Saturday, September 04, 2004

I woke up this morning and put a Beatles album on. Right then I had this flashback of sorts to 1979. I remember riding with my Mom and her friend Debbie in Debbie's Datsun B12; us kids piled in the back, the Beatles' Hard Days Night cranked up so loud on the cassette deck that the little speakers in the door were buzzing. I don't know if it was a Labour Day weekend, but it was a holiday weekend of some sort, and we were driving down to Michigan Beach to spend the afternoon by the lake.

We went swimming by the old pier and made sand castles. There were other trips to the beach, but that day sticks in my mind. My mother was still young then. And being kids, we thought she was gonna live forever.

Michigan Beach is gone now. They built an extension to Port Dalhousie Marina where the beach was. Life moves forward relentlessly, and my kids are just a bit younger than my sister and I were that summer day. My dearest wife Sheri has been hellbent to have the best summer ever these past three months.

She has taken the boys to Happy Rolphs Bird Sanctuary and Petting Farm countless times this summer and has made day trips to the beaches both in Port Dalhousie and at Crystal Beach. She has taken the boys on a trip to our local Zoo, Zooz and we also made a trip to the Metro Toronto Zoo. She has been to Canada's Wonderland and Marineland. I hope that Joey and Drew are building up memories of this summer that they will be able to cherish in years to come.

Of course they are too young to realize it now, but it's important to remember. Because when Sheri and I are gone (hopefully a long long long time from now) the memories will be the most important thing that we can leave behind for them.

Well, have a good Labour Day. Do yourself a favour and spend it with family. For my part, I will be spending Labour Day in the backyard with some close friends and family. We're going to have burgers and hotdogs and salads, the usual.

And I am gonna crank up the Beatles. We got memories to make.