Happy Birthday Daddy- o

Today my Dad turns 74! He spent the day putting up his Christmas tree and was up on a ladder hanging christmas lights on his eavestroughs in minus 14 degree weather! Born in a tiny Caribbean island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and raised from the age of 11 in the Dutch speaking island of Curacao (he went to a tutor and spoke fluent Dutch, and Papimento, the local dialect, within a few months). He learned to race bicyles there and found the love of exercise. Lifting weights and road racing, he was a fit, strong athlete.... until he got hit by a car and broke both collarbones!

After his racing dreams ended, he moved to England at 19 where he picked up a wife and had a daughter (my Mom and sister) and then on to the great white North- Canada. He went back to school to learn a trade, worked long hours to provide for us but still had time to make us an ice rink in the back yard every winter, and put in a pool for the summer. In his early 40's he learned how to skate and then joined a mens hockey league, where he learned to love the game. He watched the love of his life die from cancer, and found love again with a much younger woman, has recently taken up golf, and smoking cigars and loves to do pilates right along with the infomercials, when they are on t.v.

Happy 74th birthday Dad. You have always been and continue to be my hero :)

(btw. yeah in the picture above, I would be the kid with the cubby tummy- lol)