Afternoon August 9, 2021

We kicked off our session with a classic flower still life. I led the seniors through a rose-painting session and brought some dried roses from home to reference.

It was scorching hot outside, and we chatted while enjoying the cool of the carousels under the glaring sunshine. I complained about school and upcoming tests, while the seniors chuckled and reminisced about their academic careers. I was helping an old gentleman paint the stem--as he had Parkinson's and struggled with thin lines--when he told me that he was the class of '64 at UBC, and had been head of the university's Rowing team. He was also recruited for the national men's 400-meter race and had won many, many titles throughout his career.

Amazed, I turned around and took my hands off his trembling paintbrush. I saw the twinkling in his dark eyes, and suddenly, the athlete who had won countless titles in his career seemed to be right before my eyes.