obtained my belt and Kyra got her 3rd. Claire and Kyra have developed quite the friendship and it was hers along with Amanda's and Kaelan's insistence that Claire began.
Claire is showing herself to be quite the character and is developing wonderfully.
Amanda, my incredible best friend and partner has had quite the busy year. Firstly being there as I go through all I do and picking up the pieces as we go and then having had the busiest work year of her life as well. She is the glue that holds it all together and is the voice of reason when there needs to be one. I am proud of her professional accomplishments this year and also so proud of the role she plays with us. She has a great capacity to nurture growth even when it may mean a big change in dynamics and I know there are very few people that can do that.
This was for me the busiest year I have ever had.
After obtaining my black belt I have continued to train and am now assisting in classes 2 days a week. For me this was an important part of my martial arts journey and one that has taught me a great deal. I must be honest and tell you that in June and July training was very hard and I struggled mentally with a emotional low that was hard to manage. There is such a high in getting your belt and going from such a high level of training to a normal level was very stressful. I had fallen in love with training, the fellowship that surrounded it and clearly the endorphins that kicked in regularly. I was also struggling with understanding just how I was to continue now that I have a herniated disc...Both KJN and Sean have been very helpful in helping me understand this part of my life and guided me through. It was a Saturday morning at about 6:30 when Sean ran with me and helped me understand how I could bring focus back and also understand just what I was going through emotionally.
From a work perspective 2011 was probably my best ever and I accomplished a great deal. If you can love your work then I can say that I love what I do. This culminated in me getting an Award that is given out to only the top 5% of employees in Wealth Management and will be heading to South Beach, Miami with Amanda and the other recipients this spring for a few days of celebration.
Last year I also was active in my friend Matthews run to become our Member of Parliament in Beaches East York. Like I had time...hence my comments about Amanda picking up after me. I was proud to canvass, make calls, help out in the campaign office when I could and very proud that Matthew won handily! It was a great experience for me and one that helped me grow. It was also a great experience for Kaelan, who helped out a bit and was able to see first hand how you can become engaged in helping your community become a better place. It felt good for me to do something that can impact my family and the community where we live.
So 2011 is behind us and the opportunity that is 2012 lies ahead waiting to be picked up and engaged, loved and pushed to the limit. Let end with gratitude: other than #1and 2 no particular order:
- Amanda our glue
- My girls, the depth of joy you bring could never have been imagined
- Opportunity: you keep walking in front of me and shouting grab me!
- Humility: I am frequently reminded by you
- Friendships, I am blessed with so many caring people who inspire me
- I learnt that being really busy is really good for me
- Max, I miss you
- Rum, nuf said
- Ability to provide
- Dance, I swear I should have been a dancer
So I am thinking that I will leave you with a quote:
"If at first you don't succeed then try, try again, Then Quit. There is no sense in becoming a fool over it"
WC Fields
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