Hey, folks. I'm doing my "March" letter to you a day early because if I don't I know I'll end up being late again! You might remember from last month that I was spending my February break in Vancouver and that Claire had obtained tickets for the pairs free skating final for me, her, Liz, and Francie. If you've been following the Winter Olympics, then you probably already know that Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo of China took the gold. We were so inspired that we even did a bit of skating at a rink near where Claire lives.
Gareth's recommendation of Gorilla Foods turned out to be spot on. I got totally addicted to their "Main St. Monkey" sandwiches and their Dark Raw Chocolate Fudge. Claire, Liz, and I also took in a hatha yoga class at Radha Yoga & Eatery, as planned. With Liz only mildly complaining about her lack of flexibility.
Something that happened that wasn't part of anyone's plans: Dee and Mike's bombshell about Mike moving out. Or maybe it makes more sense to say he kind of drifted out, or slid out. He followed an old pattern of his, which is to get himself a hidey-hole, where he can focus on his writing, his computer games, and the "Mike's world" in his head. Then he turned that into a place where he stayed overnight.... sometimes. And "sometimes" became "often" became "all the time."
Getting that news made Liz kind of freak out, at first--like talking a mile a minute and racing around the room. Claire is a very calming presence, which kind of throws me off since she looks so much like mom, circa me as a baby. I probably don't have to tell you what an uncalming presence Mom is, even under so-called normal circumstances. Anyway, Claire got Liz to slow down and figure out what exactly she wanted to do. And that turned out to be going down to Colorado and spending time with Mike and Dee, taking off some of the pressure with Robin and Meredith so that Mike and Dee can start to work out what their next steps are going to be. Liz ended up flying down on the same day I had my flight back to Guelph.
James Allen is getting big... He's nine months old and just starting to pull himself up and cruise about by holding onto sofas, arm chairs, and coffee tables. He is looking a whole lot like Warren Blackwood, but no one really goes there. Anthony is getting a bit less hard to take, though it's still hard for me to look at him and not picture him hitting on Liz shortly after that Howard Bunt guy assaulted her. He's definitely trying to do better, though.
It's not a firm plan, but I am considering going back to Vancouver for the summer, instead of my traditional Winnipeg "farm" trip. Claire has offered me her guest room, and I am thinking of volunteering for an animal rescue. As much as I love Aunt Bev and Cousin Laura, they have a whole different view when it comes to farm animals, especially the kind they've been trained to think of as "food animals." But I won't go all "vegan soapbox" on you all!
Anyway, with everything that's been going on, I was glad to get back to the routines of school. Structure and predictability are my friends at the moment. I won't go into what's going on with Mom right now--Dad has asked to be the one who "gets to tell that one."
Until on or around my next birthday,
April