Michael's Blog - Summer Memories and Autumn Reflections

Summer's done, autumn is upon us and soon it will be Christmas! What will be the markers that you remember?

Its being an amazing summer for me. A May holiday in Greece, a week with much of my family and a 40th anniversary trip to Haida Gwaii. In the midst of all that, my mum died peacefully at home but another big memory that was unexpected, was our role in a BC Ferry ‘Man-Over-Board’ “mayday” rescue.

I'll come back to what I will remember in a moment. But first I want to share the importance of creating memories, and for that I need to thank my wife Lesley. I can get onto autopilot, so focused on SierraSil®, and our mission to help one million people and their pets be healthier and more active. Then there is my other related passion with Lets Move Canada, which has a purpose to make Canada the fittest country on earth by 2030. Thus time can go by fast for me, super fast, without pausing to truly think about events to remember. Fortunately, I'm married to an amazing person who does think about that - about creating memories for us and for our family. It was Lesley who led the way on getting much of the family (all were invited, but not all could get away from their work) for a gathering and adventure in July. As our second grand daughter put it after a wonderful whale watching excursion, it was "bigger than a thumbs up, way bigger!"

We were also fortunate to spend time on the BC Gulf Islands where a son's fiancée went fishing for the first time and caught a lingcod. Later in the summer, our son’s fiancée’s parents came to visit and yes, there was another successful fishing adventure. My catches this summer included a dog fish (they look like small sharks) and a star fish (yes, I was jigging too deeply). Lesley and I also had an amazing experience on Haida Gwaii. These are the islands off the north coast of BC and on the “edge of the earth” that were temporarily called on western maps the Queen Charlotte Islands from 1787 to 2010. We learnt so much about the history and culture of the Islands and of the Haida people. We are very grateful and humbled for the hospitality we experienced.

Another memory that we won't ever forget was the “mayday” call. We were out on our boat when we noticed a BC Ferry altering course and thought something must be up. Then we heard the alert for “man over-board”. We altered course, located the person and pulled him out of the water. Fortunately, we were able to lift him out of the water and tend to him until the rescue boat from the BC Ferry was able to come along side. I've written before in my blogs about the importance of seeking to be fit, not just for yourself, but for those you love. This was a case where our being fit, aside from possible divine intervention, made a difference for a stranger as we were able to lift him out of the water onto our boat. A couple of minutes later the BC Ferry rescue boat rafted to our boat and we helped the transfer the person to the rescue craft. We hope that the rescued person’s memory of the events is less of the cold water and more that people cared for him and that he is an important as anyone else.

So for me, the summer of 2025 will be filled with many memories. From the trauma of the rescue, to the experience on Haida Gwaii, the adventures in Greece and the family time including whale watching and fishing. We are already making plans to create memorable opportunities this fall, and yes starting to think about next year, as we all know, time flies!

So what memories do you have of the summer? Were they spontaneous or from planned events? And looking forward, are you taking time to plan for new memories? Life is often too fast and too passing. May I encourage you to take time to plan for and to create memorable moments.