Dear Ross,

It is hard to believe that you, the baby in our family, are just weeks away from graduating from university. Where did the time go? Every step along the journey with you, has been a joy. Your curiosity, love of learning, enthusiasm, kindness, sense of humour and intelligence have made us so proud to be your parents. We can hardly wait to see where your next steps will take you.

Each year I write a Christmas letter and share our milestones and accomplishments with family and friends. Looking back, it is remarkable to see that your personality, passions and pursuits have been set in stone, since the beginning. Here are some of the lines about you, that clearly tell your story.

0- Ross loves to interact with people and always has a ready smile. When holding him, you have to hold on tight because Ross loves to look around to see what is happening.

1- If Ross is ever missing in the house, there is only one place to look- he will be sitting on the computer-desk, playing with the keyboard and “talking” on the fax machine. He has definitely inherited the Hill computer gene.

2- Ross is outgoing, talkative, loves to sing and he thinks he is four years old. At age two, Ross is the youngest member of our family. Despite his age and size, he commands quite a presence and so it is no wonder that his chosen nickname is Ross the Boss.

3- Ross enters his nursery school classroom four days a week with a leap and a big smile announcing that he has arrived. Ross heads straight to the art activity for his daily creation. Ross’s lovely pieces of art keep our kitchen bright and beautiful.

4- Ross is our night owl, who stays up late and sleeps-in. His days are filled with his Little Readers program, Junior Kindergarten, swimming lessons, music classes, skating lessons, a weekly playgroup with Mom and lots of playdates. Why isn’t he tired at night?!

5- During a recent shopping excursion, Ross was questioning the existence of Santa Claus, Santa’s ability to enter houses through chimneys and wondering how the reindeers learned to fly. After a lengthy interrogation, I was worn down. Ross asked me how I knew all the answers I had given him and I said, “Well, I was once a teacher and teachers know everything”. To which Ross replied, “Okay then, tell me who the first person was on Earth and how did they get here?”

6- Ross loves to listen to books on tape. We recently discovered that he has a photographic memory when he began reciting a novel he had been listening to word for word. This memory will come in handy when Ross grows up because he plans to become a doctor.

7- Ross is like the absent-mined professor at school, because he loves science and math and is an excellent student, yet is often caught day-dreaming about other stuff. Ross joined Jack at Camp Hurontario for his first overnight camp experience, just before his 7th birthday.

8- Ross wakes up with a smile on his face and a willingness to try new things. Ross’s passions include reading (sometimes a book a night), Lego, drawing and dogs. Ross is a joy to be around.

9- Ross hopped off the camp bus wearing layers of dirty clothes and looking like a homeless person. He was full of confidence and stories and did not stop singing camp songs for a month! Ross hopes to go to Camp Hurontario for two months next summer.

10- Ross is loving school and is thriving in a warm and supportive classroom setting. Ross enjoys the writing component of the grade five curriculum and loves to publish his compositions at home on the computer. Ross wrote a beautiful Remembrance Day poem, which he read to the entire school on November 11th.

11- Ross was thrilled to earn his five-year knife at Camp Hurontario this summer. Ross continues to be an avid reader, devouring books at night, long after his light should be out. Ross is at a new school this year- John G. Althouse Middle School.

12- Ross loved his trip to Thailand with Nana, Poppa and cousin Darcy. He had many adventures including riding an elephant, river rafting, kayaking to James Bond Island and learning how to cook Thai food at an outdoor cooking school in Phuket.

13- Ross is in grade eight at Royal St. George’s College. Ross continues to impress us with his musical abilities on the trumpet. Ross plays in two bands at school and takes weekly lessons at Kingsway Conservatory.

14- Ross plays the trumpet in the school jazz band, is a school ambassador, and has joined many clubs including the Speakers’ Union, Model UN, Reach for the Top, Improv Club, and the Ping Pong Club. Ross and his school running team qualified for OFSSA this year. His favourite subjects are science and civics. Ross leaves for school at 7:30 am and arrives home in time for dinner.

15- Ross has happily adapted to his new role as the only-child-at-home. He is especially comfortable in his new bedroom suite, which makes up for having the smallest bedroom for years. Ross’s travels this year included a trip to Ecuador with Paul and me, a canoe-trip to Northern Quebec with Camp Hurontario, a dog-sledding trip in Algonquin Park with his classmates and a school band trip to China.

16- Following a winter as a ski race coach at Caledon Ski Club, Ross, Paul and I headed to Utah for a week of powder skiing with friends. Ross spent the summer on Georgian Bay at Camp Hurontario, as a counsellor-in-training. Ross came home taller, tanned, fit and very happy.

17- Ross is in grade twelve at Royal St. George’s College and is diligently working to achieve high grades with plans to study computer science at Queen’s University next September. Ross spends his spare time writing computer code.

18- Ross got lucky with the university residence lottery and scored a beautiful single room in the university’s newest residence. Ross’s room has a double bed, air-conditioning, a flat-screen TV and a bathroom- not bad! We hope he occasionally comes home to visit!

19- Ross moved into a house in the student ghetto in Kingston with five guys, including three buddies he has known since nursery school. What the house lacks in décor and cleanliness, it oozes in camaraderie, school spirit and location.

20- Ross spent the summer at Nudge.ai working as a full-stack developer. Ross is on the executive of a Queen’s club called Q-Hacks and is busy preparing for a hackathon the club is hosting in February.

21- In his spare time this summer, Ross developed a remarkable website called Meta Projection- an aggregator of federal electoral projections. Ross will graduate in April and with a job offer in hand, Ross is ready to take on the world!

Congratulations Ross, on your upcoming graduation from Queen’s University, with an Honours Computer Science Degree. We can hardly wait to cheer you on as you boldly start your own software company! We love you and are so very proud of you!

Lots of love,

Mom and Dad