Ten things I love about the letter "D"

A few days ago Joni and Annette started this game of ten things I love and they were given a letter to write ten things they love beginning with the letter. Well I jumped in. My letter is "D". Those of you who know me well will know there is only one thing beginning with the letter "D" that I love and that is DANIEL. So I'm posting ten things I love to remember about Daniel growing up.

Daniel is my first born. He never was a good sleeper so when he finally slept it was a momentous occasion and I had to take a picture. I waited for him for a very long time, and sometimes I thought he was going to be a miracle of science, I know better now, he was a gift. My son shine was born in the middle of a snow storm. It was a P.D. ( Professional Development Day, for teachers so students were home) and I was looking after my two nieces at my mothers house and cleaning as usual. When my sister picked up her girls I told her not to make plans that evening because likely we would be going to the hospital. My husband was on night shift (what else was new) and he wasn't answering the phone. At 11:40 p.m. Friday January 31st. 1986 I gave birth to a beautiful, perfect little boy, 6lbs. 7 oz. My life changed forever.

This is Daniel asleep as a Easter Bunny.








As I say Daniel didn't want to nap, so the routine was I took him for a walk and he would fall asleep before we hit the corner of our street. approx. 3oofeet. if I took him out of the stroller that was it so he slept at the front door in his stroller.



Daniel loves cats and cats love him. When he had a paper route the cats of the neighborhood would follow him around, and he then would have to take them all back home. Quite a ritual.









Probably the most significant period of Daniels life was the "Ghostbuster" years. He hadn't even seen the movie, but he knew all about it just from the trailers, and he was hooked. When I was expecting my second son my neighbor thought she would give me a break and invited him over for a play day with her children. He wore his equipment and checked every inch of her home for ghosts. He changed his name at school to Peter (Vienkman). The school called to see if a correction was needed. You can see how significant a part of my life this little being had become.

When he was five he wanted to go fishing, well my husband again was working nights so we know where there was going to go. So we took a fishing course. Before we knew it Daniel, Sasha and me were tangle in vast amounts of fishing wire. We took the bus to the lake, a very deep lake, (I can't swim) and the fishing began. I think I had a small stroke that day. And then he went to school. Of course that was a extensive negotiation. He felt he could learn everything at home with me. And as flattering as that sounds, I needed him to go to school. He was a good student, bright and eager, but still insisted I be around him. So he volunteered me. This is a photo of Daniel at his First Communion, I did all the pew bows for that event. and some of the banners and part of the retreat. He sure thought I needed to keep busy.I remained a library volunteer for 16 years, long after Daniel graduated.
Then there were the rocketry years. Sasha and I travelled with Daniel by bus on Thursday evenings so Daniel could build rockets. He did very well. I bought insurance, because I just thought one day when I least expect it he'll set one off in the house. He never did, he did take every precaution, he assembled all his stuff in my dining room, and he continued with other hobbies still in my dining room.

During the summer between grade seven and eight Daniel decided we needed a pond in our backyard. We dug for two months. Sept. 12, 1999 we filled our pond with water and fish. Even though it has evolved somewhat over the last nine years it's still Daniels pond. He really doesn't do anything with it. It's all natural. Huh!

Then of course he had taken so many swimming lessons he became a lifeguard. He decided he needed to change his hair colour. To Ketchup RED. That has always been his favorite colour, and that was what is his little swimming team was the red something or others.

Above all the things Daniel has been interested in cars were a very central part, from his little hotwheels that he wished would grow up along with him, to the Ghostbuster wagon, or micromachines. He now has gone on to teaching himself how to build a car, so he bought this baby. RED of course.
It doesn't look like that anymore it's in bits and pieces all over the place. So here are 10 things I remember about Daniel, even though I love everything about him. He is cute when he's asleep, he has outragous ideas, he always keeps me busy, wheather it's cleaning up after his wild schemes, or looking for strange pieces for his inventions, or travelling to the ends of the earth for courses, taking busses all over the place just to check something out. This Christmas I gave him a set of salt and pepper shakers because he has always been the spice in my life and most certainly the best "D" I can think of.