The Girards dot com

Wow! Life must be very busy because we haven’t updated thegirards.com in a lonnnnnng time. I will try to catch you all up on some of the highlights (and low-lights) as of late…

– We are moving to Montreal! Très excitant! Rob has just accepted a great job with Maples FS as their Infrastructure Architect and will start in mid-April. While he is sad to be leaving the World Wildlife Fund — it is such a great working environment with so many great people, and such a great cause! — this is a global opportunity that promises lots of challenge and growth, and we’re ready for the new adventure. We will miss our friends, our neighbours, our home… but we are looking forward to the new people, culture, experiences (et les compétences linguistiques!) that Montreal will offer.

Hanging with Dad

– Alice is already 10 months old! Everyday, she seems a little bit less of a baby and more and more like a little girl. She now has a second tooth, crawls, and walks around — as long as she has something to hold onto! Funny — as long as she has both of my hands to hold onto, she almost runs… but if I let go with one hand, she seems to think her feet won’t move anymore. It’s just a matter of a little more confidence, I guess! She has been discovering a love of books, and usually falls asleep cuddling with one. Like her dad, she also loves computers and gadgets — although she did manage to short out our laptop by drooling on the keyboard while playing with kneebouncers.com… oopsy!

At the Spaghetti Factory

– In sad news, we lost our beloved Sally recently. We will remember her fondly as our “Marley & Me” dog… She was a wonderful girl, full of love and sweetness, but also such a little terror!! I’ve never before met a dog who could break into a bank vault just to get to an old cheerio. What started off as a bladder infection that we just couldn’t seem to get rid of, turned into something with her kidneys that made her very sick and in pain, unwilling to even eat… and, for those of you who know Sally, that’s a bad, bad sign. When we realized that she wasn’t even able to take medication for pain without vomiting, we knew it was time to let her go. She passed away very peacefully in Rob’s arms, and will be remembered always with love. Rest in peace, Sally… we miss you! <3

Our beloved Sally...

– I was featured on an MTV Impact segment for “Let’s Talk,” Bell’s Mental Health Day! Here is the video, which MTV has now posted on YouTube. I’ll be adding it to my website soon, which I’ve also updated recently. As always, thank you all for your support and enthusiasm! I’ve been doing a lot more speeches lately, which is great. This week, I was at Convenant House in downtown Toronto, doing a presentation to homeless youth (many with mental health issues). I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to deliver my message: I have a great family. I have great friends. I have a great resume and a great career. I have a great past and a great future. I have great health, and I am a “totally sane crazy person”! I love being able to pass on these messages of hope and ‘normality’…

– Rob is officially a VCAP!! That stands for “VMware Certified Advanced Professional,” and essentially means that he is one of the geekiest-geeks alive!! He is the 137th person in the world to achieve this designation. He worked very hard, learned a lot, studied a lot… and I’m very, very proud of him. Congrats, sweetie. xo!

– Jackie (my younger sister) spent a couple of weeks with us in Toronto! It was great to have her here… Miss you already, Jack. Thank you for making the trip!

The next few months promise to be just as busy as usual, or busier! Let’s try to find time to connect, though. Love you all!!

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