Catching Up

It’s now a week+ since our last conversation so there’s a whole lot of catching up to do. I’d try to cram in as much detail as I can without boring you. Just sit, relax and enjoy the ride.
The week began with getting the University Painters and Window Cleaners ( for those adults who may have seen the movie – “Confessions of a window cleaner”, what you are about to read is an exact opposite and as far from the movie as you could find. Sorry to disappoint you) to put a fresh coat of paint on the garage door and all window frames while the glass windows and doors got a thorough wiping down. Now you must be wondering why this is worthy of mention.
I was blown away by the professionalism and dedication to duty of these university students – two males and three females with their respective franchise managers who themselves are students too. For the two days the teams worked, you could count how many times, they engaged in idle chatter or frivolous conduct. They split up and painstakingly tackled the respective aspects of the jobs they were assigned. Wait for it, the ladies did all the paint job which included carrying ladders and climbing the roof to paint the windows that were that high up. They were quite handy and deserve generous commendations.
My boy Danju had on Monday following Mother’s Day began his soccer practice after a successful school tryout. The challenge here is that some practice will hold after school hours which means that I would have to pick him because the school bus which usually brings him home will be unavailable that late. Did I hear you say big deal. Perhaps you will have kinder words for me when you remember that Papa has his football practice twice a week at the opposite end of town and on the same days as Danju’s after-school-hours soccer practice. Boy who said life was easy. I am still scratching my head about fitting both conflicting events so no egos are bruised. Phew!!
More about Danju. He turned fourteen today and is away to Ottawa on a school trip for four days. I had to rush him out of bed at 5am this morning to enable us meet the 6.30 am departure time for the 5 hour-long bus trip to Ottawa. He (like most of his mates on the trip) was excited at all the activities lined up including visits to the Parliament Building – our Canadian seat of federal power and the Rideau Canal -a visitor's paradise for boating, cruising, sightseeing, fishing, swimming, shopping, relaxing and more. A part of me is happy for my boy but another part of me is anxious because this is his first trip without a family member. Well I guess I have to learn to start letting go. He has grown so tall in the past year and has yet to still grow.
Papa had his first game of the football season on Thursday last week and finally the monkey is off his back. I quote verbatim from a report done by the team manager on the game:

Our First Game and VICTORY!!
Congratulations to the boys and the coaching staff on a fantastic start to the 2009 season!! The Renegades ran the ball exceptionally well en route to a 20-6 victory over Toronto last Thursday night. Touchdowns by our running backs -Trenton Ford (#74), Riley Manning (#13) and Felix Mba (#8) - capped off an all-round team effort! Following an early Toronto touchdown, our defense tightened up and played tough Renegades ball for the balance of the game. Great job, boys!

Special thanks to all the parents for camping out on the far side of the field away from bench. It is critical in football that the boys remain focused as the coaches need to constantly teach them about how to play especially while the game is actually being played. Having you cheer them on is definitely encouraged from the far side of the field....while the coaches do their valuable work with the boys …

Just in case you are wondering, Felix Mba is Papa ( a name he got as an infant because of his age inappropriate behaviour. He acted and still acts at times, way more mature than his age would lead you to expect!)
It was Victoria Day weekend and a time for fireworks and to chill with family. The Queen Victoria celebration is one of the vestiges of colonialism that still hangs on Canada’s neck and one that is not likely to be shed soon. Just for the records, Canada is a member of the British Commonwealth and we still have a Governor General position as well the face of the queen of England on our currency.
So it was Victoria Day weekend and Siya came down from her base for some quality time with the family. It was short ( time with loved ones always seem short) but it gave us a much cherished and ‘longed-for’ time to be a complete family once again. She went back to base after three nights and this morning it was Danju leaving for Ottawa. So it’s back to just Sampi, Papa and yours sincerely at home until Danju gets back on Friday.
I promised to bring The Diary up to speed and feel like I have done the catching up as I said I would.
Now I can go get some sleep and leave you to attend to other matters. Good night…