I got to have my besties the twins up at the trailer! FINALLY!!

He said

One of the things I want to highlight this week is the streak I still have going for my personal health. I know I have blathered on about cycling and how much I love that activity and the new bike I got, but it has made a huge difference in how I feel and – more importantly – how much I weigh! Long before the quarantine, we had decided that a rower and home workouts were a better fit for me. That got my fitness journey started. And while I really love the rower, my true love when it came to fitness has always been cycling. This year I made the commitment once the quarantine gave us use of outdoor parks back that I would attempt to ride every day I could. And when I got the new Swift bike I got even more serious about that and the streak started.

Since getting the bike in the middle of July, I have ridden it every single day which I am super proud of. But the stats I am even more proud of is that in that time I have – as of tonight’s ride – ridden 2km shy of 800 km and spent 37 hours doing so! I have gone for 6:00 am rides that have treated me to all sorts of animal sightings as well as being able to take in some beautiful sunrises. But, I have also been able to keep that streak alive by riding at the trailer too, on the Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail. It’s been an absolute joy to have something I love doing so much be such a positive force in my health and wellbeing. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to be down 30 pounds and able to fit into clothes I had stopped wearing!

While I haven’t been too helpful to the cause, Mom & Dad have been doing a lot of work getting ready for the move to assisted living which will happen next month. Matthew & Shawn did a lot of heavy lifting last week while we were at the trailer. And, this week, Danielle & Emelia were able to go over and help out too. Its been sorting through a lot of memories and time which I am sure is both physically and emotionally exhausting, but in the end it will be nice for them to be in a much more suited-for-them living situation with a lot less of the years and years of accumulation. Hopefully it will feel freeing. It has meant a lot of memories and mementos coming back home to our house every night—some funny, some a lot more.

With last week off work it left me with a little bit of a stretch at work and I was at the store all weekend. Danielle & Emelia made the best use of their free time this week and got in a trip up to the trailer to start the week and then headed back up for the weekend. I am plugging away at the store through the weekend, but the good news is, after work tomorrow, I will be headed up to the trailer to spend some much-needed couple days off after an 8-day run at work. I will be sure to ride the bike there each day, but I will also be sure to unwind and relax too.

She said

This week has been one for the books, full on mentally and physically exhausting. Much of my week personally was working through the job search, interviewing for work and trying to find that perfect balance. I am very grateful that I had a number of interviews this week in every area of my professional background. I am still working through and exploring what is the best choice for our family in a very uncertain world.

In the middle of the job hunt, interviewing process I was still trying to make the most of the last of our summer. All summer we had been trying to find a time that I could bring Emelia and her school best friends to camp with us. After a lot of back and forth we finally found a date. So, this week with John back at work from our weeks vacation I gathered Anna, Grace & Emelia, and we made our way up to the trailer. I picked up the girls from their hockey practice on Monday afternoon.

Emelia and the twins were given full choice what they wanted to do for an activity and it took no time at all for the three of the girls to settle on the beach as their number one choice. We made it twice the first day—an afternoon of swimming in Lake Huron and second to see the sunset & for the girls to do some jumping off the pier. It was such a big hit that we made our way down the next day for the entire afternoon before we had to wrap things up and head back for Emelia’s cheer training. The 24 hours went by in a flash but it was exactly what the three girls needed. I gave them a ton of freedom to just be together and catch up. The summer of COVID has been hard, they have barely seen each other for the last 6 weeks and they really needed this time to reconnect.

The other big event this week was the full press of packing Helen and Doug for their retirement apartment. It has been a monumentous task to pack up 30 years of living in their house in London. There are 30 years of memories and 30 years of ‘stuff’ that we have to weed down to move them from their massive home to a small apartment. We made some quick progress this week but there is so much still to do. Mentally its been hard but freeing at the same time. I know that everyone is motivated to assure they are moved in quickly and safely but that we balance out what needs to be rehomed vs what is needed to make this apartment their new home. It is going to be a long and busy few weeks for sure.

Finally this week we are back up at the trailer, not all of us since John has to work but we are trying to make the most of the time we have up here with great friends. John will be able to join us a few days in the week so we can soak in every moment of this strange summer. Our summer has been extended (well for the kids) for another week. With all the regulations and safety concerns around the kids returning to school in a pandemic the school board has delayed school start for a week so Emelia has another week or so added to her summer.

That was the week that was, we have a lot going on and even more craziness to come. I am hoping that this week will bring some amazing news in the work front. I have some prospects but need to see how this week works out before I know where my professional life will take me. Exciting changes to come!