I’m really on a health journey now, I guess. Closing my rings. Watching my calories. Tracking my habits. Journalling my gratitude. Tweeting my anxieties. Hiding in my shirt. Coping. Managing. Improving.
Thursday 1 – Another evening of halation hunting. I really enjoy the purpose it gives to an otherwise aimless walk through the city. It’s more engaging to be looking up and around and making a real effort to see everything from new angles than the usual staring at the sidewalk.
Downtown was noticeably quieter this week than last. The new restaurant restrictions are having a very clear effect. It’s not fair to frontline employees to police every guest, but it’s not fair to anyone to disregard the rules completely. My mental health is grateful.
Friday 2 – The day off and beautiful weather called for Boy Walk through Beacon Hill down to the beach and then some blossomwatch around the neighbourhood. Good good.
Sunday 4 – The park at Fisherman’s Wharf gives the feeling of living inside an architect’s rendering. Beautiful spring weather, a well-kept parkland, people of all ages and abilities, playing, conversing, enjoying meals from the variety of local vendors around, charming homes all around, and views of the busy harbour alongside. The cynic in me wants to scoff at the cliches, but damn it feels good to be there. My gratitude for these shared multi-use public spaces just grows and grows forever.
Saturday 10 – How expensive is it to get into kiteboarding? I don’t want to, but we’re all curious.
Monday 12 through Friday 16 – We booked a house rental in Tofino back in January with optimism that all the restrictions would really help to reduce case counts in the province. Watching these dates approach for the last month was very strange: this vision of relief at the idea of a proper vacation week clashing with the rising third wave numbers. By the time we were packing to go the recommendation against travel was pretty firm, the problems in Whistler were said to be migrating to Tofino, and our self-doubts were very high.
But the reality is that everyone is finding excuses. So we found ours. We wouldn’t be near anyone. We’d be masked and distant. We wouldn’t participate in anything that adds to risk or exposure for others. If we cancelled, someone else would still take that space. Our mental health needed a break from seven months in the same box. All the excuses.
It was an amazing trip. I feel okay now about the choices we made to take it while mitigating our impact. I think I’ll always hold this one in my mind with some mixed feelings. Everything has been bittersweet for a year.
It’s an exception, but it was exceptional.
Saturday 17 – Sean turned 40 and we actually got to celebrate a bit with some lunch and games at Mouthjoy.
