From us to you, Merry Christmas!

It is my sincere wish that everyone in my friendship circle, be they close or acquaintance, has a wonderfully restorative, peaceful, family-filled holidays that finds smiles on your faces, love in your hearts, and the magic of Christmas in your souls. Joyce and I would like to thank everyone who has gifted their blessings to us through your kind deeds, words and thoughts. We live a privileged, fulfilling, and joy-filled life and we have our many relationships to thank for it.

The holiday season during this continuing pandemic is in full swing, craze-filled mode right now. One of the multitudinous privileges of retirement is being afforded time to take care of the holiday's To-Do list at record pace while avoiding the crushing crowds that are typical of a Canadian last minute rush. We are snuggled up on the couch, hot mug of tea in the right hand, some sweet, sinful treats in the left, enjoying the glories of our successes. 

Our kids will be joining us this year in our new-to-us surroundings, and I'm ashamed to tell that it will feel a wee bit awkward to be enjoying the happiness that comes with spending a Christmas morning with loved ones yet not being in the living room that featured the previous 30. Many of our family traditions were lovingly created there, and we're doing our best here in the "sunny south" but the re-creation efforts have been subtilely modified to fit into the landscape of condo life. 

One of those traditions is the Hide-A-Gift game. When our kids were quite a bit younger, we always hid one much desired gift then set them on a quest that required deciphering a set of clues to the whereabouts of their stealthily concealed treasure. As the years rolled by, the seconds it took to author the clues turned into minutes, the complexity of the clues elevated, and the screams of glee were replaced with adult-like giggles. Try as they might to give all outwardly appearances of calm, their facial expressions betrayed their youthful giddiness, a look of accomplishment accompanying the joy of a quest well conquered. 

Besides, I really like writing the clues!

Another family tradition includes the shameful excess of culinary delights like Christmas Eve h'ordeuvres, fresh baked cinnamon buns and Christmas Morning Wife-saver. The h'ordeuvres are not homemade ... we let others enjoy the joy of preparations ... but we certainly enjoy a wide assortment of sinful decadence while raising a glass of cheer in accompaniment. The buns were traditionally "fresh" from a tube thanks to the Pillsbury Dough Boy, but more recently our Uber talented daughter has applied her incredible baking skills to the task and our tastebuds delight in her home-made goodness. For those that have never heard of Wife-saver, it is a egg and ham casserole that my mother discovered in The Best of Bridge cookbook many, many moons ago, and has become entrenched in the holiday celebrations of each household in our family. Even though she now lives alone, my mom makes a pan in full expectation that at least one of her boys will drop in on Christmas Day to enjoy a piece and, very likely, take a huge To-Go portion. What's not to love? Eggs, bread, cheese, ham, butter ... all the staples of gluttony! HaHaHa!

It's a straight shot to the pancreas, that's for sure, and that's not counting the Holiday baking!

This will be the first of hopefully many Christmases with our children and their loved ones. It's most definitely the first one of Maddi & Chris' married life, and it's the first one that includes Keaton's beau Jessica. We're a pretty unique lot, so I hope that she's well prepared for it! Joyce and I will be pleased as peacocks to be hosting our now extended family in our place, but I'm sure there will be Hollywood-like flashbacks racing through our brains of those cherubic Christmas morning faces from early in our marriage. 

Maddi & Chris will make the trip down south for Christmas Eve and stay overnight for the morning's events before heading off to Chris' side after lunch to share their presence on the big day. Staying over means that the black tornado of attention, M+C's puppy Remi, will be coming for his first sleepover as well. Don't let that bundle of cuteness in the photo fool you! With apologies for language, the grown version of Remi is the epitome of an attention slut, demanding a constant barrage of belly rubs, ear scratches, and chest pats. It will be a first in many, many ways! Even though our condo is technically a two-bedroom unit, our second bedroom is a cycling "pain cave" plus storeroom, a direct consequence of our retirement-inspired downsizing, so we'll be rearranging things to allow for an inflatable air mattress. Maybe there's even a tent fort in the making?

It might sound like that's a complaint ... definitely NOT ... but it will be different!

