Dumb and Dumber

I went to B's summer hockey tournament yesterday evening - his team was in the finals. I love that B has been so dedicated and passionate about hockey since he started playing at the age of 4. And with both parents being former skaters, I figure that there's a lot of natural talent in the kid. Anyhow, they lost the game which has never been a big deal to B, myself, or his dad ... in fact, we have been blessed by the fact that B has usually been on a team coached by the same guy who stresses fair play and fun above everything else. But this summer - different coach. And lots of yelling at the kids on the bench. And the parents in the stands were unbelievable last night. One guy yelled for the entire game at top volume. (Dumb.) And the goalies mom and grandmother were sitting right across from me and yelled at their kid to "get your ass up" after he missed a save and the other team scored. (Dumber.) I don't think that the beer tent outside the arena was such a good idea - it just made the obnoxious idiots even louder. What are these kids exposed to at home? Why do parents enforce their own dreams and (lack of) self-esteem on these poor kids? It's summer hockey people! It's supposed to be fun for the kids!

The Hill

Today I conquered The Hill. The BIG hill. Sydenham hill.

If you're not familiar with this area then you have no idea what I'm talking about. Sydenham hill is a huge hill in Dundas that was built in the 70's that climbs the north side of the escarpment. It is a Dundas landmark. And it's huge. The Canadian cycling team practices on this hill. In cycling circles, there are people who will ask you if you have climbed "The Hill" yet. Up until now, the only route I had taken was down the hill ... which is a rush! (Imagine going 60km/hr on those incredibly skinny tires - crazy, but exhilarating!) My cycling group kept telling me that I could do the hill, but I was terrified and had convinced myself that they were exaggerating my cycling skills.

But today, my friend M talked me into it. Or more like, he wore me out until I said yes. You see, ever since my big amazing bike riding fundraiser in June, I have been slacking off. Then there was a couple vacations thrown in (like this past weekend I was in Wisconsin drinking American beer ... far too much American beer). So I've been putting on weight and haven't been nearly as active as I should be. Anyhow, I finally told M that I would do it. It was a beautiful day ... why not?

So we started up the hill and after about 20 seconds I was sucking wind. And my hips were hurting (bad sign-out of shape). But instead of panicking, I put my head down and took a very slow but steady pace up the hill. It was easy to distract myself from the pain - the view was amazing, the air was clear (for a change), and I had a song in my head. And before I knew it - I had reached the top where M was waiting with a big cheer for me.

Cycling is such a mental game. And I do the worst thing possible with hills - I am scared of them. But today I conquered The Hill and I feel great!

The trip

Latvia was an experience. I really had no idea what to expect, and many times my sister and I just looked at each other and couldn't believe that we were there. We had heard so much about this country when we were growing up, but I never figured that I would actually visit the place let alone with my entire family! Here are some of my personal highlights and observations from my trip:
- I have a better understanding of what my mother went through. I didn't have a good idea about the Soviet/German occupations that she lived through. And why it was so important for her to escape. But I received a sobering lesson in Latvian history at the Occupation Museum.
- It was great to see my kids so interested in all the history of the places we visited. Not once did I hear "I'm bored".
- My mother was so happy to have all of her kids and grandkids there. I haven't seen her that happy in ... well ... I don't think that I've ever seen her that happy.
- The Latvian women were gorgeous! Blond, blue-eyed, tanned, skinny. They all dressed to the nines in skimpy little summer dresses and walked those cobblestone streets in 4-inch heels. I felt like frumpy central around these women.
- But .... not friendly people. Not mean, just not warm people. Most do not like English-speaking people (and unlike other countries in Europe, it wasn't because they thought we were American - they just don't like English-speaking people).
- Our daily Double Coffee ritual. And "chocolate" sprinkles for my double cappuccino (funny story I'll save for later).
- The Baltic beaches were beautiful. Soft, white sand that stretched forever along the coast.
- Remnants of the Soviet occupation were everywhere. Abandoned military-style buildings, checkpoint towers at road intersections - eye-opening. Karosta was an area in Liepaja that was built for the Soviet military and their families. Most of the buildings sit empty now so it was like a ghost town driving through it. But then you'd come across areas where people were still living - sometimes there would be a huge apartment building and half of the building would be boarded up and run down, and then the other half of the same building would be lived in. It was a strange feeling driving through there.
- Riga is a hidden gem of a city. Like any old European city that I've visited, it had an old town with cobblestone streets (and no vehicles but delivery trucks and some taxis allowed), museums galore, lots of cafes, great restaurants, pretty decent shopping, and lots of history. The central market was housed in 4 old zeppelin hangars - massive! Although on the day we visited, we didn't see the tanks of eels that we had heard so much about.
- The Russians kinda scared me (make up almost 50% of the population). They just always sounded so harsh and mobster-like. Even the women.
- They need screens on their windows. I was devoured by mosquitos every night ... in my hotel room!
- I saw the house that my mother was living in right before her family had to run from yet another Soviet invasion in 1944. Can you imagine having to leave everything behind and starting over from nothing?
- On a happy note, we stayed in an inn in Liepaja that used to be my great-grandfather's house. When Latvia became independent again, residents were given a small timeframe to regain property if they had the necessary paperwork, deeds, etc. My mother convinced her cousin to try for this house, and he got it so they took over what was now an inn and turned it into a really nice place.

I don't know if I'll ever make it back, and I'd like to see the other Baltic countries (Estonia and Lithuania) ... but I am so thankful that I was able to make this trip.