Wedding Bells

Congratulations to my little brother Jason and his awesome wife Veronica on their recent wedding. The wedding on Saturday was definitely the highlight of our recent vacation. Here’s a brief rundown of what we did:

Fri. Aug. 15 - Drove from Timmins to Waterloo (a long drive)

Sat. Aug. 16 - attended the wedding of our close friend Ladyne from Fort Albany. It was the first Mennonite wedding we’d ever attended. Jonas had a blast.



Sun. Aug. 17 - Drove from Waterloo to Toronto. We were thoroughly exhausted by this point.

Mon. Aug. 18 - Shopping and socializing in T.O. (and playing in the hotel room)



Tues. Aug. 19 - Went to the CNE. I went to the Counting Crows concert at Ontario Place. I was disappointed with it. Damn high standards.

Wed. Aug. 20 - Shopping and socializing in T.O. I did some networking as well.

Thurs. Aug. 21 - Travelled to Lindsay. Dropped Jonas off at the in-laws.

Fri. Aug. 22 - Travelled to Midland. Wedding rehearsal and dinner.

Sat. Aug. 23 - Jason and Veronica’s wedding.



Sun. Aug. 24 - Brunch at my parents. Then we drove to Lindsay to collect the boy.

Mon. Aug. 25 - Drove home to Timmins. Exhausted, I immediately went to a business meeting. That’s Mackie!

Up is a Word

We are mildly concerned that little Jonas hasn’t started using words yet. He’s not quite two yet, but what we’re parents so we can’t help but worry. However, we were encouraged tonight when he uttered what we believe was a word.

Here’s what happened:

The three of us were in our bedroom and Jonas was acting all goofy, running around the room, jumping up and down. Then he came over to the bed and wanted us to help him up. "Jonas can you say up," Christine asked him.

"Up," replied Jonas.

We were positively thrilled.

Truth be told he is also saying "ball." Last night he was given a ball by the very nice waitress at East Side Mario’s. We worked with him and eventually he said ball. Now when we say ball, he repeats it. He also associates ball with the actual ball. Everything seems to be happening so quickly. Hopefully more words are forthcoming.

29:36

It is over.

The day I’d been waiting for has come and it almost gone. Today I ran the 5 Km race in the Golden Trails Festival in a time of 29:36. I am satisfied because secretly my goal was to finish in under 30 minutes.

I ran the first 15 minutes at a steady, moderate pace. I picked up my speed in the second half and actually sprinted the final km. Yep, I was running full out. My body felt great. So light. I was free and easy as I entered the stadium and did a lap around the track. It was a fantastic feeling to hear my name announced as I neared the finish line and to hear the crowd cheering me on. I only wish Christine and Jonas could have been there to witness my big moment. Christine had to work so I dropped Jonas off at Meghan’s.

This afternoon Jonas and I had our own celebration as we went to the Mac for lunch. We shared a plate of pancakes and ham. Later on we went over to Joe and Mary-Ann’s, who were hosting some Filipino friends. I socialized while Jonas spent a couple of hours playing in little Joseph’s mini-car.

Tonight the three of us celebrated (again) by going to East Side Mario’s for supper. We had two reasons to celebrate: Christine has just accepted a full-time position at the hospital. It means a lot to us because the benefits are a step up from our current benefits.

Time for a well-deserved sleep. Tomorrow I am back at it. My running mates and I are going for a run at 5:30 p.m. It will be a light run, but I’m looking forward to running on back-to-back days for the first time.

Ready to Run!

Tomorrow is the big day.

I am running the 5 Km race in the Timmins Golden Trails Festival. The race begins at 9 a.m. Since Christine is working, I will be taking Jonas to our babysitter Meghan’s for the morning, where he will undoubtedly have a great time. Then it’s time for me to run. I am a bit nervous because I’ll be running by myself - none of my running partners will be participating. I wonder what it will feel like at the starting line?

Finishing the 5 Km won’t be a problem. At least I don’t think it will be. I am a little concerned that my pacing will be off because I’m not accustomed to racing against others. I don’t want to burn my energy too soon in the race. My plan will to be run at a steady pace for about 10-12 minutes and then pick up the pace for a few minutes. I feel so good when I have my balance and my entire body is working like a well-oiled machine.

Wish me luck. I look forward to reporting how the race goes.

What Long Weekend?

One of the interesting things about being a work-at-home dad is that I hardly ever know what day it is. As I was winding up my run last week, I had no idea what day it was. None whatsoever. Turns out it was Monday. I only came to this conclusion after deducing that I normally run Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays - and that it felt most like a Monday. Do any other at-home parents feel this way?

I am looking forward to the long weekend, although it doesn’t mean that much to me. Truth is I work every day. This weekend will be special, though, because Christine is off and I won’t be solely responsible for Jonas for the next three days. I’m meeting my running partner tomorrow for a run through the Tembec trails behind the hospital, where the bears are. Yes, there really are bears. Later on we are planning to visit with our friends Joe and Mary-Ann and their three kids. Should be a busy day, but it will be a nice break from the routine.

At some point this weekend I am hoping to do a business presentation with some potential customers. The work never seems to stop! I’m not complaining though because it is very exciting to see the business grow. This reminds me that I need to work on my business plan. It’s kind of funny, I’m too busy running the business to work on the business plan. Bad Jeff.