Fathers Day Reflections: 5 Favourite Moments So Far

The hubby and I are celebrating our fifth Fathers’ Day this weekend. Time sure does fly!

I’ve written openly about the ups and downs of raising a child with great potential and challenging needs since launching this blog in December.

This weekend, it’s all about celebrating the positive and favourite moments on this unpredictable and joyful journey of life with T.

There are too many to list, so I’m picking just five, one from each year T’s been with us.

Wishing all the wonderful dads, dads-to-be, and father figures a Happy Fathers Day!

Our First Camping Trip (Summer 2016)

At 17 months old, we took T on his first camping trip to beautiful Killbear Provincial Park.

The hubby and I have been camping annually since first meeting each other in 2003 and we wanted to instill that love of the outdoors with T.

It was certainly a memorable experience, including setting up T’s portable crib inside our tent.

I loved seeing the genuine look of wonder on his face as he stood on the rocky shores, looking out at the breathtaking view ahead of him.

We’ve taken T on five camping trips so far and marvel at his maturity and growth with each successive trip.

We look forward to many more camping trips in the years to come.

Our First Family Cruise (Winter 2017)

Two friends got married with a destination wedding on a Caribbean cruise.

The three of us were happy to tag along and it was T’s first time going on a cruise.

T had multiple cringe-inducing meltdowns on the flight and boarding the ship, including one at the airport that was so bad that the kind staff let us bypass the 45-minute line up. Silver lining!

T had awful night terrors in the middle of the night that must’ve been heard by the neighbouring rooms.

But you know what? It was a wonderful trip filled with great memories, beautiful sights, amazing food, and stories we can laugh about now.

A few weeks after returning home from this trip, we finalized our adoption in court.

Visiting Grammy and Granddad (Summer 2018)

It’s a summer tradition to spend a week visiting the hubby’s parents at their waterside cottage in the East Coast of Canada in a small Acadian town.

T loves it there, because there’s a nice beach to run around in, it’s not very crowded, and he sleeps so well at night with the sound of the waves and the salt water air.

It is also nice for the hubby to see his parents whom he only he gets to see one or two times a year (if they visit us). I get to see my family in town much more often.

We’re lucky to have wonderful and supportive parents and family on the hubby’s side and on my side too.

Mexico! (Winter 2019)

For our family trip in 2019, we stayed at a beautiful resort in Mexico.

It was T’s first resort trip and the hubby and my first time in Mexico.

At our prior resort trips, we liked to pack our itinerary with day excursions and activities.

This trip, we took the complete opposite. Zero plans. Slept in during the day, lied down by the pool and beach. Did nothing but eat, drink fruity cocktails and be merry.

T had such a great time. He still talks about it and asks about going back. We will one day when things return to a bit more normal.

Staying Home (Most of 2020!)

This year will be remembered as the pandemic year when life came to a screeching halt, when we were forced to slow things down, when stress levels reached new records of high.

But it was also the year we were gifted with an unexpected amount of concentrated family time and to get a front row intensive look at T’s growth and maturity.

We’re not out of the woods yet and I will be a little sad when we do emerge out of this experience – to be honest.

I have so much gratitude in my heart for this unexpected experience.