Time to Play

A significant comment was made today by my beloved. We enjoyed a special half hour in our local Wymondham coffee shop and indulged in a treat. Wheat free-gluten free choc cake for me with ice cream and Alex had a pancake with bananas and ice-cream + toffee sauce drizzled on top! We sipped our coffee and savoured our dessert, the first in a few weeks.


Next we walked across to a charity shop to have a snoop. Alex found me two new over the shoulder purses; one large one for use everyday and a small one for going out. Then I tried on a size ten pair of Liz Claiborne jeans and they fit! I came out of the fitting room with a smile.

“Did you go across and get that Canada cap yourself?” Alex asked a senior man.
I took notice of the elderly man, dressed casual and with a cap with Red letters on it…CANADA. On the cap he also had a bee pin.
“My son lives near Barrie.” He replied. “He has an estate there with all kinds of wildlife and trees.”
I thought to myself, here it would maybe be an estate. There it is just a piece of land in the north.
“Have you been to visit him?” I asked.
“No, we’re too old to fly. Eighty and my wife would have heart flutters the whole way. We’ve never flown!”
“Take a boat.” Alex commented.
“My son was here to visit us this summer. He couldn’t wait to get back there.”
“Linda is from Canada.” Alex said. “We’ll likely end up there one day.”

We left that shop and stopped at another charity shop. I found a new belt to wear with my jeans. We browsed for awhile and then strolled back to the car about 4:30. These little snippets of normalcy together are like cement for holding all the relationship bricks together. When so much of our time is spent dealing with work crisis re people issues or vehicles repairs.

This evening as we sat watching television, I muted the volume during a commercial.
“That is the very first time you have actually said those words Alex… that we may end up in Canada one day.”

“I know… I knew you would pick that up. There was a reason for saying it.”
It gives me a glimmer of possibility to hold on to. In ten years Alex has never actually said that. He knows how torn I sometimes feel between longing to be near family yet loving and being committed to him. I made the choice ten years ago and always held hope that one day I would return to Ontario and family with Alex. He has never given me glimmer until this afternoon. I will hold on to that! And I will build my excitement daily towards my flight next month to see family.