Happiest Birthday to my beautiful Mama—I love you endlessly!
He said
With camping season behind us, we came up to our first weekend off where the first chance we had, we fled the city for the trailer. Working in retail means I don’t always mesh up with traditional weekends which can be a drag but it also has its pluses too—as it is way easier to get errands done midweek. But, when we do have a weekend off together in the camping offseason the things I look forward to most are no-alarm-clock days with Danielle, and then basically being able to take easy with Danielle. This weekend was a big showcase of just that. And, it was perfect.
With us having both Saturday & Sunday off together and Emelia having a busy social/work calendar, it meant that Danielle & I could get out for longer bike rides both days. The eBike has been a godsend—giving Danielle the ability to keep pace and distance with me. And, with that, it also leaves her wanting to get rides for as long as she can into the fall season. She’s even talking about upgrading some of her cold-weather gear to solve the only remaining hurdle which is keeping her hands warm enough. Saturday, after we woke up and got moving at a slower pace, we got out for a 30km ride on the Thames Valley Parkway. And then this morning we did the same, but rode the route in reverse which after riding the one direction of the loop for so long, we realized how much it threw us off to go the opposite way. Fitting two 30km rides on back-to-back days for over 60kms in a weekend is something that would have never crossed Danielle’s mind pre eBike, so this has been one of the best us investments we’ve ever made.
Last night we even got out to see our friend Jenn Grant play a show here in London. We’ve long been friends of Jenn, and even hosted her for a house concert in our home years ago when Emelia was little. She and her husband Danny and very talented and funny people, who just so happen to make music we love too. She was playing in a newer venue in London called The Rosewood Room which is part of the London Music Hall, upstairs from the London Music Hall of Fame. It is a unique room, in a repurposed jeweller. The show was really great—she introduced us to opening act Joshua Qaumariaq a musician from Iqaluit, NWT who was amazing. But the best part as always, was catching up with Jenn and Danny—even if it was a lot briefer than we’d like.
Emelia’s Cheer Team (Sovereignty) has really started to funnel down and get ready for their first Competition which is November 11th (just a few weeks away!) in Mississauga. They’ve gone through a lot of change in the last few weeks, and we were kind of concerned they were going to have same sort of sloppy performance they did last year on Allegiance at the first Comp in Guelph. But, today’s practice and the one last Tuesday there’s been a ton of progress and they’ve looked a lot more dialled in. They only have five practices left to go before the Fall Classic arrives so let’s hope the same progress continues. The good news is there is also talk go getting in some extra practices and doing some work after and before their set practices. Really hoping Emelia is much prouder of the results this season than last.
Lastly, today is very special day, as it is Danielle’s Birthday! One of the things that I love about Danielle is that she is low-key—almost to a fault. When it comes to things like Mother’s Day, our Anniversary or her Birthday she doesn’t want a big deal made out of it. She prefers a day spent with those that matter most to her and that she doesn’t have to think about or prepare dinner. Well, we’ve taken care of that as best we can for her today even though it did include a trip to Costco to get groceries, we got a couple of trays of sushi for us all to sit down and work through. And right now, she gets to enjoy watching some football, which she’s recently gotten back into—something she did for years with her mother. Happy Birthday Danielle, thank you for everything you do for us, and then some! You put your needs behind everyone else and you’re the perfect role model for that amazing daughter you brewed for us! And, enjoy your week off writing about the week that was!