The Christmas tree is down. The Christmas ornaments around the house have been safely stored until next November. I could pick up all the outdoor lights but will leave them through the historic Ukrainian Christmas. 2023 has come to an end and we have welcome in 2024.
As I look back on the past year, it has been one of mixed emotions. The continuing war in Ukraine brings sadness as does the conflict in the Middle East. There have been many wonderful things to remember this past year. We reached the end of the Covid pandemic. We also learned that the illness will be with us forever and that we will regularly have to have inoculations to protect us just as we do for flu.
I look back to the celebration of my mother-in-law Viv Foster’s 100th birthday. To be so with it at that age and engaged with all her family was wonderful. I think back to the summer on Rainy Lake. The weather was perfect, and my granddaughters and grandnieces discovered how exciting Turtle Island is. Hiking the trails, watching a beaver, discovering tree toads, catching a fish off the dock, listening to the loons in the bay and watching a mother duck look after her ten ducklings as they followed in line behind her.
I accomplished one of my bucket lists to do items. I took my two sons fishing out of Prince Rupert on Thunder 1. Alone with my sons, the four-day trip let me discover what great men they have become as adults. The fishing was unbelievable, and we brought back our limits of halibut and coho. But the growing changing relationship between me and my sons was the best gift of the year.
I am heartened that my mom Delsie Cumming, even with failing eyesight and Alzheimer’s disease, continues to have a positive outlook on life. She can carry on a dynamic conversation about bridge and our family and her grand children. And she will tell you that Rainycrest is a wonderful place to live. I thank all the staff for the care that she receives.
Yes, we have all been affected by inflation of grocery items. The cause can be attributed to the war in Ukraine, the increase in gas prices, and the drought across the beef growing areas of North America in 2021 and 2022 that forced farmers to sell off large herds of beef.
Inflation has come down. The price of gasoline across Canada has dropped. The stock market has recovered from the disastrous prior year.
2024 promises to be a better year. New businesses have been proposed at the property next to Canadian Tire. The BMI group should begin developing their Wellness Center on the former mill property. It is hoped that Riverside will announce a campaign to fund the purchase of an MRI machine for LaVerendrye Hospital that will remove the need for district residents to travel to Thunder Bay.
