Wisdom

I work at a camp.  It's a large facility, and as the summer approaches we are seeing more a more staff come in.  We all gather at the staff table for breakfast every morning, and these days there are over 25 of us in all.

I've worked at this camp on and off since I was 17.  My parents work here and I have often found favor in being able to get a job in such a great environment.

When I was 17 I worked maintenance with an elderly man named Werner.  Werner is from Germany.  He came to Canada many years ago, moving to a farm near the camp.  I have always enjoyed working with Werner because he is such a great source for knowledge.  Not only would he teach me things about tractors and things, he also did it with a witty sense of humor.  One day, back when I was 17, I had left one of the ride-on lawn mowers out at night.  It had rained that night and, when we came to it in the morning it wouldn't start.  Without missing a beat he told me that, "There are 2 things you should never leave outside at night; your wife and your tractor."  He was funny, but serious at the same time.  I've never forgotten that moment and I don't think I ever will.

Werner has a great command of the English language, but has a strong German accent that we've all grown to love.  When telling you that you've done a good job he will say, "Good Yop!"

Another time, Werner and some of the other people at camp replaced the transmission on one of the tractors.  The process involved literally splitting the body in half to get at the old part and replace it.  Once they were finished, one of the other men took it for a spin.  He came back with a big smile.  "Runs like new!"  To which Werner replied, "Just because you give the grandma the steroids doesn't mean she can have the baby."

Brilliant.

14 years later and Werner still comes out to camp a couple of days a week.  He has been faithful with the time and the things he has, donating a lot towards the camp, including the tractor from the story above.  I always listen to what he says because he's worthy of my attention.  And even though I'm much more mature than when I was 17, I still listen.

That day at breakfast, my boys were fussing about the eggs they had to eat.  I tell them all the time that they need to eat the food they are given, even telling them that a lot of children don't have anything to eat at all.  But what does that mean to a 3 and 5 year old?  It's hard for them to understand such a thing, and I am gracious and patient towards them for it.

That day, I let it go.

So when Miles had finished his toast and sausages and oranges, and after I had argued with him about the eggs and finally came to an agreement ("Just take a bite of them, then you can be finished".)  I told him that he could throw them away in the big garbage cans by the dish area.

The cooks always have to throw out food.  We have groups here this Spring, some of them numbering well over 200 people, and you can never get the right amount of food made.  So, in the end, a lot of the stuff that won't last a few days is thrown out.  Miles took his dish over to the bin and dumped the pile of eggs in.

Later in the day, as I was walking to the shop, I saw Werner packing up his van for the drive home.  He came over to me, and this is what he said.

"Brett, when I see your boy, your son not eating the food he is given, it makes me think.  It makes me remember the times when, during the war, we kids did not have enough to eat.  We starved.  We were very blessed to have anything at all to eat.  So when I see these good things on his plate and thrown in the trash I can't help but think that this is sin.  I think that this is the parent's responsibility to make sure that the child takes just enough food.  Then later, if he needs more, you get him some.  But this waste, it makes me think of the times when we did not have things to eat."

At first, I felt the urge to defend myself.  I tell Miles this sort of thing all the time, but he just doesn't listen.  And usually we will make him eat everything on his plate.  Werner just seemed to catch me on the wrong day.

But I swallowed that urge down and listened to him.  I felt awful.  I felt bad for the way we do things.  I felt shameful that Werner needs to be reminded of this kind of thing when he comes out to serve at camp.

And the things he said weren't said in a mean way.  They were said with a sadness, just how any of us should feel when we stare directly at the consumption and waste we plow through each day.

I told Werner I was sorry and that I'd work harder at teaching Miles and Jonas this kind of thing.

Before supper that night I got the boys together and showed them a picture of some little kids during WWII.  It wasn't a shocking photo of starving children, just a picture of a group of kids standing around in dirty clothes, some of them without shoes, that kind of thing.  I told them the story that Werner told me, about how he lived and what he survived.  They said they understood, but I knew that it still wasn't a big deal to them.  I can't blame them, of course; they're too young to grasp that kind of thing.  We went to the cafeteria and they ate all of their food this time.

It was a valuable lesson for me.  I will remember it every time I tire of teaching my kids the value of things.

The one thing about this that made me think is that these treasures like Werner aren't going to be around forever.  If we keep letting our kids get away with things and if we feed them sugar, fat, and Playstations every day then they're probably not going to grow up thinking that things have a whole lot of value.

We've become soft, and we're making soft kids so that they can grow up to be soft people like us.

