Everyday adventures: Sailing
It was our first weekend settling in our new home in Aylmer, Quebec and Kai and I decided to spend it at the beach, soaking in the beautiful sun and laughing as we chased each other around and built sand castles. On our walk down to the beach we passed the Aylmer Marina and Sailing club and noticed a sign for the Nautism festival – they were providing free sailboat tours all weekend. He was so excited on Sunday when we came back, we had our life jackets and we were ready to set sail.
We were lucky enough to get a private tour and had a great chat with our host, a man who was originally from Michigan, who met a “gal” in Chicago – a native from Ottawa – and they’ve been living in Aylmer now for seven years and they’re loving it. As we set sail and went out on the water, on a beautiful windy summer afternoon, I started to feel such intense gratitude. Gratitude for being able to go on a boat today, something Kai has been asking to do for months and that I’ve been excited about as well and to just be on the water and enjoy a lovely day. There was a nice breeze and the water looked like it stretched out forever. The view was spectacular. I can’t wait to come back here to watch the sunset, follow the little path up to the lighthouse and sit on one of the benches. This seems like the best spot to sit and take it all in.
Change is scary. I’m grieving and some days are harder than others. Other days I feel energized, positive and I think of how we’ve been able to prioritize our son with every decision we’ve made and how it’s going well. We have our whole lives ahead of us and I chose to feel positive about what’s ahead. I feel gratitude when I look at him and think that, in the midst of a huge change in his life, he is still running around, being a kid and feeling such happiness and joy. I woke up the other morning because he was kissing me and telling me how much he loves me. We’ve been making great memories already in our new home. It’s starting to feel like home, which is a good feeling. We have all been so surprised at how well he is adapting to our new living arrangements. Being in Aylmer, where we are so close to the beach and such quaint shops and restaurants and ofcourse lots of ice cream shops and important people in his life who he loves, has been good. The little forest in our backyard has been a favorite spot of his for sure and we’ve already made homemade bird feeders, made a water slide and created morning rituals such as watering the plants and flowers upon waking.
As I come back to this moment, on the water, I see him wearing a “captain’s hat” and telling me that we always have to listen to what the captain says, watching him listening carefully on how to sail a boat and telling me how, when he grows up, he wants to be a captain. We keep seeing lots of skidoos going by and birds sailing through the light blue sky, sparking blue water underneath us. I sit here and I am feeling grateful. In this moment, I don’t think there’s any other place I’d want to be.
