Time is moving more quickly ... I am sure of
it. Not only is it moving faster, but it
is harder to remember what has happened, as it whisked past. The countdown to Christmas is just a couple
days away – my apologies to those who used to get a Christmas card or letter
from us at the beginning of December.
Our pastor commented on Christmas letters that can rob us of our joy,
because we compare our lives to others and become dissatisfied. We in the Bouchard household have not
travelled the world, won the Nobel Prize, or become lottery millionaires this
year. But we are in reasonable health and coping with the situations that come
our way in life.
At home on Middleton Way, Marcel, Karen, Bronson and
Snowball the cat carried on with “life as usual.” Marcel still works at Tolko as a millwright
at White Valley (Lumby) on the weekend shift.
He is beginning to think that retirement sounds like a good idea, but
has no date set. He repainted the
interior of the house this year, and found time for fishing trips in the
summer.
Karen continues to juggle working as a teacher on
call in the Vernon School District with a part-time office job at New Hope for
Widow/ers. From May through September,
she is the school program coordinator for the Historic O’Keefe Ranch,
scheduling field trips for young students
between Kamloops and West Kelowna, and in July and August, she is a
historical interpreter (aka: tour guide).
In her non-work life, she continues to quilt, knit, crochet, read, and
keep up with friends on social media.
Bronson is in his final year at UBC Okanagan, taking
Computer Studies, and looking forward to a Bachelor of Science degree in 2017.
He works at Tolko on weekends as well, doing clean up, and did a summer
computer project for one of his professors. Snowball had an adventurous summer, as his long
white fur had so many fur-balls and knots that he had to be shaved – he ended
up looking like a white lion.
Anthony is still living in Terrace and working for
Lakelse Air as an apprentice helicopter mechanic. He bought a used Toyota Tacoma truck this
spring, then needed a dirtbike ... so it is safe to say that he enjoys the
great outdoors up north. He had a lot of
work in various industry camps during the summer months, maintaining the
helicopters when they were not in the air.
It also was a great vantage point for photography and several of his
photos were published in Vertical magazine.
Katrina and Tyler are still in Surrey, but life is
beginning to change for them. Katrina is
finishing her BA in French this month and plans to do more tutoring in the New
Year before entering Teachers’ Training at Simon Fraser University. Tyler was working full-time for Virgin Mobile
but has cut back his hours to go back to school toward his goal of being a
worship pastor. They will also be
moving, as the couple with whom they shared a 3 bedroom apartment has found a
place of their own.
Marcel’s mom and sister still seem comfortable in
their downtown apartment. They both were
baptised by immersion at Thanksgiving, by Tyler’s grandfather, and we held our
family Thanksgiving dinner at our church.
Karen’s mother listed her house for sale in spring, sold in July, and
bought a townhouse (that she fell in love with) in October. She is happy with having everything she needs
on the main floor, with a sewing room and spare bedrooms and bathroom on her
upper floor.
We had our house listed as well, but it didn’t sell,
so we will take a break for the winter, fix up a few things, and try again in
2017. There’s no pressure to move, just the desire to downsize a bit. December was a whirl of work plus Christmas
events, and we are looking forward to a quiet Christmas with all of our kids
home this year.
Merry Christmas to all from the Bouchard family
