I planted garlic on Thanksgiving Saturday, in the back yard garden bed, as I've done for the past 15 years. Last year, I started a new tradition: a mandala over top, made from nearby natural materials.
Planting garlic is one of my favourite garden activities. There is nothing else to plant as the days grow shorter and colder, and it feels like a radical act of hope. Hope that spring will come and the garlic will sprout, as it has each year for 15 years. Hope that I will still be here harvest the scapes, make garlic scape pesto, dig up the bulbs, and start all over again. I love the seasonality of it, the simplicity and ease of growing something so delicious and foundational to my cooking, and the satisfaction of using my own garlic all winter. (It stores really well in a clay flower pot, with the base as a lid, in the unheated laundry room).
Now in the fall of my own life, I'm experiencing the joys of harvesting the fruits of seeds that were planted long ago. I'm thinking in particular of seeing my child, Claire (who prefers they/them pronouns), take wing (to mix metaphors) and soar in their move to university at Trent, in Peterborough. I'm also thinking of my recent holiday with my Dutch friend, Jan, the seeds of which were planted 42 years ago. And I'm thinking of all the wonderful friendships, new and old, that enrich my life so deeply. If you are reading this, you are probably one of those friends (or a family member). THANK YOU for being part of my life!
There is so much to be grateful for, on Thanksgiving and every day.
Claire
I am so proud of Claire!! When Claire was a baby, I sometimes would imagine 18-year old Claire going off to university, sitting in lecture halls like the ones I taught in. At the time, age 18 seemed distant, and yet I also knew that Claire's departure (whether to university or elsewhere) would also be (too) fast. I would think about the "seed" of baby Claire that contained their future self as a young person, adult, and older person, knowing that how Claire would be as a person depended in part on the conditions in which they were nurtured. I am so deeply grateful to all those who nourished and nurtured the incredible human being that Claire is— friends, family, teachers, "aunties."
In our contemporary times, "launching" a young adult from the nest is often complicated, and I held my breath as I dropped Claire off at Trent. Claire experienced lots of anxiety in the first few days, but didn't let that stop them from going out and participating in orientation activities.
Within the first few hours, Claire met another first year student in their residence who has become a new "best friend." They are already making plans, with some other friends too, to be housemates off-campus next year. Claire says these are the "nerdy" kids who play board games and Mario Kart on Nintendo Switch.
Last week, on a FaceTime chat, Claire asked me if I missed them. I responded instantly, "YES! I miss you! Do you miss me?" Claire looked at me for a moment and then said "No." I smiled and replied that that was the best answer Claire could have given me, and brought me much happiness.
A SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH IN PROGRESS!
Claire is enrolled in a 4-year Bachelor of Science degree in Archeology at Trent. They are already looking ahead to figure out what they want to take in third year so they can take the prerequisites in second year. I'm so impressed! This term, statistics is Claire's favourite course. Apparently, the professor has a great sense of humour. Claire got 95% on the first assignment.
I am so proud of Claire!!!!
My fantastic adventure with Jan
There are some seeds that you don't even know were planted, seeds that can lay dormant for many years. Jan (Dutch for John) and I met at a youth hostel in Belguim in July 1982 when he was 19 and I was 20. We hung out together for a few days with some Americans, and had another rendez-vous in Amsterdam. We were pen pals through the 1980s, and then lost touch, until Jan found my letters (among many others!) in a box in the attic in March, 2023. He decided to look me up and we resumed correspondance, mostly by email. When I found his letters in a box in the basement, I realized that in every letter (about one per year), he said that he was going to come to Canada "next year." And this year, he finally did. Forty-two years after we first met— a lifetime ago — we spent 18 days together, mostly exploring Quebec and Cape Breton, and visiting family and friends of mine. We camped (with Libby, my little teardrop trailer, and the tent), kayaked, and hiked, went to the Cabot Trail Writers' Festival, enjoyed meals with friends and family, visited Louisbourg. Jan was an excellent travelling, camping, and adventure companion. It was the most relaxing and satisfying holiday I've had in many, many years.
