It’s Coming
Once a year, on average, I see my sister and her
family. E-mails and texts bridge gaps
but still, I sometimes think how a brother and sister should see each other
more than two to three weeks out of fifty-two.
But with approximately seven hours of expensive fly time and
three time zones between us… and with jobs and, for one of us, family life in
the mix… two to three weeks a year is about it.
And my times with Edena… being so few… have become a fairly
big event. Mom and dad are in on it
too. And so it’s seven of us together
most of the time. Seven is good and,
occurring so rarely, these meetings are a special time of year. Though it makes meeting up with close family
members a bit more of an event than would be ideal.
I just don’t really have regular, daily life with my
family. The majority of times I see mom
and dad… and almost all of the times I see Edena, Duff and the girls… there’s
the underlying feeling of making sure to keep to a schedule and maintain a check
list of things to be done.
Not that this is surprising… with so little time
together. And not that it’s really a
problem. But it does leave you missing
those times long ago, when we were all under one roof and things just
happened.
After supper rounds of Star Trek re-runs on TV. Impromptu recreations of Bryan Adam’s “Run to
You” video as the record played. Spur of
the moment trips to Signal Hill followed by a Tim Horton’s lunch. A quick game of Yahtzee as supper cooks.
These are a few of the highlights of times with Edena, dad,
and mom… none of which were planned out or organized, but all of which help
define my thoughts of family.
But that was then, and this is now. And my family time of year once again
approaches. Edena and family are due to
arrive in Ottawa on Saturday. And we’ll
have four days of parentless/grandparentless time. Some restaurant meals… some Art Gallery
visits… Canada Day festivities all await.
And then, it’s the time of seven. On the night of the 4th… and,
unfortunately the morning of the 5th, Edena and family make the trek
to Newfoundland.
Points tickets make a flight from Ottawa to St. John’s
appear to be world travel. If you go
with a regular ticket rather than points, you can find yourself on the summit
of Kilimanjaro in less time than their travel to St. John’s will take.
Yes, it helps bring a family that’s strewn across the
country together, but when the suggestion came down that I could book my flight
home to travel with my family, I took a pass Halifax airport at 3:00 AM may
very well be my definition of hell.
So twelve hours after they leave, I’ll follow my family
home. I’ll actually leave only shortly
after they arrive. It may well be me who
goes to wake them… and, on the evening of the 5th, the family will
be together again.
Not only will it be my short time with the full family
again. But it will also be my first time
in Newfoundland, during the summer months, in four years.
My trips home usually take place around Christmas, with
another trip either sometime around April or May… or during September.
But summer St. John’s will be a welcome treat. Prime hiking time. And BBQ’s or patio visits with friends will
be highlights as well.
And no trip to Newfoundland is complete without the journey
to Central. The bed and breakfast is
already booked on Fogo Island. One of
the actual four corners of the earth shall be visited. It’s true… the Flat Earth Society has told us
so. Brimstone Head will no doubt be
explored. As well as Back Wester’ Shore…
Sandy Cove… and the Lion’s Den hiking trail.
Botwood may also gain a visit. Mom’s hometown just always seems sunny
whenever you visit. Purple soil with
lush trees and shrubs make for wonderful berry picking… eating… trips when you
visit at the right time of year. Otherwise,
it’s a quiet town good for walking. The
old US military base being a prime location to head.
And a cheat day will have to be planned for my eating
schedule in order to coincide with lunch at the Irving gas station in
Clarenville. Such burgers have rarely
been found anywhere else in this world.
Indeed, there is much more to Clarenville than a place to fill up the
gas.
All of this is to come.
Much more that I couldn’t even guess will also occur. It’s the highlight of the year. And it all begins in four days.
When you’ve got family and Irving gas station hamburgers on
the schedule, who needs Disney World?
TUESDAY…
--- Hot day. Humidity
puts it around 36. Play RCMP ball after
work and the sweat rolls. Fun playing
centre field but my throwing arm isn’t much of an outfield arm anymore. Funny the difference in throwing in the
infield and outfield.
WEDNESDAY…
--- Hotter. Both
yesterday and today were kind of busy at work and it got up to 43 with the
humidity today. Water the lawns after
supper and watch some TV tonight.
THURSDAY…
--- Wake to the news of Uncle Jim’s passing. He had some health issues of late but times
like this, you wish you lived closer to home.
--- Night shift… kind of busy for the first half. Pretty quiet the second.
FRIDAY…
--- Up around noon.
Some TV and a walk for an hour.
--- Work is fairly quiet.
SATURDAY…
--- Water the lawns.
Mow the front. Supper with Karl
at Paddy’s Pub. And a 45 minute
walk. Nice day.
SUNDAY…
--- Softball practice.
Seems the power of a few seasons ago isn’t there anymore. Perhaps more power than I thought was
generated from my shoulder and it just doesn’t have it anymore. Still hitting good line drives, but haven’t
been close to the fence yet this season.
Oh well, it’s still fun.
--- A patio for lunch after the practice and then home for
some Breaking Bad catch up. I’m now
ready for season 5 to start.
MONDAY…
--- Rainy day. Get
groceries and clean the house. We still
play softball tonight… between the puddles.
It stops raining as we play but things are pretty muddy.
