What I did THIS weekend ...

So, Mother’s Day weekend, I hung out with my in-laws. And the weekend after that (the Canadian long weekend), I dyed my hair red, painted my nails orange, read books, wrote a poem, drew a mandala, prayed a lot, and hid out from only a few people.

This weekend was different. I saw friends Saturday afternoon – one reminded me of a food/music/art festival this weekend down by the harbour. He knew (and I didn’t) who the headliner was going to be, and that there would be fireworks after. We both love the headliner. And we decided that it would be more fun (if the thunder and lightning stopped) to go together than to go each of us alone and hope maybe we ran into someone to hang with.

I went home, dried my hair (again) and put on a dry shirt (again). Then I called my Dad. He got through that crisis around Easter, and he’s been maintaining pretty well since then, with a change of medications. Yesterday he told me yes, come for supper Wednesday, but no, he’s not up to barbecuing fish, and maybe not to cooking inside either. Dad can always cook. There’s fluid building up in his belly again – he’s not able to eat much either. So, I’m going, and maybe I’ll let him tell me how he wants the fish cooked. His birthday’s two weeks tomorrow. Prayers, please, my friends – that it be gentle and painless for him, when it’s time, and that the time not be too long for him.

God IS holding my Dad, and me too, so I let God do what he can do better than me. It stopped raining, and I talked to my friend and we planned where to meet and when, and I had to run for it. We met. We got seats. He’d brought a thermos of tea and two cups. I got some wings for my dinner (he’d eaten) and I offered to share, but I like Five-Alarm wings and he didn’t. We drank bottles of water and listened to a bluegrass duo, and a band we didn’t like, and then an hour-and-a-half or so of David Wilcox. He did this song, Hypnotizin’ Boogie. He did my favourite too, Layin’ Pipe, and my friend’s, Do the Bearcat, was the encore. The energy level of the show was like this, all through. After that, there were fireworks – the closing one was like giant sparklers, fifty of them, all at once. I’d never seen ones like that before, and they made me feel as happy as if I was six years old.

We walked back to the centre of town cuz we’d sat enough. Then we had a cup of coffee together. Another friend walked past and said he couldn’t sit with us, because he had to go to his mother’s and it was already 12:20. Twelve-twenty!!! What the heck happened? We’d met at 6:30. I had to run to catch the last bus, and I just did. It was a great evening. Clear, by evening, and it got chilly, but we both had jackets, and there were stars on the way home.

My family’s changes have been huge in the last couple of years. Days of nothing but fun have been rare. Last night was nothing but fun. It was a gift. Enjoy the music.