Nick and Sinead picked us up at the airport (once we’d located Ray’s luggage which had once again taken a different flight). They had dinner waiting for us, complete with fresh flowers on the table, freshly-baked sourdough bread and homemade cookies for dessert. Lovely way to be welcomed home after a long travel day.
We learned after landing that Nick had just received a job offer with a commercial grounds maintenance company (facilitated by a family friend he’d run into at the Relay for Life event), so the next few days were a bit of a whirlwind as Nick completed his employment paperwork and online training, shopped for work pants and boots, and spent time with Sinead before she left for her Croatian sailing holiday. His first day on the job started with a 5 am alarm for a 6:15 start time and a 13-hour work day. He won’t have much time for his triathlon training – or much of anything really – but those long days of physical labour should keep him fit.
With Nick needing the car for work, purchasing a new vehicle became a priority. When our car got crushed by a tree last winter, we didn’t have the emotional energy to buy a new one and, thanks to very generous neighbours who’ve lent us theirs when we’re in a pinch, we’ve been a one-vehicle family for the past year.
Within 48 hours of landing, Ray had caught up with half a dozen neighbours, started whipping the lawn and gardens into shape, arranged to have a couple of trees taken down (resulting in large piles of wood to be chopped and stacked), and signed up to provide a few days of labour to friends, digging holes at a camp for one and tearing out a floor for another (payback time). So, no shortage of things to keep him occupied for the next little while.
I’ve had a harder time ‘finding my groove’. I took things easy for much of the winter, which was fair enough given that we’d had a rather stressful year and it was my first year of retirement, but now I feel like I need a bit more focus. I’ve met a few friends for lunch and/or patio drinks, and I’ve been taking long walks along the canal, trying to decide how I want to spend my time in retirement when we’re not travelling. I have plenty of things on my list, but the fact that I’m not doing them seems to suggest they’re more time fillers than passions.
Speaking of passions, I got in one last reading session with my grade 3 boys before the summer break. They each came in the reading room telling me what books they’d been reading or some other news they were eager to share with me:
Student1: Hi! How was France?
Me: It was very nice. Tha…
Student1: And do you know what? We won our soccer game last night 11-3! And guess what? I scored 8 goals! And do you know what else? …
Student2: (bursting into the room): I missed you!
Me: I missed you too.
Student2: I didn’t know you’d be gone THAT long. I’m glad you’re back.
Me (feeling all warm and fuzzy inside): ♥ ♥ ♥
I saw my grade 2 students later in the week and got a group hug from the three girls as soon as I walked in the door. More warm fuzzies. I’ve been giving more thought to the idea of starting a summer camp for struggling readers at some point. We shall see where that idea leads me.
This past weekend Nick went to a cottage with a group of friends, I went to Kingston for a sister weekend, and Ray stayed home. He got his kayak in the water and met friends at a pub where Sue’s band was performing.
Sister weekends follow the same general pattern wherever we are and this one was no exception. We walk, talk, laugh, eat (ice cream, pizza, chocolate) and drink (tea, wine, sangria). The wine is superfluous as we need no help being giddy. We also hang out in our hotel room and chat and laugh and sleep and eat chocolate. Optional extras include browsing book stores or children’s clothing shops. We have the formula pretty down pat.
Nick’s cottage weekend started with an ice cold swim in the lake, after which they broke out the guitars…and then he woke up in a daze on the couch covered with a blanket. Those long work days don’t combine well with late night gatherings.
Nick and Eric getting some triathlon training in at the cottage
Children’s clothing stores? Hmmmm…..preparation for future? 😄
The books are my addiction, the baby clothes my sister’s. Anyone she knows who is expecting receives an abundance of baby items…work colleagues, 2nd cousins twice removed, chiropractor, pizza delivery person…you get the idea.