The Pattinson Times: 2017 in a Nutshell (heavy on the nuts)

Merry Christmas to our friends and family around the world.  This is the first Pattinson Times letter that is delivered in digital format only, partly because I like to think of myself as keeping up with times, but mostly because I am chronically 2 days behind the rest of the universe in getting things done and didn't get around to buying Christmas stationary.  So if you don't have a computer, apologies.

Lily's had a banner year in athletics, primarily in running.  She graduated from elementary school on the honour roll but skipped her graduation trip as she was primarily focused on winning for the region in track and field, which she did handily.  Adjustment to high school seems to be going smoothly for Lil, although I suspect the athletics department of her high school has been taken off guard.  This fall in cross country, she won WECCSA, took at second at SWOSSA and placed 26th of 259 kids at OFSSA.   She's now transitioned to the high school swim team, and runs with the Legion Track Club until track and field starts up again in the spring.  We decided to take her off the Windsor Essex Swim Team as we felt 2 track team and 2 swim teams took up more time than she had, given that our goal is for her to graduate from high school!  As compensation, we allowed her a gym membership so that she can weight lift with Dad and I if she hasn't burned all her calories for the day.
She is becoming a young lady with a great sense of humour and the persistence to push herself beyond what most of us can imagine.  She's developing a passing interest in boys...but only the ones who can run faster than her.  Dad's starting to lose a little sleep....

Grace continues to defy gravity as she expresses her inner dare devil on the Windsor Dive Team.  Given that I am afraid of heights and am not too crazy about water, Grace's acrobatics can be difficult
for me to watch without benefit of Gravol.  She had the pleasure of terrifying her former swim coach by inviting him to jump

from the 10 meter board with her at one practice...all in good fun, but I doubt that he'll try it a second time.
She is a funny nerdy kid with a memory like an elephant and the capacity to drive her older sister up the wall.  We joke that we won't ever have to help her with her school work as she remembers most of what Lily should, when we're trying to help Lil with her homework.
After visiting Nasa in March , Grace changed her focus from space travel,  to being a "doctor on earth".  She announced that pathology is her specialty of choice given that she has little tolerance for chit-chat and she loves a good dissection.  Motherhood is a scary proposition.

We had a family vacation in Orlando in March, but hit a bit of a cold snap and had to do a little shopping for winter clothes.  The kids were undeterred and spent most of the time playing foosball


or sitting in the hot tub while Dad and I picked up heavy things and put them down again.  Tony and I continue to enjoy weight training and find that we are stronger and more energetic than we were in our middle years.  Besides it is great training for the multiple trips to the grocery that we make each week to keep up with the calorie requirements of the junior partners.

Tony took some time to visit with his Mom and Uncle Howard in May.  It was met with some sad times as Mum's first great granddaughter Maddie died of SIDS the night that Tony arrived.
Uncle Howard shared his secrets to longevity which seemed to involve a beer with his lunch each day  and despite his passing at 97 last week, we know that he had a grand life and touched the hearts of so many people.

After surviving the "once in a 100 years flood" and tornado of 2016, we ran out of luck and our basement flooded during a (oops I guess it is twice in 100 years) torrential rain storm resulting in a sewer backup into our home and several others in the city.  Tony lost his man/ironing room and the kids no longer possess a playroom although they desperately salvaged all of the lego.  It will probably be another 8 months before our house is put back together again and I am determined to renovate our basement into a room that can be run through a car wash.  The silver lining is that we moved our laundry to the main floor where the kids nursery once was, dashing Grace's dreams that we would adopt for her a younger sibling that she can pick on.  For the moment that gap is filled by her favourite playmates Oliver and Sophie.  When Grace isn't around, they play/fight with each other with Sophie playing the roll of the long suffering older sibling and Oliver running wild, jumping on table tops, chasing critters in the yard and taking his job as Chief of Security very seriously.

Having never had a male schnauzer before, we were unprepared for the degree of his protectiveness towards his family.  We had several sessions with a seriously tough trainer who could manage police dogs but Ollie was a new challenge for him.  By the end of his formal education, Ollie understood that humans are in charge but would not surrender the notion that other dogs are evil and better not come near his Momma.  The trainer finally shrugged and admitted when he owned a schnauzer, he carried it around in his hoodie.  I guess we all have a soft spot.  And to his credit,  Ollie has given Tony his side of the bed back.

A little rest and relaxation was high on the agenda for Tony and I this year and we managed to escape, kid and dog free to Phoenix Arizona for a week in the semi sun this month.  It was our first real attempt at a couple's holiday since we adopted Lil, and although there were moments of panic and worry, we managed to pull it off and had a great time.  On our return, the kids decided that they really do want to keep us around, (and they were running out of groceries) although Lil has let us know when we get to be too much trouble, she's taking over the house and sending us to a nursing home.
And so that was our year.. mostly happy, a lot crazy and looking forward to doing it all over again in 2018.  Merry Xmas...
The Pattinsons