Wonderful...

Megs said to me yesterday - I've been to busy Livin' To Blog. Hopefully some pictures will get everybody up to speed. It's been a Wonderful few weeks...

Jenn and Trev Got a New Dog - he started out as a Henry but soon found his own name "Charlie" - Or Charles LesBlanc as he's known in Dieppe...

We all had a fantastic Canada Day... Both The Black Caps and The Black Spruce lost to their Ontario counterparts...The Next Day we went to the Cherrybrook Zoo - it was awesome... Last Friday My Grammy Flynn celebrated her 85th birthday with 100 of her closest Friends and relatives - Mom organized it - good job Mom...Sunday the Loyalists Had a family Fun Day - Meghan Organized it - Great Work Megs... I hope everybody is having a wonderful summer, I know we are...

The BFG…

So yesterday was Father’s day – we had a great time, all the fathers (Malcolm and Rick) came over, we had a BBQ, Sophie entertained and we watched the US Open – it all seemed very “fatherly” – I received a new Iron from my girl (with financial help from mommy) and a Shirt and a Book from my Mom.

The Book was the BFG – and contrary to anyone out there trying to figure this out as a Malcolmism – The F stands for Friendly. The book is the story of a little orphan girl named Sophie and her adventures with the BFG – that’s as far as I’ve read (it was actually on the back of the book) – but it did get me thinking about Giants. There are giants walking among us, or at least there would be if you were two feet tall – and say someone about 3 times your size was in your life everyday they’d be a giant. Look at it this way If I saw someone walking down the street that was 3 times as tall as I was (17 feet tall) and weighed 10 times as much as I did (1850 lbs) I would think that this person was a giant – and I’d be right – I’d also pay close attention to what they did – and I’m sure I’d appreciate it if they picked me up and walked me around and answered my questions (things are different up there afterall) while I pointed out things and asked all sorts of questions about how everything works.

So we are all giants and its up to us to take care of the little people – it’s a very Fatherly (and Motherly) thing to do…

Here are some suggestions for Giants to help them show the little people in their lives how much they care. (I took this from a poster in my office)

Notice them
Smile a lot
Look in their eyes when you talk to them
Giggle together
Set Boundaries that keep them safe
Be Honest
Be Yourself
Be Happy
Unwind together
Let Them Solve most of their own problems
Play with Them
Share their excitement
Tell them how terrific they are
Make yourself available
Catch them doing something right
Ask them to help you
Wave and Say “hi” when you walk by them
Respect Them
Be silly together
Trust Them
Encourage them to help others
Expect their Best, not perfection
Tell them stories in which they are the hero
Love them No Matter what

So thanks Dad for being a constant Giant in my life for my entire life and Thank you Sophie for a great father’s day – it’s my honour and pleasure to be you own personal BFG, but you can call me Dad…

The Week That Was...

I realise that I have been getting slack on my blogging lately and I apologise - just haven't been all that inspired to write - I've got a post in my brain, that is slowly working itsellf to the top and I've had a couple of conversations with Malcolm that have given me some expressions, but I digress and will start slowly with a review of the past week.

Last Saturday - a good place to start - The Family went to the market again and saw all kinds of wonderful people - then the Black Spruce beat the Keltics 24-15 and we had a BBQ at O and Robyn's.

On Sunday My Cousin Jenn and her Husband Keith Baptised their daughter - My other Cousin Jamie (Jenn's Brother) and his wife Danielle had the honour of being the God -Parents. This week has been like many of the past weeks - Sophie is doing well at the daycare (she's learned to blow kisses) - Nic and I are still hitting the gym three lunch hours a week and yesterday we ran the "little bridges".

We are planning another great Fredericton Saturday today and Look forward to watching the Canada vs. NZ game later tonight on the score. I also find it odd that Sophie has more All Black Gear than she does Rugby Canada Stuff - we'll have to do something about that.

A Day On The Beach...

Yesterday was a beautiful Sunny, Warm Freddy Beach Saturday and we enjoyed it in typical Freddy Beach Style. First Stop was the market, where we met up with some of our favorite people.

Sophie enjoyed Freshly Squeezed OJ from Dalton's - and everybody enjoyed Sophie. We then headed to the northside to check in on New Parents Valerie and Malcolm Reeves and thier lovely little girl Robyn Lily Reeves - they are all doing great - It wasn't that long ago that Sophie was that small - amazing.

We then headed to one of our favorite Fredericton locales - The Superstore to get some water so we could enjoy Wilmot Park.

Sophie Loved the park and soon she'll be big enough to play on all that stuff by herself, which is bad news bears for me, I also enjoy all that equipement. We ended our day with a BBQ and lounging on the couch - an almost perfect end to an almost perfect day, but what else would you expect when you live in a place called Freddy Beach...

All Dogs Go To Heaven...