I am thankful for Werner.  I am thankful for his wisdom. He survived WWII.  His family literally escaped there just in time.  And he lives near me now and works along side me.  It is a privilege to have him around and I am determined to take what he says to heart and apply it to my life as much as I can.

Gitzel Update from the countryside of Canada

It's been almost four months since we arrived back in Canada. The truth is that time hasn't flown by. Four months seems just about right. A lot has been happening around here.

The first thing to say is that the timing of everything worked out well. We got to spend a lot of time with Barbara's dad and her family all the way up until his passing in December. I recall a moment in the hospital, probably 2 weeks before he passed. We had the boys there and we all said goodbye to him for the day. By that time he had not been very responsive to people; mostly just laying down and watching the people and things going on around him. That day, as we were leaving for the day, he was sitting up at the edge of his bed. As I said goodbye he looked up and winked at me. I smiled at him and somewhere in there we made a connection. One last joke for the son-in-law. Something I'll take along with me, that's for sure.  He was a great father-in-law.

I can't say that those days are distant memories. It will be a long year for Barbara, her sisters and her mom without their man. He will be missed. Along the way, the girls will have the solid foundation of love that their mom and dad started so long ago. The girls have each other, and that's much more than most people can say.

January was full of a lot of different activities.  The main highlight was when Barbara and I went down to Washington to visit the Wilsons and dabble in a bit of China processing. We put that on hold all through December, so it was nice to process things with the wise Wilsons. We also had a good time with their boys; playing football by the water, building a stick fort, and watching them tear up the skate park. Jeff and Carrianne cooked delicious for us. We eat delicious, and it was amazing. We owe them some Canadian hospitality whenever they can take a break from their busy, selfless lives.

February came and a bit of normalcy arrive with it. I started my job out at Camp Nakamun. My official title is Program Director, but really, its been a lot of everything so far. Thus is the life out at camp. I handle summer registrations, staff applications, some interviews, organize the video material, answer questions on the phone, set up sound systems, straighten out the website, and shovel snow once in a while. It's a busy, active job where I work with a lot of great people in preparation for hiring 40 or so more great people for the upcoming summer.

Barbara has found a lot of things to do. She's teaching preschool at the local school down the road from camp. She'll also be working on a diploma in Early Childhood Development.

Miles goes to Kindergarten and Jonas attends the preschool. They both act out here and there; not quite settled in to Canada life. Can't really blame them with all of the changes going on.

We're hoping to be out at camp for at least a year or so. That might depend on how much work they have for me when the slow season rolls around again next winter. We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

As far as integrating back into Canada, Barbara mentioned that being out in the countryside helps a lot. The city is full of a lot of noise and static. The countryside is quiet and patient with us. We're thankful for it and its healing work in our souls.

The photos shown here tell a little bit about the last few months. Take a look.  Click on them for a closer look.

Thanks for reading.

Grocery Shopping in comfort and style

Miles Canadian pose

The Wilsons cooking up some delicious

Miles first day of Canadian Kindergarten

On the lake

Hockey and ice fishing

Our new car

Bedtime stories at the cottage

Jonas the movie star

Our home at camp; cottage #10

Status

Some people turn in Facebook statuses that read like Oscar acceptance speeches.

"I'd like to thank @jamie and @philip for being with me at #hipaurant for the consumption of the burger I ate that's the focal point of the photo I am attaching."

"Great weekend! Couldn't have done it without my best friend, @squirrlythedog and the great folks at Universal."

At first, it was kind of amusing when people did this sort of "public thanking ritual" every other day.

It's your daughter's birthday? Well, that's nice. She's too young to read but I'm sure that she still appreciates the Facebook shout out.

Some people seem to go to concerts and events strictly for the Instagram opportunities.

Making fun of yourself for not knowing how to use hash tags is the new way to use hash tags.

After all of these years, many of us still seem to forget that hundreds of random "friends" must have their eyes ambushed with every little thought that comes to our minds.

Can we call Facebook an addiction if everyone is addicted to it? Would alcoholism still exist if we were all continuously drunk?

In all of this I am reminded of my own social sins. It takes daily reminders to remember that I am not the centre of the world and that everyone else strongly agrees with that fact.

Lets all take a deep breath and stop trying to stroke our egos with so much white noise. Limit your status updates. Unfriend people you don't really know. Focus in on a bit of life. Communicate with your community. You are not Bono. You are not Oprah. Downsize your marketing campaign and focus in on the voters that matter; close family, real friends, and the neighbours that will only listen to you when you step over to their yard and knock on their wooden door.