I’ve been off the radar for the last 30 days….no blog posts, no events, no movies, no parties, and very little facebook posts or tweets. My life has changed as my dad passed away on October 28th. I know my blog isn’t a ‘Personal Blog” but I feel like I need to write about my dad and how fortunate I was to have a dad like him.

I truly had a wonderful childhood and was raised by an amazing mom and dad who taught me how to enjoy life. People often wonder where I get my “sense of adventure”. Well – the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. My parents worked hard but spent Sundays roaming around the country side going to every fair outside Ottawa, known to man kind (Carp, Navan and Perth to name just a few). We went to Provincial Parks for picnics and to swim, and to local parks to attend Greek Festivals and Rib Festivals. Not to mention, every winter we went to visit some Ice Fishing Competition!

Ive often blogged how I go to the Maple Syrup Festival every year. Again – it’s because my dad took us every year to this Festival for pancakes and maple syrup and I wanted to give my kids that same type of experience!!

Yes – life was not boring in the Gosewich family.

My dad owned a sports store called Ritchie’s  Sport Shop for 45 years and this store was also a major part of my life. I would get on a bus every Saturday (like clockwork) with a friend and visit his store to flirt with the cute staff and visit my dad. Ok – I shopped too!!

His store received PLENTY of media as he was right downtown as well as an independent retailer. Not to mention he was well liked. When he turned 70 I put together this collage of the press clippings that my mom saved over the years.

When I went away to university, my dad wrote me many letters and I was fortunate to keep many of them and read them to him this past year. Those letters are so special and SO funny. For a quiet man that stood 6 ft 4 – he certainly had a great sense of humour. See that press clipping on the right? Well that’s the soap opera column (Feb 22, 1985) so I could keep up with my soap operas while attending Tel Aviv University. My dad was so thoughtful!!

Friends often ask me, “How did I become such a foodie”. I always reply that it was my dad who introduced me to great food. For some reason, it was my dad who did the grocery shopping. He would often come back with unusual fruit or rye bread (with the seeds of course) or some Laura Secord Bark for my mom. He exposed me to oysters at a young age, sushi in the early 1980’s, and kumquats when I was a teenager!

My trips to Ottawa won’t be the same anymore. My mom and my sister and I will miss his presence. However I have many (many) happy memories and he will always be remembered.

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog post!!

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