Family Day

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? Today is Family Day. Family Day is a holiday for everybody who lives in Ontario. That includes Chance and me. We live in Ontario. I know where Ontario is. Ontario is in O Canada, our home and native land. Know what? Chance and me are Princes of Ontario. James always reminds us when he wakes us up every morning. He says we're sons of Windsor, too.

I know what a family is. Families live together in a home. Families love each other. I love Chance and I love James, too. They're my family. They love me. We look after each other and help. That's what families do. Know what James tells us? Home is where they have to let you in. He thinks that's funny but it's true, you know. I'm sure glad we have a home. James says, "Houses are made of brick and stone but homes are made of love alone." He's pretty smart, you know.

Love is lots and lots of things. James always says he loves us 44 litres. That's a bushel and a peck. I know how much that is. It's baskets and baskets of love. Know what? That's a lot of love!

Love is when we cook peanut butter and licorice sandwiches together  in the kitchen. Love is when we help make chocolate pudding and get to lick the spoon. Oh! Wait! Love is bath time when we splash and make bubbles with our purple bubble bath soap and drive our fire trucks in the tub, too! Love is bendy straws for our Canada Dry when we're sick. Love is  bedtime stories, and bedtime prayers and hugs and kisses and Smarties and good-night dreams. Best of all, love is surprises. As long as there are surprises there will always be love.

Love is even when I have to sit on the Time Out Chair and think about what I did. I hate the Time Out Chair. I hate to think. Thinking hurts. I don't go there very often but when I do, I know James wants me to be a better cub.

Love is when we all curl up together in the comfy green chair and sing silly songs and say silly poems. Love is when we watch Caillou on Radio-Canada. Oh! Wait! Love is playing Hide and Seek and riding our bicycles up and down Sparkle Road. Love is cocoa with newborn baby marshmallows in it. Love is laughing when we're happy and great big hugs when we're sad and our hearts hurt real bad. 

Know what? We're really lucky. We got more family. We got Uncle D and Auntie A and Lulu and Lily. They're all part of our family even though they live far away. We take VIA Rail to visit them.

They live way past Toronto. That's really far. Their house is farther away than the moon. I can see the moon when I look out the window at night but I can't look out the window and see Toronto.


Good thing we can love near AND far! We love them all a lot. Love is hugs and tea parties, you know. It's when we paint pictures together and make tattoos with Smarties. Love is when we ice skate together on the lake.  I'm glad I got a family to love. I'd be a really lonely bear cub if I didn't have a family. Then I'd be sad.

 Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario?

That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Love your family. Share your Smarties and your root beer.  Okay! Over and out!"

Playing in the Snow

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. He's so old he remembers the first snowfall. That's really old!

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? It's winter. I l-o-v-e winter. That's when we get to go outside and play in the newborn baby snow. Snow is fun to play in. Snow is our friend. Chance tries to eat snow. We don't eat snow. It's not in Canada's Food Guide. Besides, we don't eat our friends. It's not nice.

We're sliding in front of Canada Post. That's where we take letters so they can come to your house! There's lots of snow and we slide down the mountain of snow. I hang on tight to Chance and I shout "Wheeeee!" when we slide. We can slide really fast! Chance makes little squeaky noises 'cuz he's so happy.



We always wave at the bus drivers when they pass by on Sandwich Street. I know what bus it is, too.  It's the Crosstown Bus. It goes from our house to downtown. The bus drivers are nice. They always wave at us, too. Bus drivers are our friends. I could be a bus driver for Transit Windsor when I grow up. I would be a very good bus driver. I'd say, "Welcome aboard, good citizen. Watch your step!" I'd drive very carefully. I'd only honk the horn if someone was in the way. I'd say, "Look out, good citizen, Crosstown Bus coming through!"

Know what the best part of playing in the snow is? I will tell you. When we go inside, James rubs us down with Terry Towel and then we get to drink hot cocoa with newborn baby marshmallows in it. I l-o-v-e hot cocoa. It's yummy, and that's one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide. I get to drink cocoa out of my mug but Chance is really little. He drinks cocoa out of his bottle. I don't need a bottle. I'm five.

 Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Who wants cocoa? Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Go outside and play in the newborn baby snow. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can slide down the snow mountain together! James will make hot cocoa for you, too! Okay! Over and out!"