Bachelorhood

Last week Gareth went to Ottawa, leaving me alone in the lonely house. Being the scaredy cat that I am, I put bear spray and a heavy flashlight next to the bed to ease my mind and help me sleep. I surprised myself by sleeping like a baby despite the creaking noises of the house and the constant rain falling on the roof.

It is funny what we do when we're alone. When Gareth is here, we cook dinner every night. I ate the same pasta for four of the five nights he was away. When Gareth is here, music is always playing and we often watch a show or part of a movie while we cook and clean. I couldn't figure out the entertainment system, so relied upon the tinny sound of my tiny computer speakers. When Gareth is here, we spend our days off together hiking and camping. I, for the first time in a long time, had two days all to myself. I made plans to get up at the crack of dawn for a long hike, followed by some yard work, beers with friends and a movie with Pam. What did I do instead? I laid in bed with a book until 10, ate cookies for breakfast, spent two hours browsing through the used bookstore in Canmore and another hour in the coffee shop reading my literary purchases. The only thing I did that I had planned was watch a movie, Julie and Julia, with Pam. Overall, a wonderful day.

I stayed that night in Canmore and the next day went mountain biking with Owen and Pam, who were nice enough to invite me along on their rare afternoon off together while the kids were at daycare. We went on a “beginner” trail that takes “two hours”, and at the end of the three and a half hours, I had fallen off my bike twelve times, crotched a tree, repeatedly banged my right shin and bruised my tailbone. Regardless, I had a great time and am so grateful to Owen and Pam for all of their advice and patience! As if that wasn't enough, I then went to Banff to meet a friend and we ended up on another bike ride. The Banff ride was much more forgiving and I only fell once. Still a long way to go.

Gareth made it back in one piece after a great week away. Next time, I'll have to go with him...