Visiting the Local Internet Cafe

I've got my Serious Coffee and access to a computer with internet. Our friend, the cable guy will arrive on my doorstep tomorrow with all the necessary tools to set our family internet and cable needs in place. After almost two months of camping out (in luxury I admit) at my mother's and after a year of longing for the father and husband of the house (who has been away on a french immersion course as part of his entrance into the Canadian Air Force...) we have finally arrived at what looks like normal family life and here we are, hanging over eacothers shoulders at the only internet cafe we could find, reading our emails and taking a quick sidetrip into blogging. But I better go... the hanging over my shoulder gang are making googly sounds and starting to irritate the other customers... The lots I have to write about will have to wait another day. In the meantime check out the summer issue of Island Parent. I have a short article in it.

An Apology From a Girl Who Hates Apologies

so the other day I was supposed to have plans with a friend but other responsibilities got in the way. I felt terrible about it, even though I am not the kind of girl who likes to feel terrible about stuff like that. I am all about telling my friends that if they don't get around to calling me back we can make plans another day etc etc... but this friend was only in town for a few days and she happens to be one of my favourite people in the entire world which I am not just saying because she might randomly read this site. She is a very busy woman and yet always makes me feel like I am on top of her priority list which is more than I can say for myself this weekend.

But because she is a good friend and feels very secure about how much she means to me she completely understood that I needed to take this weekend to help my mom and did not even have time to call. That is the beauty of a good friend. And because I hope that I am a good friend too I have committed to making her my top priority the next time either of us are in eachothers neigbourhood...

I wish I could feel the same confidence in this site. I am so thankful to have friends and family reading this site and I wish I could make the time to make it one of my priorities but I am finding the process of moving cities to be emotionally draining and as a result I don't have a lot to share.

I do have a carrot to dangle... If you stay tuned into the fall you will have a lot more interesting reading because once my husband is home and once we have moved into a home of our own I will have a lot more time on my hands to answer email and write on my blog. In the meantime I am enjoying long walks and swims while figuring out what I will be pursuing next...

The In Between Place

Yesterday the boys and I drove around the community we have recently moved to. We still feel as if we are on vacation. It has not sunk in that this community is our home now. We are staying with my mother on a beautiful seven acre property with a forest and a pond and all the comforts of home and yet we are all feeling quite homeless. It is a strange feeling to be living in this in-between place. We have packed up all our belongings. We have said goodbye to friends and we have made plans to keep in touch, but we haven't found our place yet within this new community. I am grateful for this in between place because it is allowing me to take stock of my life and be sure of what direction I want to travel in next but I am also desperate to get a move on. I am longing to have my husband home as he has been away for so long. I am longing to establish roots. We have planned this move for so long that it seems almost surreal to be finally in the midst of it and I am counting down the days until all of this falls into place. As a result I might not post much over the next few weeks as it is difficult for me to write in the midst of such big transitions.

This House Echoes Emptiness

You can tell that there is no-one, there is nothing here of value. This house is empty. It is time to move on to a new home. It is time to open ourselves up to new opportunities. Another family is waiting for the key, waiting to fill each crevice of our home with their own belongings. It seems strange to think of future laughter, voices other than our own...
It is especially strange because I can't yet picture us in the next phase of our life. There is still a part of me longing to remain where I stand. I have mixed emotions but I am ready, willing, eager for this move. All the more so now that my truck is brimming with our belongings. There is even clothing stuffed under the seats, and Eli's favourite toy car wedged into the empty seat beside his carseat.

Bread

• cash
• a 70's soft-rock band
• the bible
• a staple at the bakery
• described by my fourteen year old son (who has repeatedly begged me to buy wonderbread) as "a bunch of seeds glued together"

I want to walk a labyrinth

I was on my break last week, thumbing through the books in the spirituality section of the University Bookstore when I came across a book about the ancient ritual of walking the labyrinth. After reading a few chapters that resonated with my hearts longing to connect with God and find meaning and balance in my life I have become determined to find a labyrinth and walk one. A quick search online turns up a few options in Victoria. I think I might go look for one this weekend. Have you ever done this? I am curious about the experience.

Starting the Day Right

A leisurely breakfast of yogurt and blueberries, a hot french-pressed dark roast coffee, the morning news, the sun streaming through my window, curled up on the couch in my pajamas thinking about doing pilates but deciding not to. My husband, who has been away too much this year sitting on the couch beside me. He listens to me even when it sounds like I'm on instant replay, saying the same things over and over while I try to figure out the next phase of my life, and he supports me and encourages me and tells me I can achieve anything I put my mind to. And then he makes me another coffee, brings it to me where I sit so that I don't even have to move from my comfortably lazy position on the couch.