Last Saturday Night - the smallest member of the McLean's was tragically run over and killed on the road in the Miramichi - Basil was a crazy little dog with huge personality, he was as cute as the day is long and he will be missed. Losing a pet sucks - especially a dog, as they are the most dedicated pets out there and they become such a big part of your life when they are there.

My heart goes out to Jenn and Trev-I guess God needed a great lap dog.

I've been lucky my family has always had dogs, I've gotten to know how much of a good friend a dog or dogs can be. They are always excited to see you, they like to cuddle on the couch, they are always up for Junk food (Milk bones) they are fantastic alarm clocks, even when you are trying to sleep in, they'll run with you and give you kisses when you are feeling bad. Dogs give us all a good example of how to love unconditionally.

So I go to bed tonight, thinking and praying for Basil (And Jenn and Trev), Jenn and Trev's Badger - you little bastard - you were a great dog - you're on the big couch in the sky now - we miss you... (especially Simon)

Birthday Girl…

Yesterday was my lovely wife’s birthday – we woke up at 7:30am – even though Sophie was with her Grandparents – we got up and went for a run – enjoying a beautiful New Brunswick morning.

We then had Tim Horton’s and went to pick up our family at Grammie’s and Poppie’s – Sophie was very excited to get her parents back - as we we're to to see her along with Simon and Max.

We had actually celebrated Nictoria Day Weekend with a lovely night out (Back Nine, Brewbakers, The Bakery, Chez Cass, The Capital and Dolan's) and followed up with a long sleep in.

I feel fortunate everyday that I get to share my life with Nic, so her birthday means alot to me.

Happy Birthday My Sweet Baby...

Calm Before The Storm...

Well tomorrow I end a two year Hiatus from the Black Spruce - we take on the Niagara Thunder and it should be a great game - I'm Psyched

Kick off is at 2pm at Loyalist Field - tickets are $7 a game or a season's pass (3 Home Games) for $10.

Come on out and enjoy a beautiful New Brunsick Spring Day - I know I will...

Listen to Your Mother...

Well Mothers Day was yesterday - It was a nice busy day, full of all the things that make up most holidays in our familes - first of all we get together - which is the best part, next we eat, then we eat again and yesterday we ate alot, and very well.

Sophie and I started off with Breakfast in bed for her mom, then we were at the Delta for Brunch with my mom and her mom, then we were in New Maryland for Dinner with Nic's mom.

I really like mother's day - it is a day that celebrates the people that gave us life, our biggest fans and sometimes our toughest critics. It's a holiday that is filled with flowers and cards and lots of hugs - all the things that are good. I find myself at a loss to fully describe how fortunate I feel to have so many great moms in my life or how important they are to me -

Thank you for being a Mom ...

Living Vicariously...

May God bless and keep you always,

May your wishes all come true,

May you always do for others

And let others do for you.

May you build a ladder to the stars

And climb on every rung,

May you stay forever young,

Forever young, forever young,

May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous,

May you grow up to be true,

May you always know the truth

And see the lights surrounding you.

May you always be courageous,

Stand upright and be strong,

May you stay forever young,

Forever young, forever young,

May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy,

May your feet always be swift,

May you have a strong foundation

When the winds of changes shift.

May your heart always be joyful,

May your song always be sung,

May you stay forever young,

Forever young, forever young,

May you stay forever young.

I always think of this song when I start to think about growing old, or older or whatever, I heard this Dylan song a long time ago and it stuck - it has three phases of life contained within it, starting off in Childhood, then as an adolescent and then as an adult - and the wishes that he has for each of us in those periods of their lives.

One year ago I was writing as a sleep deprived father who was just starting to figure out where he fit into this big old crazy thing called being a dad, now one year later - Sophie is the most awesome tiny lady - We're still taking things one day at a time and I still don't feel my age (or act it) I don't think that we ever get old as long as we can still think like a child, be at awe of the things around us, always expect the best from people and surround yourself with people that make you smile and laugh. I just came home from the Rogue, having done just this - it was a a great start on my 37th year.

36 years down, just keep on keeping on...

Sophie will show me the way...

Sophie Four All Seasons...

Don't Mess Around with Marie...

This is from the Jim Croce song, Growing up I always imagined this was about my uncle, until the end of the song - because Jim doesn't lose, but beside every man there a great woman, and today one of them is having a birthday.

Today is my aunt Marie's 60th B-Day, She's a hell of a lady, she's put up with us MacAfee's for many years and she wouldn't want it any other way. Happy Birthday Marie.

Hugs For Megs...

Today is my little Sister's Birthday - we celebrated as a family earlier tonight - it was a nice evening and I know that she is planning on celebrating with friends tomorrow night - Looking through these pictures - one thing stuck me - Megs is always getting hugs - which is awesome. She's a very special woman and a fantatic Sister, Daughter and Aunt.