Jan was a bit startled when he realized that Libby is 195 cms in length on the inside, not 195 cms high! Claire and I have no trouble fitting into the trailer (which is the "extra long" version!) but it was pretty cramped for a 191 cms Dutch man!
Some highlights for me:
Ethopian food at the Blue Nile restaurent in Montreal with my nephew, Shaun (who lives in Montreal), and his girlfriend, Anna, and my nephew Danny and his girlfriend Sera, who just happened to be passing through on the same day. Wonderful, flavourful, tasty food & excellent company!
Kayaking on the St Lawrence River near Les Bergeronnes, in Innu territory. We had seen a few whales the day before on a whale watching trip in a zodiac, but none this day. It was still wonderful to kayak on the River. And we had a fabulous seafood restaurant meal that evening, with a Francophone waitress who gave me a big hug at the end of the meal, and said she wished me "très, très bonnes vacances." I'd love to tell her that her wish came true.
a 10 km hike in Saguenay National Park. The first half of the hike was an accesible "highway" - wide, flat, easy to navigate. The second half was UP a thin, wet trail. But the highlight was hopping over the "closed" barrier to the belugua look-out to view the protected Saguenay Marine Park, where no boats are allowed. There was a building being constructed part way on the boardwalk, but it was a Saturday, so there was no one around and we had the place to ourselves. The look-out was so peaceful and quiet - just rock, water, trees - AND belugas in the bay!!!!! What a thrill to see the three whales travelling together, probably a mother and two calves. (The males return to the St. Lawrence after mating.) The history of our treatment of these mammals is horrific, and they are protected now. But when they die, their bodies are treated like toxic waste from the accumulation of toxins from the water where they reside year round.
I would have been happy to stay here for hours.
A visit with my oldest friend, Steven, and his lovely partner, Peter, at their country home near Bridgewater
and a fabulous lunch in Bedford at Il Mercato, with two former doctoral students, Jenna and Mary Rita.
In Cape Breton, there were visits with my parents and sister Kathleen; my brother, Al, & sister-in-law, Molly, who just happened to be on the Island to golf, and their golfing friends; and visits with other friends too.
An outstanding adventure for me in Cape Breton was the 7-hour hike Jan and I did along the North River to the highest waterfall in Nova Scotia. Officially, the trail was closed, but my sister, Kathleen, had confirmed with someone she knew that it was passable, if difficult in sections. The trail sustained considerable damage after Hurricane Fiona, 2 years ago, and has not yet been repaired. We were grateful for the pink ribbons that had been left along the trail by the previous hikers. The trek took just about all I had in me, but I am SO grateful to have had a companion who was up for the adventure, and to be healthy and strong enough to have hiked this trail at least once in my life. It was a dream come true to be in in the hills, along the river, with the sun shining through the golden leaves, blue sky overhead, and a perfect temperature.
And yes, I did the cold plunge in the pool at the base of the falls. Very refreshing! I think the water might have been about 8 or 9 degrees! It gave me a kick start of energy for the return trip.
Jan also got to meet some of my Kingston friends too, before he left on the train to Montreal to get his flight back to the Netherlands. My wonderful neighbours, Sharon & Peter & their son Kingston, were a particular hit.
It was a bit of a whirlwind, a dense, rich, delightful holiday that I won't forget. A trip of a lifetime for both of us. Jan and I will pick up our correspondence again but we don't have plans for a future rendez-vous.
I am so grateful to Jan for taking the risk of looking me up and writing to me, after almost 35 years without contact, and then the much bigger risk of hopping on a plane to spend 18 days with a woman he met briefly a lifetime ago. It was a whole lot of fun to plan the trip and anticipate it, but my experience of our adventures together surpassed my wildest expectations. Such bounty from a seed that was planted so long ago, ignored for decades, and then brought to bloom.
The refrain from David Myles' song, Simple Pleasures, is in my head, "How'd I get so lucky? Lucky, lucky me."
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