Tempus Fugit

Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies

Category: Family

  • Father’s Love

    Lifted from Daily Day, so true and encouraging.

    Today’s email could just be this wonderful little verse from the classic George Strait song. Because it captures perfectly what we need to be reminded of today and always, as we embark on this difficult but wonderful job. 

    Let me tell you a secret about a father’s love

    A secret that my daddy said was just between us

    He said daddies don’t just love their children every now and then

    It’s a love without end, amen

    It’s a love without end, amen

    Not just if you’re a father, of course, but mother, step father, adopted mother, godparent, aunt, uncle, whatever. Not just when things are easy. Not just when they listen. Not just when they conform to your expectations. Not just when they succeed. Not just when everything is going well in your life, or in your job. 

    Not every now and then. 

    But always. Without end.

    Unconditionally. Even when they hit their siblings, when they lied about a test, when they don’t want to eat their vegetables, when they want to quit something you paid a lot of money for, when they’ve acted in a way contrary to the values you’ve tried to instill in them. 

    Even if this isn’t what you got as a kid, especially if this isn’t what you got. Even when you’re struggling. Even when you’re pissed off. Even when they have made it so hard. Even when they take you for granted. You have to show them that you love them now and thenand every moment in between. 

    Love without end. 

    Amen. 

  • G & T

    G & T

    Gin and Tonic that is!

    This is a memory from my teenage years while at our cottage on Brereton Lake in the Whiteshell. It was the custom at the time when families got to gather for dinner that there would be a cocktail hour. I suspect that I was underage but my parents allowed it at the lake and this was where I was introduced to some more sophisticated drinks that expanded my limited experience. Things like Champagne, Irish coffee, Tom Collins, and yes the Gin & Tonic. It seemed like one of our good family friends was responsible for these fancier cocktails as a pre-dinner libation and I was always happy to get in on the action.

    The brand of choice

    The Gin and Tonic was only ever around in the summertime and at the lake. It seemed to be the special beverage to enjoy at the end of a hot summer day.

    Every once in a while I’ll break out a G&T at the lake and remember fondly those younger years with friends & family.

  • The Piano

    The Piano

    This is The Piano. It’s been in our home for over 20 years now and yesterday it gave me a very bitter sweet surprise.

    The Piano

    When I first met The Piano it was in the home of family friends, the McKenzies, who lived on Niakwa Road. Our families would visit back and forth over the years and my memories of The Piano was that it was used by many people who played it during parties. Usually, there were several people gathered round and singing various songs lead by the pianist.

    As time went on the McKenzies moved to Toronto and my parents bought their house on Niakwa Road and The Piano came with the house. My mom played and I tried to learn how off and on with very little commitment and a corresponding amount of success.

    More time passes and as my parents downsized out of their home, The Piano had to find a new home, and it came to stay with us. I’d always hoped to learn to play. At one point Shirley gave me in-home piano lessons and I made a bit of progress. However, I was a less than diligent student and my lack of commitment to practicing meant that I still can’t play the piano. But, I have very fond memories of all the times my mom played The Piano over the years.

    Yesterday, I’m laying on the floor near The Piano doing some stretching. I’ve been on the floor in this area many times but this time I see a yellow post-it note up under The Piano, something I’d never noticed before.

    The Note

    That’s my mom’s handwriting. She passed away over 22 years ago but in an instant it was like she was there with me. Seeing her handwriting confirming the generous gift of The Piano was very overwhelming and emotional. Thanks mom, I miss you.

  • The Wake

    The Wake

    It’s a calm clear morning. The lake is calm. It’s just as the sun is coming over the horizon. A boat goes by towards Smith Camps. The wake of the boat sends waves out in both directions.

    The wake

    Shortly, the boat is gone but the waves still travel outward. Because I’ve passed by this way my life, my presences has an impact. It sends out “waves” that have an impact long after I’m gone. Waves hit the shore and then reverberate back out again. Not as strong but still making “waves” like the impact on a second generation.

    I want my “waves” to have the best possible impact on those around me as I pass by. 2021/9/9

  • More and more true

  • Where does my help come from?

    Where does my help come from?

    Many years ago my mom shared some of her experiences as she returned home from Montreal in September of 1961 after attending the funeral of her brother Ken, age 37.

    Mom recounted how on the drive home this verse helped her deal with the tragedy of Ken dying at such a young age.


    I lift up my eyes to the mountains
        where does my help come from?
    My help comes from the Lord,
        the Maker of heaven and earth.

    Psalm 121:1-2

    Over the years this verse has come to have a special place in my heart. Most mornings as I sit in my downstairs office I get to look at this picture while doing devotions and reading the bible.

