November 13 - Relationships

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Our day started with an incredible breakfast at the Park Hotel. You could squeeze your own orange juice, order custom omelets, visit the dried fruit and nut bar for your yogurt or oatmeal, slice and toast fresh bread, dig honey out of a comb... I could go on but I think you get the picture!

We then boarded buses to have a bus tour of Amsterdam. Incredible history and a story around every corner. We noticed three XXX (stacked vertically) on flags, street posts etc - they represent the 3 obstacles Amsterdam has overcome in its history - fire, flood and plague. We then had a guided tour at the Rijksmuseum - Rembrandt was the star here! After the Rijks, we all had some free time to shop, eat, explore the Van Gogh Museum or wander to the 9 streets - a big shopping district. The soccer store, tulip museum, eating at a cafe on the canal, or joining a walking tour were on the agenda for us to choose from. Regardless of what we did, we all gathered at the Anne Frank House to experience Anne's words. My heart was racing as we wandered from room to room knowing that these were the exact rooms that Anne and her family hid for over 2 years before being captured by the Nazi's. The boys were quiet and I am quite sure were impacted in some way.

We had our trip celebration dinner tonight and as we gathered in one big room in the hotel and feasted, it was easy to notice all the relationships on display. There were groups of boys of mixed ages eating together, helping each other get hot chocolate, and happily posing for photos. There were parents who only met 10 days ago sitting, chatting, and nurturing their new-found friendships with lively banter. There were lots of hugs between parents and their kids, and other kids too! Everyone just took care of everyone. All week long there was never a hesitation if someone needed another parent to watch a boy for a few minutes, parents were generous with supervising card games in the lobby or taking a large group of boys to play soccer or catch so another set of parents could have some downtime. The teacher gang have had amazing opportunities to learn more about each other and interact with the boys together. Dr. Boyes had a lovely message for us all and it was so evident that planning trips like this is a labour of love for Dr. Boyes. We are grateful for her commitment to ensuring the boys have such important life experiences. There'll be one last message before we are home - where did the time go? 😊

Trish

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