Thursdays child has far to go

Mondays child is fair of face,
Tuesdays child is full of grace,
Wednesdays child is full of woe,
Thursdays child has far to go,
Fridays child is loving and giving,
Saturdays child works hard for his living.
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day,
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

I've been thinking about this nursery rhyme for a while now. I was born on a Thursday and most definitely seem to have had far to go. I was reminded this past week just how far I have gone to this point in my life, and am now wondering how much further I need to go before, well, before I get there?

I started out this life in Nanaimo, BC. From there, as a child, we moved to various points in Vancouver and back to Vancouver Island. As a young adult I moved from Cowichan Bay to Victoria - my first actual move - out of my parents' home and to my own. Next to Calgary. Maybe not for the right reason, but once the reason I moved there for was no longer part of my world, I stayed another year there, alone and far from my family, just to prove I could.

And I could.

Back in Victoria for a few years and then out to Ontario. Better reasons this time. More lessons and some of them repeats of previous ones, but most definitely lessons learned. 11 years in Ontario - and two homes. One in Etobicoke (pronounced eh-toh-BI-coe) and one east of Oshawa in Courtice (pronounced CUR-tis.)

From Ontario I went to the Island of Jersey - which is part of the Channel Islands and, most definitely, a beautiful place to live. I also went there for the wrong reason - VERY wrong reason. OK. Lesson learned!

From Jersey, last summer, I got to come home. All the way home to Vancouver Island again. Now I live in Comox - which is pronounced just like it looks. And this was for a right reason.

Finally.

Yes, a long way to go to get back home. Was it all worth it? I think so.

I learned a lot of lessons along the way. Some of the better ones are:

• Watching home improvement shows ALWAYS results in spent money
• Spray painting anything outside when there is wind (and not wearing a face mask) results in colourful snot
• Taking apart a tin garden shed whilst wearing flip-flops is ALWAYS a bad idea
• Big toes bleed WAY more than you would think they could
• European chocolate *is* better
• Moving to another province (or another country) *is* worth doing, even if done for the wrong reason
• Family is so very precious - not to be taken for granted, never to assume they will be here forever
• Ditto for friends
• Taking pictures is always worth the effort to remember the camera

I think what I have learned best, so far, is that (when thinking about a choice I get to make) if I think I may some day ask myself "what if I had only..." then the risk needs to be taken.

Am I there yet, though? I don't know - I guess I'll figure that out some day - but for now, just now, I'm content to be where I have arrived - home.

So now I ask you... what day of the week were you born? Is the nursery rhyme accurate for you...?

An Afternoon at Piper's Lagoon Park

Yesterday was a gorgeous day here on Vancouver Island and, with the convenience of a low tide in the middle of the day in mind, I decided to take Jasmine to Lagoon.

Some history... my grandparents built our cabin in the 1940's when he came home from overseas (WWII.) My Dad grew up spending his summer vacations down there, and so did my brother and I. Now that we're adults, we spend as much time there as possible - but, of course, work *does* get in the way of being able to spend ALL summer at the cabin.

Jasmine had, until yesterday, not yet been introduced to either the cabin or rowboats. Since my brother and his girlfriend were down for the night, I thought it would be a great opportunity to bring her down and, with assistance, introduce her to the whole experience.

Since the tide was out we walked across.

Mental note - the oyster shells are almost too numerous to manage. With one cut foot pad (Jasmine's, not mine) I need to look into doggie gumboots. I wonder if Bosley's carries those??

Anyhow, we slowly made our way across and, upon arriving at the cabins, I noted that my cousin was down and in his cabin - so we went to sit on the beach and visit for a while. Jasmine, released from her leash, proceeded to explore the beach and surrounding area at will.

Jasmine and I also went up onto the big bluff to explore the camas lilies that were blossoming, and have a quick wander around and snoop. The more interesting stuff she's exposed to the better her socialization is, and so I am working to expose her to as much new stuff as possible.







Over at our cabin, later on, we had a wander around & I got some interesting shots of logs and flora...





And, of course, Herself...





After loading her in, and seeing how she would be with him... My brother took us back across in the rowboat.



I guess all of the new sights and smells and running around did her in completely. I got her into the car, and within seconds she was asleep in her dog hammock. Home safe & sound, she ate her dinner and was then down for the count - I don't think I have ever seen her quite that tired and am looking forward to taking her back down to the lagoon next weekend for a couple of nights.

Have a wonderful week!