Just another day in Canada....

Today was one of those days when we were reminded about how different our life is in Canada. Kish just returned from a day of skiing with Louis in the Eastern Townships – about two hours away. The drive home was beautiful while crossing the Champlain Bridge with the skyline of Montreal lit up like a Christmas tree against the water – it truly is a beautiful city. Not huge like Chicago, slightly understated, yet still stately. Then, driving into the neighborhood kids were playing hockey in the lighted outdoor rink two blocks from our house.

Earlier in the day, Kish and Louis were up and out of the house by 9:30 to head out to Owls Head, a ski area where Louis will start a Special Olympics program next week. We wanted to get familiar with the area and get Louis’ season pass. Paul and Danielle were staying home because Danielle had water polo practice later in the afternoon, and it’s an important practice as her team is preparing for a tournament in Toronto next weekend.

After Kish and Louis left the house, Paul and Danielle were offered fantastic tickets to the Montreal Canadians game this afternoon from a neighbor – always a tough ticket to get -- and especially great tickets. Of course they went to the game. It was a good thing Kish and Louis were already gone, or it would have been a Pisani face off to determine who would go to the game. They had a great time and got to see a shoot out to determine the winner – and it was the Canadians (or Habs) as the locals call them.

The ski day for Kish and Louis was great. Louis was up on skis and IN CONTROL. In the scheme of skiing this is huge – sort of like watching your kids swing or swim for the first time on their own. Later in the afternoon there was a meeting for Special Olympics. We’ve participated in Special Olympics programs in Naperville and were able to get absorbed, with anonymity, into an existing, nicely funded program. This program at the Owls Head is grass roots, and Louis rounds out the roster with eight athletes. Before I knew it, I was adjusting our spring break travel schedule to accommodate a Special Olympics ski racing competition in March. Huh? We’ll be spending the next eight Sundays at Owls Head helping out the program while Louis has one-on-one lessons and practices racing. Chances are you have heard of Special Olympics. If you have a chance EXPERIENCE them – do! The programs, athletes and volunteers are amazing.

It was a nice Canadian day for the Pisani Family. Louis is back in school tomorrow. Danielle has another day off so we are heading to Plattsburgh, New York (1:20 away)  to go to Target – something we miss up here! We have some returns to make and shopping to do. While we love Canada, we are irritated by the sales tax and higher prices so we opt to cross the border to shop from time to time. Hopefully no one from Canadian customs is reading this blog.