An unplanned family vist

It’s always great to have a visitor, it’s even better when it is not planned in advance. My son Matt sent me a text to see if we were at the park as he was going to be driving right by the park and would like to stop by for a quick visit. When the visit is an unscheduled, spur of the moment visit it can really change and brighten your day, he was heading to Point Clark just a few miles north of our park to meet Sarah and spend a couple of days with friends at a cottage on the Lake Huron.

What made it even better, it even was our day off as well, so we could sit and visit without any guilt or pressing tasks, not that our schedule is so demanding that it won’t allow some time during any day for a visit, but it’s just easier when your off the clock anyway. As you can tell from the photo possibly there could have been a craft beer or two sampled as well, which has became a bit of a passion for me. Matt and Sarah have a plan, and it is a plan that is both obtainable and pretty smart, while they are not totally minimalists, they certainly live a more minimalistic life than most, they seem to have a solid idea as to what they really want and are driven to get there.

I think Matt calls it “not working for the man” while I understand what he says, I also know it’s very hard to get away from, but they have a plan and if they work the plan I’m pretty sure they will get to the goal. While we did not get into details, travel, and more time just to enjoy life are high on the list. They both have good work ethics and I sure have always been valuable employees, Matt is a licensed industrial electrician, the kind that play with the big voltage power in commercial building, while Sarah has take over her fathers business, servicing the automotive industry, with tire equipment, brake lathes, and alignment racks, it is a tough business in a male dominated industry. But no doubt in my my mind that she can handle herself, as she is a very capable young lady. I had been using her dads services for many years, and as I sit here thinking about it most likely since the mid 1970’s for my first brake lathe when I opened my first automotive repair shop.

Anyway back to the visit, it was only couple of hours, but it’s so great to have these discussions and to see that while so many are just money driven (and I was one of them) he truly understands how to enjoy life and family, he must have got that trait from his mother as I’m just starting to learn and understand those values…

Matt and Sarah live in Stratford Ontario a quaint little town known for its theater and their Shakespearian productions that are second to none, They have a completely renovated bungalow on a quiet street in a mature part of the town and a cottage on a small lake where they try to spent much of their summers. They are a young active couple who just finished a three or four day hike in Algonquin Park with another couple, a hike not for the faint of heart or the old and feeble. Matt has embraced a vegan diet and life style, being and old farm boy I struggle with it but to each their own, it is not something that I can see in my future, I enjoy vegetables as much as the next guy, hell maybe even more than most. I just don’t understand trying to make something taste like something you don’t want to eat…like the new beyond meat burgers that everyone is pushing…I guess some more discussion will be needed to sell me on that concept.

But again it always is great to see Matt at any time, even if its just for an hour or two, I was just remembering it was just a couple of years ago he helped me replace the cooling unit on our coach refrigerator, a task I wasn’t quite prepared for, just didn’t know how heavy a coach fridge was…so the young lad had to came to this old mans rescue! He is presently on the last one hundred days of a year long photo shot, posting one picture everyday on Facebook for the year a task that sounds simpler that it actually is, as many are candid with a little sarcasm missed in…I certainly had been enjoying them and look forward everyday to see what pops up…