    This is a painting my mom did and is one of many works of art that we’re blessed to have in almost every room of our house. If you look closely on the road there is a boy and he’s playing with his dog. I like to think that boy is me. I never had a dog growing up due to allergies and I think mom was not too thrilled with the possibility of looking after a pet. Instead, I got turtles and fish. Less work and less attachment, easier to “let go”.

    Anyway, recently one of the devotions was all about Psalm 121 entitled “I will lift up mine eyes“. Every time I look at this picture I’m reminded of this Psalm by the mountains in the background. Interestingly enough there is some bible commentary about looking up to the mountains for help from the gods as people believed way back in the day that “the gods” dwelled in the mountains. For me the forceful comeback to this idea is NO, My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

    Another take on lifting up you eyes is to get you focus off your problems and up onto God. From Day 1 of the devotion:

    When chaos surrounds you and the waves of life seem to crash against your ship, choose to lift up your eyes beyond life’s challenges and circumstances. Choose to lift up your eyes and focus on Him. Remove your gaze off of the problem and center your focus on Him. 

    What are your eyes focused on? Who are your eyes fixed on? Are you meditating on the problem or are you trusting in the One who can shift the situation in an instant? When you meditate on the problem you’re amplifying its weight on the throne of your heart. 

    What are you feeding the ground of your heart? You can either feed your faith by meditating on God’s Word or you can feed your problem by worrying on the cares of the world. Fix your eyes on Christ. Lift up your eyes from your narrow problem and shift your eyes onto a bigger God. God is bigger than your problem. Worship God.

    Lifting is a choice. When you choose to lift up your eyes, you’re making a conscious decision to worship God instead of worshipping your problem. 

    My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

  • The Prince of Peace on Christmas Day

    The Prince of Peace on Christmas Day

    From today’s devotion…

    Peace is hard to find. Trouble tears apart our lives. Doubt delivers us to our fears. Worry warps our sense of reality. Before we know it we’re trapped in the chaos of day to day life and panic takes over. Yet Christ came to be our peace. Everything—our hopes, worries, fears, doubts, dreams—are met by him and found in him. He can put our worries to rest and surround us with an everlasting peace that calms the raging storm in our lives.

    Christmas is a busy time of year and it’s easy to get caught up in all the chaos. This holiday season, let’s make time in our schedules to experience the peace that Christ brings. Let’s set aside quiet time with our family and more importantly ourselves to reflect on God’s promises and let his peace wash over us. Through the good and bad, through times of laughter and tears, Christ came to be our peace.

  • Best widget so far

    Best widget so far

    OK, so I’m a bit of an Apple fan, not quite a fan boy, but up there.

    With the latest iOS and the ability for widgets on the Home Screen I did some playing around and settled on this Apple widget at the top of my screen.

    By default it shows my 6 things in a sort of random, but also some what intelligent way.

    First thing in the morning I get a display about what apps I might want to launch, scarily predicting what I might like to do based on past usage. Then the weather, generally useful, the calendar for the day with the next 1-2 events, again useful. Top Apple News stories which is OK but I have not yet succumbed to subscribing. A Map, a bit of a mystery for me and not yet useful. And then there is the best of all!

    It’s the photo! Generally, some combination of Grandkids like today’s where we were going to the 2019 Santa Claus parade with all of them together, which is a bit of a rare event to go somewhere all together with just Shirley and I. As I recall it was like hearing cats, but a lot of fun.

    If it’s not Grandkids it’s some other photo that Apple has figured out as a “Featured Photo”. Not sure how they do that. Some of them I’ve flagged as “liked” other are well… just photos that show up.

    Always brings a smile to my face and an extra bit of happiness to my day.

  • Geocaches for Grandkids

    Geocaches for Grandkids

    I’ve been a geocacher for a few years, since 2004, and been sporadically active over the years. Last year I introduced my Grandkids to geocaching and it was a pretty big success. A lot of it was probably due to the first cache we found which was loaded with toys! They could hardly believe they could find these things and then just take stuff. This was tempered a bit when I explained that you should also leave something and it was more about the hunting than the scoring some new trinkets.

    During 2019 I got the idea to create a cache for each one of them. We launched The Parker and then kind of let things slide a bit. Earlier this year I pulled together the other three with the idea of hiding them with each of the Grandkids. Well, that wasn’t working out too well as on hot summer days when they were at the lake nobody really wanted to leave the dock to wander around in the bush.

    So, I recently hid them myself and hopefully we can “find” each of them together with the grandkids in the near future.

    The Geocaches

    The corresponding Travel Bug trackables

  • Missing these guys