Friday, September 5th - everyone is off to a good start!

Conditions at 5:15 am: 18' that feels more like 22'
Expected later: sunny and a high of 23' that will feel more like 28 - not as hot as was predicted earlier in the week. It's not looking so good for southern Ontario - they're saying this could be the hottest day of the summer, and that's saying something as they've had some brutally hot weather this year.

Well, everyone has gotten settled into their new routine. And others have gotten where they needed to be.

Bev and Tiny never expected to get off the island as quickly as they did. They were waiting for the 1:00 ferry on Monday and were not optimistic they would get on. The CBC was traveling about the parking lot interviewing people in line to get their thoughts on the situation. They just started interviewing Tiny when the line started moving. Needless to say his 15 minutes of fame turned into about 4 seconds, as he turned his attention to the moving traffic ahead of him. Luck was with them and they got on the boat. So they made their way to Pictou to continue their holiday travels.   Have fun guys!

Tuesday was  the first day of school for our grandkids and by all accounts, everything went very well. I talked to Meg on Tuesday evening after her dance class and everything went much better than she expected.
James had an orientation at his high school in August and they've put the highlights on youtube. I can only tell James by the blue baseball cap with the number 32 on it. It seems they have a great system where they have what are called Link Leaders. The Link leaders are grade 11 and 12 students who volunteer to be "mentors" for the year. Each gr 9 student is assigned 3 Link leaders that they have their phone numbers and schedules, etc, and if they ever have any questions or problems they can go to one of their link leaders and get help. What a great support and resource for the new students. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvKGQFxndug&feature=youtu.be

Patti  tells me she wanted to get a photo of the three of them together outside, in front of the house, but unfortunately there were kids at James' bus stop and they could see the house from there, so that wasn't a cool thing to be seen doing. I told her I know what that's like. I think I totally embarrassed him when he was on PEI in August. We were in the line to go through security at the airport and it was time for him to go through. I gave him a hug in the lineup and he kind of said very quietly, "Not here Grandma".  I thought that was pretty funny - but our boy is growing up!  I guess it's going to take a while for his mom and I to figure out what's cool and what's NOT cool! We should have it figured out by the time Tristen gets to this age.

Had a glass of wine with Brenda last night, who also had a great first day of school!

Speaking of back to school, I got this little story from our friend Katy and I thought it was worth sharing:

Her Name is Rose

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.

I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, 'Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?'

 I laughed and enthusiastically responded, 'Of course you may!' and she gave me a giant squeeze.

 'Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?' I asked.

 She jokingly replied, 'I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids...'

 'No seriously,' I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

 'I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!' she told me.

 After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.

 We became instant friends.  Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop.  I was always mesmerized listening to this 'time machine' as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

 Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

 At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, 'I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.'

 As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, ' We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.

 There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.

 We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!

 There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.

 If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.

 Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.

 The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.'

 She concluded her speech by courageously singing 'The Rose..'

 She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. 
At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. 
 One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

 Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.