A Year in Review: Part Two

Welcome back! We are pleased to present part two of our Rioux year in review. Now where did we leave you?

May was a bright and busy month. It started with E learning about bike safety at school. Note the odd pairing of an adult helmet and a toddler's bike, complete with training wheels. Something about this picture doesn't add up. Perhaps E should ask Santa for a proper bike, or a growth spurt.

We wore ourselves out this month. J was in a play -- Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad -- in which she narrated a retelling of The Odyssey from beyond the grave. It was a ghostly good time, and the critics thought so too.


 But her boys were happy to have her home nights and weekends once again. So happy that they "volunteered" to help her strike the set when the run was over. What a lovely gesture for mother's day, and a great way to spend J's birthday. She must remember to thank them, again. Other notable events this month included the onset of the teacher's strike, which saw rotating job action across the province and a nasty wage cut from the oh-so-supportive BC Liberals. If you suspect a dash of sarcasm behind that statement, you are correct. The personal is political, after all.

M and E didn't let it get them down. They kept their regular routine of running their parents ragged, then crashing like kittens themselves (as seen below).

This year E experienced firsthand the truth in the saying, "All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten." E learned...

• When you go out in the world, hold hands and stick together. 
• It's best to leave your toys at home.
• Share classroom supplies, including toys, with all the other children. 
• It's not okay to take things that don't belong to you, even if you REALLY like them. 
• When you do something wrong, you have to make it right. 
• When you make things right with another person, you will be forgiven.
• Pushing your hand in another kid's face will not make you friends -- you'll just end up getting bitten. 
• Some kids learn faster than others.

• Rocks are sharp, but barnacles are sharper. 
• Sculpins are slippery little devils. 
• Catching fish is great fun, but they need to be set free. 
• There are 2 vowels in the name: E-T-H-A-N
• There are 3 vowels in the name: R-I-O-U-X
• Reading gets easier with practice. 
• Practice gets easier when you're having fun. 
• Sharing what you've learned with others brings you closer together.
• When you hurt somebody, say you're sorry. 
• When you say you're sorry, MEAN it. 
• We were all babies once. 
• We all need lots and lots of love.
• We all have lots and lots of love to give. 
• Little brothers look up to their big brothers, especially when big brothers read to little brothers while they're sitting on the pot. 

And the Js learned a few things too. They learned that being a family is a complicated business. They learned that being married is more complicated still. But even through the complications of family, marriage, and life as they know it, the Js made time to celebrate the years they've spent together. Traditionally, the eighth wedding anniversary is celebrated with a gift of pottery. The Js toasted their health and happiness with handcrafted goblets on loan from a generous friend. Salut!