The delay in posts should give some indication of our lives since September. Gone are the days of seven-day work weeks (now we're down to six), though the days are still ever-demanding. But amidst all the activity one of us is always home with Sebastain, and on my days I try not to get anything done, but just sit with him and read, go for walks, stand with him as he explores the trails around Lower Gibsons, talks to dogs, and collects maple leaves. Every day I'm home with him is like a deep breath.
The days Alex is home with him I'm in Vancouver, commuting commuting, or I'm at the Shed down on the wharf enjoying the view and the suddenly lessened demand for burritos and tacos. I've got this eclectic jumble of days and I like it. Sometimes I wonder if I'm missing out on some aspects of the MFA program at UBC because of all this juggling and commuting (mostly the drinking aspect, although I think I've done okay thanks to the last ferry option), but I'm doing the best I can and I think I'm doing a good job so far. I just got a job as a "mentor" for a writer through Booming Ground which is exactly the sort of thing I needed more experience with when I'm thrust out of the university nest and looking for freelance editing work, should I head down that path. I've also been working on a series of Montreal poem for Rhea Tregebov's class which I'm really enjoying. I should also say that I owe all the manageable days to Alex, who has been extremely supportive of this whole Masters thing.
I think life has felt a bit chaotic because of the extra energy we've been giving our housing situation. We've been having some conflict with our landlord, which has reminded me of the overwhelming power human-drama can have on otherwise calm and satisfying days. The house came with some heavy personal and financial baggage that we were only peripherally aware of but has escalated to an uncomfortable degree. We've had to pause from our demanding projects and to-do lists, and take some time to really think about what's important to us, where we want to be, what kind of house we want and what kind of sacrifices we can make to get it. When we took this house we didn't know how committed we were to the Sunshine Coast, I didn't know how many days I would have to commute into the city, and we didn't know if we would be content here coming from Montreal. Now we have a better idea and are happy to stay on the Coast. The house is beautiful, and we've had an amazing summer here so close to the beach, swimming off the dock after work, having fires outside and gardening. But it's not a place we can stay long-term, and now we know we'd like to be somewhere with long-term in mind. So, come spring, if not sooner, we'll be finding somewhere to put some roots down for a while.

And just like that, the kid can walk (well, sort of). I think I'm almost as ecstatic as he is; I guess his enthusiasm is catching. All it took was five hours of driving to and from and around Powell River to see my good friend from Montreal Jessica and her boys Maxim and Benjamin. Benjo just learned to walk. He's a month older than Sebastian. They were roaming around the Laughing Oyster, Jess's family's restaurant, and something must have clicked in Sebastian because that night when we got home he took about five steps. There had been one-step attempts the day or two before and of course months of cruising and the occasional stiff-legged stand alone in the middle of the room. He's got places to go, this son of mine. He wants to move bad.They say it's great for a kid's left and right brain to crawl for as long as possible. It helps them with things like math later in life. But what can you do.
In one week it will be his first birthday. I'm so so excited. He doesn't have any baby friends in Gibsons yet. There are some acquaintances and likely candidates but so far his best buddy is three year old Uma. So there will be no birthday party. Instead we're going to have a big family dinner for him. Mary and Bob (Alex's parents) have been slowly making their was across the country from Ottawa in their Subaru and will arrive tomorrow for ten or so days. They're staying at a B&B a block away. I expect to find my son kidnapped as of tomorrow. I am prepared for that and hope I can be as generous as possible to make up for their missed months.
We've been having a pretty mild, cloudy summer so far but the last week has been sunny. The garden is exploding: tomatoes are ripening, the seventeen-pound-squash vines are looking prehistoric and trailing across the yard, the carrots are actually growing (for once) and we've been having garden salad at least once a day for a long time now. Alex, Sebastian and I try to swim at the beach every night when one or the other has finished work. The tide is always high, we walk down to the dock and take turns jumping in. It's paradise, truly. There's nothing like a swim in the early evening as the sun is hitting the last of the beach and the mountains and the water is calm and warmed from the day. I'm in awe of this place even after twenty-odd years.
There's been a big black bear hanging around the place. He sauntered through the neighbour's yard last week and Alex just returned from a walk at dusk and ran into it two streets over. He (and others who have run into it) says it looked about seven feet tall which for a black bear is pretty damn big. The coyotes, oddly, are still hanging around as well. I've run into them a couple times and we often seem then outside the house or lurking around the neighbour's yard at night. It's not abnormal, but it's something you look out for in a condensed populated neighbourhood like Granthams. At my childhood home it's not as big of a concern despite the wilderness of it because there's plenty of space for everyone.There's been a big black bear hanging around out there as well. Maybe it's the same one, who knows. Apparently a couple years ago there was a bear in the house next door's kitchen. The owners are away for months at a time and somehow a bear got in and helped itself. Ridiculous.

househousehouse

"the view!"sometimes i think alex makes fun of me when i say, "omg, the view!" but then i catch him saying it, too. georgia straight, vancouver, the coastal mountain and a cedars. i mean, come on.

our hilly neighbourhood

our front door and huge wrap-around veranda.

the cherry tree

mariners artifact atop a house near by

after a lovely mother's day brunch with lee, doug and my boys

home free

after much humming and hawwing over decision-making, alex and i have decided to stay on the sunshine coast for the next year at least, and see where that takes us. we found a home and it kind of seduced us into sticking around. not-so-brief description: a 1942 house on a grassy hill across the street from the ocean; it's in a little area called grantham's landing where my best friend emma grew up, an ideal location because it's about a five minute walk to lower gibsons and a long but doable walk to the ferry and my parents' house; two bedrooms with a view of the beach, ocean and coastal mountains; meticulously well kept; wrap-around veranda with views; south and west facing so lots of light; a big cherry tree in the yard; an outdoor fireplace; and gardening space. we're pretty excited about it.
we really wanted a place where our friends from out of town would feel comfortable visiting, and this is definitely the place. we're also excited about not being able to move about three more times in one year, which, left to our own devices, we could otherwise talk ourselves into. we're staying at my parents' for the month of april. let's just say that i'm looking forward to having our own space very soon.