May 10

Happy Mother’s day to all the moms out there. Today was another amazing day in Westbank BC. The suns rays warmed our deck and heated the soil in our freshly planted garden. It was another warm day and we could sense the tiny plants in the garden reaching skyward for the energy producing glow from the sunshine beating down into the soil.

I looked back for pictures of my mom and found one of me and my tiny baby girl. I remembered that day in intimate detail; my little tiny daughter showing off her new found lungs screaming away. When she wrapped her hand around my finger and instantly stopped crying I was hers forever. I imagine it is much the same for her mother. Now we have a teenage girl and some days us parents feel like the ones who should be screaming. Today was a day to celebrate what motherhood means to each one of us. I am very grateful for the mothers in my life. Joanne, the mom to my daughter, Krista my wife, her step mom. Louise, my mother who gave me up when I was that screaming infant, and Dagmar, my wife’s lovely mom. Most of all I miss my mom, the beautiful woman who raised me and nurtured me and then left our world when she died when I was barely nineteen.

After I cooked delicious scrambled eggs with croissants, my wife and I went to the dump and emptied the truck. The dump was dead this time around and there was no waiting time required. I am always amazed what some people throw away. Coronavirus has not changed the waste in our lives. In some ways it may have increased it. People being at home have more time to throw more stuff away. More time to purge. Dump run done, we stopped at the nursery for some flowers. The dump was dead, everyone was at the nursery instead. 

Back at home, I attacked the insidious weeds that threatened to take control of  our veggie patch. I used a dutch hoe and went to work uprooting the new growth of invaders. I hoped to get ahead of a battle I know is almost unwinnable. My job done for now, we packed up a picnic basket and headed to Krista’s parents place in Gallagher’s Canyon. When we arrived, her brother and sister-in-law were already there sitting at a distance on the deck.

It felt so unnatural not to hug when we got there and we were hyper-aware that we needed to keep distant. Without any cases around us and having been fairly isolated, it seems like a precaution that is wasted. Mom Ducey commented on the fact she couldn’t hug us. Dr. Henry has said we can open up our circle and that grandparents could hug their grandchildren soon. I am thinking that Krista can hug her mom soon. I think they’re not ready yet.

 We had a lovely visit on the deck enjoying the sunshine and warm day.  Another mother in my life, Donna, had given me a bottle of Champagne when I visited her last week. Today felt like a good moment to celebrate by opening it with cheers to each other and mother’s day. I barbequed up some chicken we had brought and we enjoyed a nice connection on their patio.

Our drive home from Gallagher’s Canyon brought us by a viewpoint overlooking Kelowna with an amazing backdrop of the lake and mountains. The sun was dropping toward the mountain tops and it looked like we were in for an amazing sunset. Unfortunately the parking spots at the viewpoint were all taken. People were out everywhere enjoying sunsets and views. We continued driving and decided to stop downtown to have our evening walk.

The wind rocked the trees in City Park as we walked along the pathway next to Okanagan lake. There were quite a few people walking and sitting by the lake. Social distance signs were posted but they seemed to become just another part of the background. People seemed oblivious to social distancing and things have somewhat returned to normal. I hoped that we are not opening too soon and that we can continue on this path to recovery.

Our drive home was lit up by the glow of red off the clouds overhead. Another brilliant sunset, I can’t remember experiencing sunsets as much as I have in the last two months. I will cherish days like today; connections with family. Connections with the beauty of a sunset.