It wasn’t too long ago that I resented driving to work. Monday actually. It’s what – Wednesday today? The road is long. 953km long. I know it like an old sun-drenched friend. Happy to be with it… but sometimes, y’know, they piss you off.
And it’s not that I haven’t had time over the last couple of months to write. It’s not that I’ve been lacking inspiration, or ideas, or a comfortable place to sit. I see things that are worth stopping and taking a photo of, ideas, pictures, places to be, all come across my desk. A phone call. Someone excited about something.
More so I’ve been chasing the sun. Spending time at the swimming pools – the Kootenays’ have the best swimming pools. And running. Lots of running. Bike now when I can, I don’t ride enough. Time in the garden. Up at the shop. Taking the leftover bits of the day to read, reflect.
Whats the point of sitting in front of the computer when the season so short?
Plus, a week away can feel like forever.
The kids consume me when I’m at home and I like to clear my time for them. Make lunches. Late nights, breakfast, off to school. Work. Pick them up. Dinner. Mow the lawn, bike rides and soccer balls. And when Monday comes, I drop them off. Back on the road. 953k. Give it hell for seven more. For me. And the kids.
I pulled in on Monday. Late. Stops always take longer than you hope. Luckily, I’ve found my fill of Creston cherries – and peaches. Fruit season is fabulous.
Up at 630. I’ve been building a fence. Firing off rounds of stick nails, and running the saw – happily, still running the saw. Sit in traffic. Listen to music. I’ve missed music. Sit and watch the carpenters pouring piers and tying rebar on a warm August evenings on one of the hundreds of overpasses, underpasses and interchanges being built. I love the scale and scope of the projects – huge and heavy. Evenings are for running, or riding, or picking up materials. Hardware. Making lists for tomorrow.
My body shut me down today. So here I am – you have me, and I feel awful. My annual August cold, when my body tells me to go slow. It means you ran yourself down again, and that fall is around the corner.
Sometimes I wonder what this is all about – all the driving. Most of the time my attention is short enough that I’ll forget about it. Some of the time it grabs me and drags me in and I have to do everything I can to release myself from it. And sometimes…
I’ll remember the kids – that I want them to know that they should do whatever, however it is that makes them happy. Remember the sun, the sun is such a blessing, and those warm nights, wherever you are. The sweetness of the apple trees. Music.
The learning.
Always learning.
And as much as I’m learning, as happy I am to do, I’m looking forward to hanging the gates and latching this fence, then only one more deck, hardwood floors, a kitchen, three baths and stairs. I’ve learned a lot about stairs. And then…
Sleep in my own bed.
Sleep a real sleep.
Wake up.
Hug my kids.
I miss you.
~ A
arnelwiebe.com 
Leave a Reply