She's been all over the place, done almost everything and has tons of really great friends, mostly because she's a really great friend.

Have a Awesome Day Megs - Here's a little video for you...

Senseless Violence…

I try to be a positive person – to seek out the good at the center of a situation – To look at both sides and try not to let my vision of a event be clouded by the media hype – I try to “get” why someone does/did something and not judge them for how they act, most of the time they are only doing the best with what they have at the time. – But one thing that I am unable to grasp is the senseless violence that has become all too commonplace on our evening news. Yesterday’s horrific Virginia Tech shooting was the most recent example of an alarming trend in today’s society – Violence.

I don’t get it – you’re having a bad day – You get dumped, so you shoot your Girlfriend? You fail a class, so you shoot your Teacher? You don’t get along with the other kids in your school – you shoot them? You don’t like something someone else is doing, so you invade their country??? I don’t get it – when did this behaviour become the norm. How did someone ever think that any of this was alright? The only link between any of the above statements is “you” – so how can one person’s bad day get to impact so many lives – yesterday at least 33 lives were changed, as they sadly ended – but the impact of those tragic two hours will be played out by at least 33 families over every future Christmas, Easter and Sunday Dinner for the foreseeable future, it will be played out by the victims friends and families and by the students at VT for a lot longer.

I see a lot of the news has centered on the timeline, on what was done, what should have been done - basically on laying blame. I remember thinking that the same thing happened in Montreal last year, how the media were blaming Video Games, Rock Music, Rap Music, Gangs, Guns, Bullies, Race, Religon, Nationality, Teachers, Bad Relationships, Poor Role Models, The desensitization that comes when a country is at war, Society in General, Books, Art - anyone they could think of – This may be comforting to some to lay blame on something generic, something too big to be able to change, but personally I feel that the blame rests solely on that one individual who for some unknown reason saw this as a solution to his problems, he made the choice, all of those other things may have opened his eyes to this senseless act being a viable option, an unthinkable solution to a bad day – he was the one that made that catastrophic decision.

Most of the media is now figuring what schools should do next time this happens, does this sound as crazy to others as it does to me – We need to send the message to all of those that may be having bad days that this is not an option. No more violence, find an outlet, talk to your friends, get a hobby, go for a walk, find someone new, study harder, there’s always next season – nothing is as serious as it seems to be in the heat of the moment, nothing that is, except senseless violence…

Hip to be, Here?...

News Broke late last week that the Tragically Hip - were bowing to public demand and coming back to the Beach. I've seen the Hip on at least 6 occasions from Halifax to Vancouver - at Huge stadiums and small campus venues, indoors and Out - I remember the last time they were at the Aitken Center - I was working security, I think it was the Fully Completely Tour and Gord was at his finest - Canada's James Joyce, spewing forth stream of consciousness lyrics that would make your mind bend. It was a great night and I expect that the Sept. 11 show will be no different - a chance to celebrate the awareness that the Hip have brought to the Canadian state of mind. Here is the letter that I sent into the Fox to try to get them here.

In other news looks like Big Jebb will become a member of a new Motley Crue today, as last week while training with the national team in Victoria, his heart started to race, he had to go to the Hospital to get it checked out and today he is scheduled to have a Dr.(Feelgood I assume) Kick Start his Heart - all kidding aside, the procedure is very safe and Jebb should be better for the long run after he gets through it and up to his old tricks in no time - Get well soon Jebbidiah.

Oblivious to Bolivia, Not...

I read a quote somewhere - Micheal Jordan (Not the RCMP Member) said that there were 3 kinds of people -"those that wished something would happen, those that wanted something to happen and those that made something happen" - My boss John O, definitely belongs to that third group.

For the past 10 days my boss and a group of Canadians have been down in Bolivia, spreading the good fortune that many of us as Canadians take for granted - the goal of the trip was to help out some local Bolivian service organizations and they attempt to serve one of the world's youngest and poorest populations. They are on their way home tomorrow, but have been located in the city of Cochabamba, which is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the third largest city in Bolivia with a metropolitan population of more than 800,000 people. The name derives from a compound of the Quechua words qhocha, or swamp, and pampa, or open plain. Residents of the city and surrounding areas are commonly referred to as Cochabambinos. Cochabamba is known throughout South America as the "City of Eternal Spring" and "The Garden City" due to its warm temperatures year round and abundant well kept parks.

He has kept all of us at work updated on the daily activities and they maintain a blog from Cochabamba when they can, here is the link.

Giving to others is a way of life for some, and unnatural to others - people would actually consider taking a week off of work to go south and lie on a beach, sipping cocktails and going for the occasional swim. Very few (probably not enough) would consider taking a week off work, paying thousands of dollars to fly into the poorest of the poor South American countries, to spend a week doing hard labour helping the helpless build a better life. People do it all of the time, no matter what their age, it's more dependant on the size of their heart.

