Wednesday, November 30th

Technology is a door to a completely different world, and we get so used to it....Our internet access was down for a couple of days and it felt like we were cut off from the world, in utter isolation in spite of our big communication antenna you can see in the background. Yet, for our forefathers this was a normal daily incidence and it would not occur to them that they could instantly communicate with family hundreds of miles away or friends on other continents. Has this made us less resilient though?
Last week I was in a conference with other principals and education directors for the First Nations, and it was wonderful to sense the energy and committment towards improvement. Many of these communities are facing the same challenges, depression, sporadic attendance, suicide, I certainly feel I'm in the right place to apply the experience and know how I've accumulated. I am also honoured to have the opportunity to share and improve things with the people who have been on this continent since the beginning of time.
On a more personal note, I brought back a pair of snowshoes for Ricardo who is enjoying his walks on the lake now... They are about the size of a snowboard, and he thoroughly enjoys the exercise. Whenever the kids see him, they flock around him and are completely interested in the concept. Apparently these are quite revolutionary, as the only ones they have seen are the traditional type. We are looking forward to spending the holidays with the family in St. Catharines, Thomas who is getting so big and dad who sure needs a lot of company. He is in a nice small hospital in Niagara on the Lake, a very touristic place with lots of restaurants that we'll be sure to visit. The only restaurant over here is 'Ricardo's kitchen'...
Here is the picture of the 'healing tree' I was talking about in my previous blog, which did help as the behaviours have improved significantly. Our next project is to begin our Xmas decorating and outside lights.