Victoria Day 2020 has now come and gone. Hopefully you had a chance to have a little more time with family members who are often busy or to make a call to others farther away. I hope you got to have a special meal or play a game, and I invite you to share a Victoria Day Weekend Update in a comment if you like.

For our weekly class meeting this morning, we will try playing a game together online (despite being physically apart). That will mean that before our 10:30 meeting, students will want to download the file I’ve made for each of you and left in your individual folders online. Check here if you need help finding it (and don’t worry, I’ll take a moment make sure everyone is set) before we start to play. We may be staying local and still staying apart, but there are still all sorts of things we can do together (including our other work in-progress, found on this updated list of current activities).

The MS Walk in 2020 will be done independently all at once all over MetroVancouver

I spent much of the weekend getting myself prepared for the annual Walk for Multiple Sclerosis, in which I take part every year. It is usually a large gathering in a great festive atmosphere. This year will be a little different with everyone doing their walking on their own or in their own family groups. We’ll still all be together in spirit and in action. What really astounds me though, is the way my supporters are still coming through for this event. Not only are they sending me encouraging messages or declaring their intent to go out walking themselves (as I have invited everyone to do), but in much greater numbers than I expected given the pressures most people are facing these days, a large number of people are also deciding to give.

What I take away from that is reassurance. Despite the news, events and trends that sometimes make think about how bad things can be, there is still a lot of good will out there along with plenty of people willing to act on it! Let’s all try to keep being our better selves.