As Canadians we are a privileged lot, there are services that exist here to take care of the poor, the disenfranchised, the mentally ill - we're not a third world country, we have low unemployment and you don't have to get any shots to come to Canada. We owe allot of these things that we take for granted, as well as the high esteem that we are held internationally, to those that serve this country by going abroad and protecting those that need it.

They say that "ignorance is bliss" - well that bliss came crashing down in the last couple weeks in our neighbourhood - We've lost 8 of our brave soldiers over in Afghanistan. They are over there trying to improve the world for the citizens there, a world that more closely resembles something off of Star Wars rather than anything you'd ever see in Geary - But just like the group that is in Bolivia, Our Soldiers are elsewhere protecting those that cannot protect themselves and building a brighter future for both Afghanistan and the world - They (and the ones that love them here at home) have my respect, my gratitude, my condolences and my prayers...

Like a Deer Caught In The Headlights...

Dad used to use this expression to describe the blank look that people sometime get on their faces when asked a tough, or misunderstood question - The picture is from my parents trip "Up North" last week - I've felt a little like this recently as well - so here's a quick recap
Sophie is now 1 - She got a playhouse, that looked smaller in Toys R us than it does in our living room, I needed Aaen's Help to get it to Fort Awesome and to put it together. We had a small get together for family, Sophie got her first taste of Angel Food Cake and she got some really nice stuff.

Then Nic and I went on an esteem team tour to the Miramichi - it was fun, talked to around 1500 students and set a new un-official world record for standing on a yellow ball, passing a rugby ball back and forth with a student Volun-told ( a volunteer that is told to participate) the previous record was 22, the new record is now 54.

We returned just in time to go to Moncton to celebrate Rick's big night and give Aunt Megs her first taste of babysitting Sophie- Thanks Megs. it was a great night (see previous post)

I attended my first Black Spruce training at the Dundee Dome in Moncton - I have to remember how a 180 lb person plays rugby - I still play like I weigh 210 - I was sore the next day, which I always enjoy - it usually means you've done something worthwhile and tested your limits.

Then Came Nic's first day back at work and Sophie's first day of "Daycare" - was less traumatic than anticipated, most things are, and both of my girls are happy that they've started a old/new chapter in their lives.

The week flew by, and suddenly it was Good Friday, Malcolm, Simon and I replaced the secret Bookcase in my basement with a wall - which turned out well.

Sunday we all went to Church, then visited with my Nanny Flynn and my Godfather Mike, we then followed this up by heading to Gagetown (Where the MacAfee's and Breens would be congregating later) for a short visit before heading down to Moncton to feast (on Ham and Potato Cassarole) with the McLeans and Daigles - we returned home in time to get Sophie to bed and catch the tail end of the Simpsons - It was quite a day - but we got to see almost everyone we know, so that was good...

Tuesday rolled around and we were back to work - we're going to try to work out 3 days a week on our lunch hours - I'm going to add some muscles to my frame.

That's about it - I've got some thoughts on my Boss in Bolivia and the local Soldiers that were killed in Afghanistan, but they both deserve their own blogs...

Look Out It’s The Cops…

I still say this every time I drive by a police car – I don’t know where dad ever picked this one up (Maybe I don't want to know), but it is definitely deeply etched in my mind.

So Saturday night I had the great privilege and honour of being the Master of Ceremonies – for Rick Daigle’s retirement party – it was a very emotional and entertaining evening, with many co-workers, “supervisors” and friends all gathering to surround one of their own as he moves onto the more relaxing phrase of his journey – The Phrase Look Out It’s The Cops was going through my mind continually.

One of the coolest things about Saturday Night was listening to all of those assembled speak so highly of one man – and how he meant so much to each of them. When Rick got up to say a few words, it was easy to see why so many held him in such high regard, for at the one event in his career that was supposed to be all about him, he made it about those that gathered, his friends, his family, his coworkers – He said that his father had passed on the two most important words in the English language to him, early in his life – and those words were “Thank You” – he re-iterated those words, adding two of his own “Very Much”. Something that is so easy to say, so easy in fact that we often take saying it for granted. I sat there and pondered the power in those two little words – with two easy words we allow others to feel a sense of accomplishment, that they are valued and that they have helped you along your journey in some great or small way. It also shares the success of the individual with the many – and it was in this way that Rick has always made those around him feel so richly rewarded – because as he was accomplishing so many cool things, he was constantly giving others the recognition, and accepting very little. He also was able leave a job after 38 years with no regrets, as he said if he had it all to do over again – he wouldn’t change a thing, I doubt that many could/would say the same.

Rick said that his career has been a slice, here’s hoping that his golf game doesn’t go the same way.

It’s a great gift to be able to make others feel special about themselves – not many can pull it off, but when you can – it’s Magic – sort of like Saturday Night…