Halifax in retrospect
The trip to Halifax was really emotionally rewarding. It was amazing to spend time with Jono's family, and watch Fiona interact with her aunties, and uncles, and grandparents and even her great-grandparent, Nanny. I wouldn't be surprised if when she starts talking she has a Newfoundland lilt like her Nanny, because she kept us in stories from noon til night. That woman has led an incredibly interesting and quirky life.
Mostly we just hung out at the lake with the family, and at times 5 or 6 dogs. On Monday, July 13th we went into Halifax to have a BBQ with Jono's friends and the good was super tasty, and the company really good. I met some really phenomenal people and wished I could have spent a little more time learning about them. I knew though that the Bee wouldn't necessarily be all that happy if she woke up to find us gone. She wasn't and when we returned home we found out that her Nana and Poppy took her out of bed and for a walk to soothe her. Apparently she had a good' ol time and laughed with every inch of her body the whole time. My guess is she was laughing because she knew she wasn't supposed to be up. She's a little imp. I can see it in her already, and I like it. :)
I've already written about my Speak! performance, and my ambulance ride so I can move on to Casino Day at the lake. My in-laws had bought a casino day at a charity auction, and three men set up in the house (it was POURING rain outside) with a roulette table, a blackjack table, and a horse racing wheel (under the tarp outside). Everyone got 100 chips and a raffle ticket for five bucks, and the person with the most chips at the end of three hours would win half the pot, the half went to the winner of the draw. Almost everyone was there. The Bee's Poppy's side, The Bee's Nana's side and the third side (Kelly's husband's family). It was awesome. The bee mingled with the best of them. I played a lot of blackjack and realized that I had learned more from my Dad's Trapper's Festival tutorials than I thought. I ended up with around 250 chips at the end of the day, but I couldn't beat the people who were horseracing for 8 to 1 odds doubled. Still I had a great time. It was just really nice to be around that much family. It made me look forward to my brother's wedding this fall. Apparently my parent's house is going to be like a campground come September. We get to stay in the house. With a baby comes special privileges...like running water..., a bed and a bedroom door. :)
While in Halifax we even managed to go see my friend Owen, who was a poet out in Ottawa some time ago. He is doing really well and it was awesome to see him smiling and blooming. He's grown up quite a bit since we last met. He is now writing for an erotic magazine. That surprised me a whole lot. All the power to him.
We decided to stay an extra day to celebrate Shannon's (Jono's youngest sister) 24th birthday. Then we said farewell on Tuesday and drove back, stayed in Edmunston again...where the bee finally showed a little less flexibility in adapting to yet another new situation.
It's Friday and we've just finally got back on track, and there is less crying and aggravation. It's been so busy. I've barely had a moment to catch up. But as Shauntay would say: "Such is Life". And what an awesome life it is.