Robyn and Brian were quite active when growing up in Victoria. Robyn turned her love for swimming in our backyard pool into a job.  She took a number of courses to become a lifeguard and was hired as a lifeguard at the largest water park in the city. I recall the first day her mother drove her to the water park she was intimidated by the size of the facility and the enormous responsibility she had as a lifeguard.  However within 2 years she had worked her way up to become the Head Lifeguard and earned the respect of the park owner, Frank Wille.

Young Golfer

Brian, on the other hand,  had an overwhelming interest in gold since he got his first golf club when he was 6 in Ottawa. So when he was 12 we enrolled him in the Junior Golf Program at the Royal Colwood Golf Course.  He spent long hours on the course learning patience and discipline and getting pretty good at the game of Golf. He also got his first life-lesson in finance and economics there.

Brian's golf dues were $25 per month which I gave him plus another $20 to pay for any snacks he needed at the canteen.  Given this I was surprised by a phone call from the Royal Colwood manager informing me that Brian's account was over $500 in arrears and needed to be paid by the end of the month. How could this be when he had been given the $45 every month for his dues and snacks?
 

However Brian later made it all up to me. He became quite the golfer and often entered Provincial Tournaments. These were three day events and one of my proudest days came when Brian asked me to be his Caddy in one of these tournaments. Although he diplomatically informed me that his buddy needed the experience and was taking over for me I was very proud of him for asking me just the same.

Robyn was always very focused on education when she was young. I always knew she would earn several degrees, so the fact that she eventually matched my three degrees was not a surprise to me. I was quite pleased that she decided to attend the University of Victoria when she finished high school which was where I earned my Masters of Science in Applied Physics. However I didn't expect what followed.  She invited me to show her around the campus on the first year student introductory day.  I was overwhelmed and so proud that she asked me to show her around and that she introduced me to many of her friends.