Keaton and Jessica live in Guelph and will be arriving on Christmas morning since they're spending Christmas Eve with Jess' side. They'll make their arrival in the morning and the events outlined above will be punctuated with laughter, smiles, and maybe even a hug + kiss for the parents! Some people make statements about KP's demeanour, pointing out how quiet he is, or how he doesn't reveal a lot of emotions, but I will tell you there are a normal amount of emotions inside that outer shell, something that seems Jess has had a positive influence on with her upbeat, bubbly personality. They will be heading out around the time Maddi + Chris will because they have some other visiting to do.

I'm a Christmas loving guy. It's my favourite of all the holidays. I'm as giddy as a school child right now!

Merry Christmas or happy Hannukah, Ramadan, Festivus, or Kwanza ... whatever your family observes.

Thanks for the Memories!

Today is the final day of classes for most of Ontario's students for 2021, and whether those students observe Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Ramadan, or even Festivus, there's a buzz in every classroom thanks to the ever increasing excitement levels of an extended holiday from school. For December 2021, in particular, that very likely also means a break from the ramifications of an extended pandemic that is awash in new concern with the explosion of the Omicron variant. As a retired educator who has offered assistance to my colleagues still full time employed in the form of supply work, I certainly empathize with the extra stress and fatigue that comes along with continuing to make education work despite what appears, at least to me, as grave mismanagement on the part of the Ford government.

When the SCDSB chose to shutter the windows and lock the doors of my beloved Barrie Central CI, the lead office manager was one of the nicest, caring, loving individuals you'd ever wish to meet in Stavroula Tsarouhas, or Voula as we all knew her. Why tell you this, besides the fact that you really and honestly should get to know this incredible woman? She has faithfully initiated an email chain at every major Canadian holiday with well wishes and outpourings of love to a large number of the staff who were standing on the deck of the good ship BCC as she sank, and every time I get her email, I smile widely from the swell of happiness and pride that washes over me. Her 2021 Holiday email came recently, and it's like an early gift, sitting under the tree waiting to be opened.

Like the proverbial breaking of a dam, once the integrity of the dyke is compromised, the raging tidal wave of memories hits me with the force of a runaway train, bringing with it fragments of Decembers past where countless hours of creativity and refinement were gifted to the Central student body in the form of the annual Teachers Assembly. 

As a graduate of BCC, some of those memories are from when I sat in the audience and watched as Doug Eves sang Duke of Earl, Dave Garland and other coaches performed the Nutcracker Ballet, Brian Honey and others bared their bellies in Whistle while you Work, and Bill Huddleston earned the nickname Huddle-Rock as he led the Teacher's Rock Band with the wail of his guitar. If some of my classmates from those years read this, I am sure their brains will swim with similar images. Alas, I am not aware of video footage of those assemblies from so long ago.

As a staff member at BCC, I was "dug in like a tick" when it came to making a complete fool of myself in the hopes that the students would erupt in a euphoric cacophony of guffaws, just I had when my hind end sat where they were. I donned the tights for 3 renditions of the Nutcracker, sang ... not well mind you ... on a number of occasions with the famous Teacher's Rock Band, with classics like Raise a Little Hell, Sharp Dressed Man and even Old time Rock 'n Roll. With the help of my Uber talented colleagues, the tradition of GAP and Old Navy commercials began, video parodies of popular songs like Nickelback's Rockstar or Adele's Hello thrilled the audience, and Vaudeville-like skits left the entire audience gasping for air. You could always count on that final day to be one of the highest attended days of the school calendar.

As Central's Yearbook advisor during those years, I was entrusted with whatever video proof there was of such stratospheric happenings, so when the demise of Central came to fruition, I snatched up some of that footage like the Grinch himself. Snippets of those performances have survived to this day on YouTube under the group name of The Barrie Central Phenomenon, waiting for students and teachers who may wish to jumpstart their Hippocampus. 

You can take a shortcut by clicking here: The Barrie Central Phenomenon 

I've had people over the years since BCC was closed that shared they felt strongly that I should stop living in the past by kicking the habit of reminiscing so often about those years, and thereby, let Central die once and for all. 

There's a simple answer to people like that ... NOPE! 

Those years are a big part of who I am and I'll wax nostalgic often. Besides, there's a large group of friends comprised of former students and colleagues who share my enthusiasm, the bond shared not unlike sugar dissolved in water ... once the deed is done, it takes a great deal of effort to undo.

