2023 Year in Review

This year seems to have gone quickly, perhaps because, among other reasons, 2023 was the first year after Covid. There were more exhausting moments than those of restful relaxation. Thinking back, there were also loads of joy and learning. Here is a brief recap.

Boston harbor near sunset

One of many meals at home

Ewan:

Karate

Ewan has always been an active kid. In 2022, he inevitably got sucked into the Marvel universe - always punching and kicking. In March this year , we signed him up for Karate at a local dojo. This was the first "outside of school" thing that he is committed to. He has stuck with it until now. In these months, he not only got more physical exercise, but learned discipline, respect, self control, self confidence and a bunch of other real world skills. And he also gets to pretend he is kicking some bad guys' ass. Ewan is now a yellow belt and is taking up Bojutsu (art of self defense with a long stick). We are happy with his progress and hopes he continues his training in 2024 and beyond.

Happy to get his yellow belt

Looking serious during stripe test

Swimming

Ever since Ewan was a baby, Florence and I have been exposing him to water. Hotel pools, community pools, showers, beaches. Any body of water to up his comfort level. In November, he started to get formal training. He has made good progress in the last two months. He is now graduated from the Big Wave 1 program. In the summer, Ewan and I love going to the Streetsville outdoor pool. On hot days, the pool, with lively music, garners a fun and relaxing atmosphere. Ewan would score the occasional ice-cream when the truck swings by.

Streetsville outdoor pool. My happy place.

Cococay, The Bahamas

Swimming at local community pool

Florence:

Catching snowflakes at sounds of the season

Bahamas excursion

As for Florence, she felt lucky to finally be able to visit her parents and friends in Hong Kong during Chinese New Year. This trip was extra sweet with Ewan tagging along. On the work front, Florence found a fantastic company with good work-life balance. It is also close to home. This allows her to work hard while still focusing on her health. Speaking of health, Florence made a breakthrough in 2023 with a health problem that has bothered her for many years. I am super proud of her for this achievement. She has also inspired me and Ewan to drastically change our diet. This branched out to other aspects like sleep and exercise, which has led to a much healthier lifestyle.

Matt:

In 2023, I continue to explore (re-discover) some of my personal interests that may have been lost for almost a decade. We regrouped with our old band back in March. We even recruited some new members. It cumulated in a very entertaining night of music in November just before things got super busy. Near the end of the year, when I wasn't doing much exercise, I signed up for a badminton training program. It was really nice to reignite my interest in one of my favorite childhood sports. It was ashamed that the time of week doesn't work for me and I could not attend every class of the program.

In the kitchen, I also started really cooking again. Not just for sustenance, but to make some of my favorite dishes. They include 乾炒牛河, 沙爹牛肉公仔麵. Every Sunday, I would make breakfast with olive oil pan-fried toast which Ewan love.

Perfect Sunday breakfast

In 2023, I lost one of my best friend and mentor - Fr. Yan. Fr. Yan was just a wonderfully kind and wise individual with no shortage of charm. He is always so centered and full of confidence and conviction to his cause - evangelizing. During my years in university, I spent many hours with him and his FOJP crew touring North America; evangelizing and rehearsing and performing with incredibly talented people. My only regret is not joining more EV trips. I fortunately had the chance to see and speak with him briefly at his home chapel last year. Though I am no longer religious, I owe so much to this father figure. I miss him dearly.

On a lighter note, I was blessed with a few chances to catch up with friends visiting Toronto (you know who you are).

Fr Yan, at home in 2022, holding my hand tight.

Family Trips:

In February, Florence and Ewan visited Hong Kong to visit friends and family. This trip marked Ewan's first to Asia. It is very memorable as Ewan still constantly talks about it. Spending time with his maternal grandmother going to visit the live chicken and fishy were one of the highlights. Kudos for Florence for flying this distance with a six year-old on her own. The dual had a grand old time trying all sorts of wonderful food in Hong Kong. And the toys. Oh, so many toys. (Read more here).

We also took three road trips to the US. Buffalo in May, Boston (Click here for the post) in July and Columbus, Ohio in September (post here)

Rockefeller center, NYC

The beautiful Boston harbor

There were also family day trips we took during the year that peppered in bite size fun and happy memories.

Our annual fishing trip with my fishing buddies. Ewan caught like 12 pan-fishes while I caught nothing. Was too busy re-baiting for him.
Hiking trip in September to the Treasure Map trail was a blast. To top it off, we went this wonderful burger place for lunch afterwards.
In December, we went to the Sounds of the Seasons - a foodbank fundraiser event from CBC. It was a super fun day.
Then, there is a GLA (Ewan's school) graduation in June and the Gala in December that are always cool events.
In April, as a bucket list thing, we went to see the Harlem Globetrotters. It was at the old Hersey Center and was lots of fun.
Then there are a couple of day trips to Toronto where we rode the subway.
Last but not least, a visit to Erindale park in September to see the salmon run. We went with a few of Ewans classmates, which made it extra special for him. We actually saw many fishes that day.

The grand finale of our trip in 2023 happened in October. We booked this trip awhile back to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We visited NYC and hopped on a cruise to the Bahamas. Overall experience was very good. Though it felt a little busy and we were looking for a slightly more relaxing one. Nonetheless, it was a good trip with some good activities and fun family memories.