10:53 p.m. - 2003-11-29
Tis the Season
Happy belated birthdays to Annie Mae and Kramer. Two very different people and lifestyles, but both whose commitment to their own inner truth has provided me with role models to follow when I've wanted to give up. It must be that essence of Sagittarius thing.
I spent a good part of the day with my Dad. Something I always enjoy. When he arrived this morning there was a thick fog from two weather fronts colliding - one warm and one cold. The one front dumped over 100 ml of rain on our west coast in a single day. Flooding, loss of power, mudslides you name it. When my Dad called earlier in the week he said he wanted to do a lot of Christmas type errands and for the first time since my Mom died he sounded happy about the coming holiday. Made me very happy. We talked a bit more about the trip to New Zealand. I guess the spur for it is that two of my cousins are looking over some property there to start their own farm. One cousin already lives and works in Australia and the other did a stint there probably 25 years ago. I think my Dad was hesitating because he didn't want to be so far from home without someone to turn to if need be. I hope the plan goes through - it would be cool to have family connections in such a beautiful part of the world.
Stopped at the post office first thing. I had one package to mail to Elections Canada and one to pick up. The one for me was a nice surprise. Information about our upcoming training in Ottawa - dates set for February. Misses my birthday so I'm not away from family then, but is close enough after that I could choose to see it as a gift. It is a beautiful city with a lot of interesting sites to see and of course, anchors the history of our country. The only thing I will still miss out on is the boat trip I would really like to take on the river back into the heart of central Canada. Maybe next time. My number two person and my tech specialist are booked for the same time so we can work out some details for sharing the workload as we learn any of the new wrinkles that are a constant in the job.
Headed out to one of my sister's homes after a quick stop at one of the big malls so my Dad could pick up the last of his Christmas presents. He was quite pleased with himself and was chatting about the work he was doing on his home to prepare for Christmas Day when the whole family gathers. I heard about his neighbours - the ones who have been such good friends - and it sounds like the hubby is holding his own with the cancer. Chatted about possible expeditions next spring and summer when we travel outside the city. My Dad really likes old cars and there a couple of museums around that specialize in vintage vehicles. Those are on the agenda and maybe Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump - one of my favorite places to go.
Spent about an hour at my sister's just visiting with her, her hubby and two daughters. My oldest niece is now officially taller than me - we did the back to back measurements. She's in grade seven, it hardly seems fair. Both girls are really pretty and perky - you can see Dad already getting nervous as they head into their teens. I pointed out that was a sign of his dissolute youth. I don't think he thought I was funny. We divvied up the dishes each family was to bring for brunch Christmas Day. The girls would still really like a kitten and I guess that would be ok - at least until I actually have to part with one. I'm working on letting go - really. My brother in law was talking about the problems he's still having with the partner who sunk their business - the partner's alcoholism seemed to be the source of the trouble. It's been a few years, but the consequences still aren't all addressed. My sister is looking for work so we chatted a bit about resumes and job search techniques. She had a lot of good ideas, but it's always useful to share experiences.
Headed home, and stopped for lunch at our favorite seafood place. Yum. Talked about work mostly - the events this week - and family. Grocery shopping, then home. My youngest was waiting, wanting to discuss his birthday and what he wanted to do. He still hasn't decided, so he spent quite some time going through the foot high stack of flyers we received this week trying to decide what the best choices would be. Sometimes the shopping is more fun than the actual buying. And visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.
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