Moody March

In the seven years I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve posted at least once every month, usually more than that. March almost became an exception, but I think I can slide in under the wire.

March and I have a longstanding…let’s call it disdain…for each other. When February comes to a close and I flip the calendar to the next month, I hear an ominous voice saying, “So…we meet again.”

The month started out with Ray getting knocked down by a bad cold, leading us to cancel a planned trip to visit friends in Ottawa. The rest of March is a bit of a blur. I completed a few Jigsaw puzzles; checked the day’s headlines; regretted checking the day’s headlines; lay on the couch aimlessly scrolling through people’s vacation pics; filed our taxes; thought about working out; got mad at myself for not working out; ate lots of carbs; yelled at technology a few times (have you heard the one about the hacker who contacts someone to say he has all their passwords, and the person responds, “Oh, great! Can you tell me what they are?”).

Nick was born in March, through no fault of his own. To his credit, he tried his best to be born in December, January or February. Having him home for a birthday visit was a definite bright spot. Ray and I also visited him in Kingston, getting a tour of the research lab where he spends his days.

Last summer, Nick presented a paper at the International Bridge Seismic Workshop. The conference had previously been hosted in Seattle, and before that in Shanghai. The one Nick got to attend was in…Ottawa.

His ‘dream’ conference, since before he even started his masters program, was the International Symposium for Automation and Robotics in Construction, so he was very excited when his paper was accepted for this year’s symposium. Here’s a list of where it’s been hosted in the past:

This year it will be in…Montreal.

I also had ‘my kids’ at school to brighten my days. They never fail to make me smile. One recent example:

Me, talking about reading disabilities: People’s brains work in different ways. Everyone has something they struggle with.
7-year old: Yeah, like my brother has ADD and my other brother has sarcasm.

March is also the month Ray and I got married. We just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary, an accomplishment I’m rather proud of. Anyone who’s shared their life with someone for a long time knows that it’s not easy, but nothing compares to being with someone who supports you through life’s ups and downs, knows all your quirks and faults, and loves you just as you are. I’m so grateful that the guy I decided to marry, before I’d even had a conversation with him, turned out to be an amazing man and an excellent husband and father.

Looking ahead, I don’t think about the fun adventures we’ll have; I think about our shared routines: 11 am coffee chats, neighbourhood walks, and evenings watching Netflix together. I don’t know if that makes me old and boring, or wise about how happiness works. Maybe both.

Speaking of people who know everything about you and love you for who you are, I also spent quality time with my sister in March. We hung out at Ste. Anne’s spa for a day and had a couple of sleepovers.

We had a few sunny mild days in mid-March, which is exactly the kind of artifice that has led to distrust and resentment in our relationship. I’d be out walking on those days and someone would say, “So nice to finally have this spring weather, eh?” and I’d say, “It’s a lie! It’s fake! Do NOT fall for it!” and then they’d laugh and say something stupid like, “Well, at least that’s the end of the snow.” And I’d just shake my head at them. (It’s snowed several times in the last couple of weeks.)

In an act of pure defiance, I signed up to do a Polar Plunge – jump in Lake Ontario – on March 30th (actually, I was running out of ideas for my 60 at 60 list, and the event was in support of the Special Olympics). In an act of pure friendship, Ray, Bill, Lorrie and Josée, agreed to join me.

Unfortunately, March wasn’t done with us yet and a weekend of freezing rain caused a tremendous amount of damage, leaving over 400,000 homes without power for days. We were fortunate that we didn’t lose power but the polar plunge was cancelled for safety reasons.

Ah well, it’s almost time to turn that calendar page again. I’m sure spring will arrive in April. Right? Right???