April 19

Sleep, wonderful blissful sleep. I remain in my slumber as late as I can, Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. Yet rest escapes me again. A temptation on the fringes of consciousness I fight to remain in the depths of elusive sleep. No flickers today to interrupt my dreams yet dream I do. Another moment in time, we would be going skiing for the last day of the season today. Sleep would be secondary.

Noon sneaks up on me and I am still searching for the mysterious creature known as the urban teenage girl. I call, hoping maybe she will make an appearance today and help me outside. As if by magic she appears and we erect the trampoline, connecting at some level as another spring task is completed early. Talk of a friend birthday party fades as I remind her that she can’t go into other peoples houses. I wonder if I am being unreasonable, it feels right to stick to the rule for a little longer. I remember my angst of being an awkward teenage boy; I can’t imagine what it is like in today’s world as a teenage girl.

The wondrous and beautiful teenage creature, after emerging for a rare appearance, retreats into her room under the guise of homework. Amazingly she asks for help with homework and I am reminded of how long it has been since I did grade eight math. Finding the area of an isosceles triangle is one thing I do not completely remember. My daughter and I learn the answer together and feel a small sense of triumph. Glad to connect with Marijke before she goes back to her Moms, we agree to go for a walk; my wife, my daughter and I.

Pizza is a rare treat and it is the price I pay to get our girl out for a walk. We walk up to the drive-thru and pick up our pizza, grab a couple beers, a pop and wander down to the local water park. There are still picnic tables that are allowed for public use. Sitting down we enjoy each other’s company and the delicious flavours of our local made artisan pizzas. Meat lover for my daughter and I; feta cheese, ham and pear is my wife’s more adventurous choice.

With a bit of coaxing we walk down the path to Powers Creek and visit the surging waters flowing through Glen Canyon. For hundreds, possibly thousands of years this hidden canyon has been carved out of the rock as it winds its way towards the Okanagan Lake. We can see the history of the water flow etched into the walls that plummet underneath the bridge spanning the canyon. The water is rushing in torrents and eddying in pools fifty feet below. Humbled by the natural power of the water and the surrounding cliffs, I breathe in the raw connections all around us. I harken back to a simpler time, times when I came here with my daughter in her baby carriage, times when we walked down here and Daddy was her hero. Daddy is no longer cool enough to even walk beside anymore. I embrace every second of connection with my daughter and my wife. I cherish these moments in time, more valuable than gold.

We return up the hill toward home and desire to walk through the drive-thru at Dairy Queen; the lineup is at least fifteen cars deep. We veer right and go into the Shell gas station instead, not willing to brave the lineup. Looking in the glass covered cooler Marijke decides a Klondike bar will suffice. Full of renewed energy we cross the highway and walk up the hill towards home.

Georgie and Jack are two of the friendliest dogs I have ever met and my daughter gravitates to them. The owner Gary comes out to say hi and we meet another person on our street, another local who has lived here for twenty years. We introduce ourselves and agree that a Paynter Road post Covid party will be an epic party indeed. Marijke says goodbye to the playful mutts; I wish I knew what kind of dogs they are but I do not know dog breeds. We walk the rest of the way home refreshed and invigorated under the smoky gray sky that is just beginning to alight with red tinges from the setting sun.

Our lives have become very basic lately. Yard work, meals and walks. An occasional spot of work thrown in to pay some bills. We strive to get along, it can be difficult when we are thrown together, Teenager and step-mom, only child and anxious Dad. Moments like a walk to a waterfall do wonders for a persons soul and truly helps to connect us with each other and with our world. I hope to have a better rest tonight, to be cocooned in sleeps wonderful embrace. Tomorrow is a new day, a day of more walks and more connections.