22:47 - 19.08.07
Anniversary
Well dear diary, together we have been partners for five full years now. 1600 entries averaging about a page - Times New Roman 9, no pictures - per post. 1600 entries work out to missing four posts per month over the five years. Not too bad, I guess. I can't thank you enough for being there for me. I started writing at the urging of a few friends. "Wrestle the words to the page," said my one guru. I also needed a secure way to record some of the activity I was witnessing at the workplace I was assigned to, so that if a court case ever arose I would have a safe and provable record of it. Fortunately that never was necessary. Over the five years you have been my confidante and my safety valve. I've been able to look at the way my life had unfolded so as to work out a lot of things I thought were unanswerable. That they may be, but at least they are now in a perspective that allows me to live in the present instead of the past or the future. That is an immense gift all in itself. I have also left a record for my children and grandchildren of their family history, so that they know where they came from and can use the knowledge to define their lives in a way that suits them best - if they so choose it.
Yesterday, I had dinner over at number four son's home. When I started walking in that direction - about three or four miles as the crow flies - the sky was hazy and overcast. The bluish-tinged haze was from the forest fires burning out of control in our neighbouring province, British Columbia, as well as our neighbouring US state, Montana. The further south I travelled, the stronger became the scent of burning. Earlier I had had to keep my windows and doors closed at home because of the smoke. It was bothering my breathing. Meant I carried my inhaler with me while I walked, but I didn't have to use it as it turned out. I think that might have been because of the overcast conditions - the rain threatening and promising to fall all at the same time. There were severe weather warnings for all the areas surrounding our city. It was probably fortunate that I hadn't heard about that before I set out. The walk from my home to theirs had followed the meandering bike path most of the way, so it was a pleasant, scenic journey. I actually appreciated the light breeze that proceeded the storm, because it cooled me down along the way. As it was, the thunder started rumbling just as I was walking into the community where my son and his wife live. They live about three blocks in from the main freeway.
My son was just setting out the barbeque as I arrived. My grandson was teething and wanted cuddling at the same time, so my son was trying to work between the two demands. His wife was still at her new job, you see, so he was juggling the two responsibilities as best he could. I took my grandson outside to their patio and played ball with him, as my son continued on with dinner preparations. To the west we could see bolts of lightning flashing at intervals between the crashes of thunder. Their patio has a canopy, so we were able to enjoy the light show without getting wet as the rain joined into Mother Nature's concert of the elements. My grandson is now very stable when walking and was enjoying chasing that little soccer ball all over the place. He desperately wanted to play with the propane tank, but was persuaded that the ball was a much superior toy after all. My son was telling me that their landlord had raised the rent for the second time this year. Because their landlord has always insisted they had to pay cash each month, they can't even prove that this is the second increase - something that is illegal in this province. As a result, he and his wife are now planning to buy a home instead.
Today I returned to their home to babysit for a bit, while my son and his wife headed off to see a movie together. My grandson's teeth were really bothering him. To make things worse, he had a cold and fever as well that had been troubling him for the past several days. Made for a grumpy little guy, but still lovable all the same. His favorite pastime at the moment is collecting kisses in between playing with his toys. His favorite toy of the moment is a basketball game, that my numbers three and five sons gave him, where sinking the ball in the basket elicits music and cheering from the battery operated unit. He has developed some pretty good "endzone" dance moves already. He thought it was pretty entertaining when grandma danced with him.
In between the two days spent mostly with number four son's family, number three son dropped by for a quick visit. He had been told, when he started this job about a year ago, that the two summer months were usually very slow and that he would experience a lot of downtime. So far that hasn't happened this year. In fact today was a 16 hour shift to service a law enforcement conference. Number one son is finding his work schedule expanding too. Remember he dropped his second job at the beginning of the summer so he could spend more time with his two children. Seems his boss from the remaining job thinks that the extra time would be better spent doing more work - even on Saturday and Sundays. Talked with number two son whose work schedule is also running way overtime as well. All three are very tired as a result. Number two son's partner has been accepted for a new position within the government service where she works. The prospects for training and advancement are quite exciting. We talked about my work search as well. In one of the newspapers today, one of the placement agency owners finally admitted that the employment scene has collapsed. For the past few months employers have been undertaking significant layoffs, where six months ago they were hiring in a panic without even checking for ability or skills. I think it indicates that they have likely suffered some damage to their work processes. However, it is people like me and number five son, who is job searching now, who are paying the price for the agencies' and employers' lack of care in their original hiring during the so-called "labour shortage" panic. Now the background checks and interview processes have swung to the opposite end of the spectrum so that the procedures are now invasive and endless.
When I returned home yesterday there were two huge moving vans parked out in the alley behind my home. I am wondering if that odd scenario with the 2 am stand-off between the one neighbour and the males out back gunning their engines could be connected in some way. Maybe there was a late night gathering of friends loading those vans, without regard for the neighbours they are leaving behind. In that case, it is probably just as well they are moving, eh? Part of being neighbours is respecting each other's privacy and need for comfort and security. Too bad they couldn't be more like another set of neighbours yesterday who were having a family celebration that seemed to require a lot of brightly coloured balloons. They were handing them out to the neighbourhood children who passed by during their party. Dressed up the whole neighborhood - or at least our street as a result. My youngest's contribution to the weekend's comfort was to find a series of websites on the internet related to Caturday. Some of the offerings were quite entertaining.
Time to go to bed now. Good night, dear diary. Happy Anniversary! Oh yes, and Happy Birthday to the two great Roberts - Redford and Plant.
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