Heat Wave

We're having a heat wave, feels like a tropical one if I venture far from my air conditioned abode on foot. I opt instead to ride as my chariot has air but the minute I open the door to step out, the heat hits not unlike a tsunami even now at 10:00pm. Outside the air is dense, thick and sticky while inside it feels artificial but is mercifully cool. I am now 100% certain that I will always choose cool over heat if there is a weather selection/preference button to press. There are only so many articles of clothing which one can remove if out in public during a hot spell, while there are many layers in which to wrap oneself when faced with extreme cold so in the interest of modesty, I think we need to do away with these too hot days or face seeing way too much of certain people as they walk about in various stages of 'undress' supposedly in order to remain cool.

Graduation/Reunion

A last minute request by a former student found two friends, teachers, in attendance at a high school graduation. Having no tickets, they were prepared to sneak in a side door and stand at the rear, they were prepared to sit through all the pomp typically found at these functions but totally unprepared for the reception they received from about 3o of their now 'grown up' 'kids'. From their squatters seats at the very back of the ballroom (like nosebleed in a sports arena)they watched the young men and ladies form the lines which led them up to the stage to receive their diplomas. As the students in full graduate regalia passed by their grade seven teachers,they stepped briefly out of their lines. There were numerous quick hugs, smiles and total shock (but a good kind of shock) as they recognized their 'old' teachers and understood yet again, how special they were/are to them. When the ceremony ended the celebration really began. There were numerous family photo ops and then this small bubbly group of newly minted high school graduates gathered around the central fountain in the foyer, the teachers holding court surrounded by 'their' kids! They reminisced, caught up, had many more hugs and listened as these poised young adults shared the next steps in their educational journey. These two educators have always connected with students they teach, but this reunion was clearly much more of a confirmation that when you connect not only through 'expected' curriculum but most importantly through the heart, the ties are firm and binding..not even years that pass by can make them tenuous.

Father's Day Again

Whenever people express their disbelief at how fast a year has passed they will normally give you the occasion that has them noticing the fact that time really does not stand still.
For some it can be as simple as another birthday, for others it may be Christmas or a certain anniversary, whose date you cannot delete whether the anniversary is a happy memory or not.
What's funny to me is that these 'timely' reminders are usually happy even though we may rue the speedy passage of the year or years.
I do not remember the last Father's Day when my dad was still here but I do know that Father's Day has become a marker of time for me. It is with genuine surprise that I recognize the day not only as one that always reminds me of how long he has been gone, but it is also the day where I marvel at the healing that can occur- a bit at a time- year after year because I had once thought this would never happen. The incredible void that used to feel like a bottomless pit, has now been filled in just enough to let me breathe again. I am not at all certain if this 'filling in' will continue, or to what degree if it does, but I am sure that Father's Day will always take me by surprise and send me far back in time to a place where I loved celebrating the man who was the best dad in the whole world.

Dumb Moves

Everyone has regrets about things done or said with little prethinking. Generally we chalk them up to bad decisions but occasionally we deem our actions and/or words to simply be the end result of a 'dumb move'. We may name call in the heat of an argumentative moment and be overheard and reported on by an unseen set of ears. When in that situation, we cannot play the 'dumb move' card after we are outed because for those instances 'dumb move' doesn't quite cut it and grovelling seems like the best apologetic route to take in order to diffuse a growing time bomb. We may give a seemingly legitimate reason for why we cannot attend a certain family gathering perhaps citing a headache as the most non insulting excuse we can come up with but then we are outed again from what we were sure was the protective casing of our white lie and the situation progresses from bad to worse if we are 'caught' anywhere other than our local pharmacy or walkin clinic, dumb move?? We may want to impress someone special with our culinary prowess by having a gourmet meal delivered and transferred to our own cooking pans before we serve, but we will be outed if called upon a short week later, to duplicate the feast and find ourselves lacking..dumb move?? No, all of these are fabrications or lies which must first be confessed to before we trot out the 'dumb move' placebo or it will not stick. The best place to use the 'dumb move' tag is either when you find yourself in any type of idiotic one way relationship with either family members or friends, or when despite having a chronic back or weak knee condition, you lug the spring tires up from their winter habitat in the basement and actually carry them all the way upstairs and out to the driveway where you heave them into the car; DUMB MOVE indeed!!!!

Espresso

When I used to think of espresso I'd think of Paris. Sidewalk cafes, people watching, haughty waiters, well dressed Parisians and all manner of lap dogs with their glittery collars lying under those mini wrought iron tables as their owners indulged in a patisserie or two which was duly washed down with a bonafide espresso. That was before I entered the hallowed halls of seniority. Now at 60 if the espresso ever crosses my mind it is accompanied by that newly important question; is it decaf? I know that my pure espresso days are over and I am hard pressed to believe that any imitation via a decrease in caffeine, can ever be the perfect accompaniment to a warm afternoon spent in an outdoor cafe. I do not think I could manage to order an espresso decaf without incurring the disdain of my server. He and I would both know in our hearts that I was nothing more than an imposter cafe drinker!

Senior Dance Class

I accepted a lunch invite from a close friend despite receiving advance info that she was having a woman come in to teach line dancing to the assembled gaggle of geese. I say 'despite' because as I have said, I am NOT a dancer and considering my disregard for country music this is obviously a double edged sword, or triple if you consider that I do not normally care to be part of groups of ladies who lunch. But these ladies are all special to a fault so it is less than a surprise to find myself easing into line and dancing to a new twist on line dancing..the oldies...no heartbreak music for us. Maybe Perry Como is in part responsible for my quickly falling into line but in the end, with each new two step and and forward walk kick, my confidence soars until I am in full bloom, humming along as if I've been doing this forever, until the instructor tells us how quickly we 'SENIORS" seem to grasp the basics and that is when I deflate just as if I were a punctured balloon. I slink silently out of line and drop back onto the landing of the staircase, I seem to be a senior at a dance class.

Fifa Comes To A Screen Near You!!

After weeks of incredible hype, the day dawns and it is finally Fifa time. Some played hooky to watch it on their 'big screens' with surround sound, while others were actually present physically at their workplaces but doing no work at all as they watched it unfold on their office computers with their snappy earbuds in place. The pregame show was indeed a true extravaganza of music and costume not to mention a hefty dose of collapsable props but much waiting with baited breath went on in the hour leading up to game one until there it was, stadium extraordinaire with its lush green hue, so worth the wait. The first match between Mexico and South Africa ended in a draw so hopefully not too many placed actual bets though I for one would have preferred to see a distinctive win, I did enjoy it when the camera panned to the sombrero sections almost as much as I enjoyed their anthem which so reminded me of a John Philip Sousa march. I had expected to cheer for France in game two despite the one good bud I have from Uruguay, but I'm glad I picked no favourites in view of the fact that neither team managed to score even one single goal. Day one of the great Fifa may have had no clear winners and an amazing absence of goals, but it did have the usual griping about 'bad calls' which every soccer fan thrives on. I did manage to scrounge up a tasty Fifa breakfast which for me, ended up being one of the highlights thusfar.