The first time we went camping with Mel’s family and her aunt and uncle from Kapuskasing they asked if I wanted to go with them to cut some firewood. I of course agreed as it was an opportunity to learn. They made fun of me as I give off the impression of a sheltered city boy. I would rather wear a suit then wear clothing for hunting or going out to the woods. I am much more comfortable with electronics than with a chainsaw. It was pleasant surprise that I was not completely useless and I helped out. I had some experience being out in the woods from my time as a child and spending it with my friends family. Over the years I have learned a lot from Mel’s aunt and uncle from Kapuskasing. When I had a conference in Thunder Bay, on my way home I took a detour and had a quick visit with the family there. Generally when we get together with Mel’s family I do not spend any time with her and most of the time with the males in the family doing things. We do not intentionally segregate into males and females, it just happens. From the start I was left alone and we grew comfortable together. Her uncle will always give me some advice for various things. When I bought my first chainsaw he taught me how to use it and what to do and what not to do. I plan on buying some more so he can teach me how to juggle chainsaws like a pro. Whenever you see people do it on TV it looks pretty cool. I may start juggling with balls first, but I like the idea of high risk, high reward of excitement. Her aunt is a foodie, so we appreciate the same food and I always try and make sure to include her when we have some deliciousness. Going camping we probably do not have simple and regular meals. It is much more fun to make other dishes. One of our traditional dishes when we go camping now is paella. I have several paella pans, two mid sized ones and a very very large one that can easily go on the fire pit. I am not exactly sure why I decided to buy one so large, but I did. In general we have fantastic meals when we go camping as a group. Each of the families do different things each night and we have a nice communal meal. It is one of the best parts of the group camping that we do every year. It is a tradition that everyone goes to a camp ground together and we all go camping.
Olivier does not enjoy the outdoors because the bugs love him. The amount of bug bites he gets is much higher than everyone else in our family. I tend to get the least amount and he gets the most. It is understandable that he does not like being outdoors. Having the trailer he will try and spend a lot of time inside. Given the option he never wants to go outside because of the bugs. I think though if we had a place on Manitoulin Island which is pretty good with the bug population he might go out more. He tends to go out more in the spring and the fall and he loves making a mess in the water. In the winter when it is cold he does not like it as much, but that is more because he does not like wearing shirts and things that touch his neck. If he was allowed to get away with not wearing a neck protector he would play hockey this year. That was the barrier for not playing.
This past week I have driven quite a bit. I have had no episodes of light headedness or dizziness. It seems that I have overcome that for now, but I am not 100% sure if it will come back. We will wait and see. I did not realize that there was so much info that friends that I have had for 25+ years did not necessarily know about me. Some of them are small points here and there, but it is understandable that there are aspects that people do not know about. I do not necessarily talk about my personal life, but writing the blogs allow me to reflect on my life and it makes it easier to understand how it shaped me. It provides insights into things that went well and how events and experiences helped shape who I am today. The lessons I have learned we try and adapt to share with the kids. Xavier has very high anxiety in life. When it comes to hockey and he is on the ice he is completely different. He is like ice when playing hockey and does not let anything bother him. As a goalie I have never heard him blame his team for a loss, even when they get outshot 45-5. His focus is on how he can get better so they can win with their 1 goal they get every couple of games. Games have now been shut down for the weekend as Covid cases are going up. His lessons will continue as he is quite focused on it now and we want this determination to continue.
Quoc Hao