For today, I'll sit here in front of my trusty laptop, pressing play on the videos in the group, and giggle my way to a tremendous evening. 

Happy Holidays everyone!

The 3rd side of the whistle

The title might make a few of you wrinkle up in curiousity. I'm referring to the notion that I started out on the sound side of the whistle, transitioned to the clipboard side of it for a really long time, and am now on the blowing side. The game can always happen without officials, especially in it's purest form, but as soon as you introduce coaches, parents and scoreboards, the need for referees is introduced.

Those connected to me on Social Media already know that I stepped out of my comfort zone following the moved to Guelph by joining GBABO ... the Guelph Board of Approved Basketball Officials ... in a effort to stay connected to education and coaching while giving me something to challenge myself with. I don't mind telling you that I was a little anxious about getting behind the 3rd side of the whistle, but I'm happy to report that my feelings of competency have quickly risen as the games rolled through. What many may not know is that I was a proud member of BDABR ... the Barrie District Approved Basketball Referees ... for a number of years back in the 90's and early '00's before stepping away when I took over the men's basketball program at Georgian College in 2007, and although it wasn't like the old adage, "It's as easy as riding a bike", it wasn't a painful process either.

Thus far in my GBABO experience, I have presided on 16 games ranging from Guelph to Orangeville and the areas in between, with a trip to Shelbourne for a playoff match-up coming early next week, and I am pleasantly pleased at the speed with which my confidence has grown. Further to that, in my most recent match, a coach on the low side of the scoreboard was attempting to "massage" my decision making with challenges to my competency, and after ignoring the loudly expressed commentary for a few outbursts, I felt great empowerment in addressing what I would and wouldn't tolerate in my most politically correct fashion. My to my pleasure, the coach grinned and quietly replied, "Now THAT's how you deal with an a$$h@le like me", while offering me props ... it's Covid after all.

Easily the largest single source of anxiety surrounds my adaptation to the FIBA ruleset after refereeing/coaching in NFHS and NCAA for so many games earlier in my tenure, but I am putting in the effort to make speedy progress in both understanding of special situations and the proper execution of the communication required. The second largest source would be officiating with a shot clock since all of my previous experience was in the pre-shot clock era, and while it continues to be a work-on, I'm feeling more and more aware with each passing game. 

Whenever you work with youngsters, the opportunity for smile-generating circumstances looms large, and my return to game has proved chock full of giggles, mostly the direct result of athletes who don't take themselves too seriously. The Guelph area, unlike many other areas (Barrie being one), did not start inter-school basketball right away when school resumed so the playoffs for the girls begin later this week. My recent games have either had direct playoff implications or been the end of the line for teams that were already mathematically eliminated, each bringing it's own unique potential for interesting happenings. It never ceases to cause me wonder when young athletes flip the mental switch to shed the pressure of the occurrence, "living in the moment" with a huge smile on a sweaty, beaming face as they thoroughly enjoy what they're doing, oblivious of the scoreboard.

Case in point, I had shared a couple of giggles with a young very talented point guard in a match recently, so there was a minute amount of familiarity established, and when the final whistle sounded, she was in possession of the ball, and approached me to hand it, choosing not to pass it to me from afar. As she approached, my smile was hidden behind my mask ... I choose to wear a Fox40 version with a whistle attached inside ... but I guess she deduced my emotional state from the wrinkles around my eyes.
"That was quite the game, eh ref?"
"It certainly was. I was most impressed with your talent."
"Wow! Thanks for saying that!"
"Sorry that your team struggled on the scoreboard tonight. The effort was outstanding."
"Really?" She looked up. "I didn't even know what the score was ... I was having too much fun!"
"What a wonderful thing to hear! Players don't say that very often."
"I guess I knew we were losing but I was enjoying it so much I didn't even look. Thanks for doing the game. I like the way you ref."
"Well, you just made my night! You know, I always try leave a game in a way that players can't remember who officiated it. I know I've done my job when it was all about the game."
"Huh, that's a neat thing. I never thought about it that way. Thanks again. Oh, and Merry Christmas!"
"The same to you, young lady. Enjoy the rest of your night."

I've said it before in closing of other posts, but Life is GOOD, isn't it?