A Solitary Man.

As another work week comes to a close, my mind is busy with thought.  My family left me to fend for myself this weekend, as Sheila had a strong desire to visit friends in Vancouver, and I simply couldn't get the time off to join her, Jasmine and Asher on their journey.  On occasion, Sheila and the kids have gone visiting in Quesnel for a day or two without me, but this weekend's 3 and a half day excursion marks the longest I have gone without seeing my son since his birth.

 It is no wonder that I have spent the last 2 days with constant visions of the little guy in my head.  No slight to the ladies of my life who I also miss dearly, but the recurring image in my mind involves Asher's smiling face.  He scrunches up his eyes, exposes his two front teeth with an unbelievably cute gap in the middle and starts to laugh.  For many months this was his cutest face, the one that I loved more then any other.  But, this isn't the look I have been picturing in my head over the last few days.  He is 16 months old now, and he is become more aware of the world around him.  He has most definitely discovered that he can communicate his feelings and desires without the ability to speak, though he has started saying the odd word, and his "hi Dad!" is getting pretty darn good.  When Asher is riding in the backseat of the car, when it is just me and him, I love nothing more then to look back and elicit and smile or a giggle.  I usually just have to look back at him to recieve my reward, but occasionally I have to make a goofy grin or smile to earn my treat.  If I can't get Asher's attention I will call his name, he will look at me and with the lips curling up at the corners he extends his pointing finger to the window and lets out a little "upppp" sound.  I just love that the little things in life bring such great joy to him.  He has yet to discover the mindless forms of entertainment that the older folks of the world devote so much time to.  Most of the time, I have no idea what he is pointing at.  He just loves to observe whatever is passing by his window.  I have noticed a love of busses, he gets a kick out of the big rectangular boxes that often stop beside his window at a traffic light.  I think he and I will have to take a bus trip this week so he can see what it is all about. 

The ladies have likely been having a hectic weekend, trying to fit all the Vancouver highlights into a very condensed visit.  Sheila was looking forward to some serious shopping, and I hope she was able to get her fix.  It sounds like the weather was nice, so the ocean visit likely went well.  Jasmine was bouncing up and down on Thursday knowing that she was going to see her Auntie Anne and her cousins.  Anne spoils her rotten and Jasmine loves the attention.  They made their annual pilgrimage to Playland, and Jasmine likes to hit almost every ride.  She isn't fearless, but does get a kick out of some rides I didn't try until I was in my late teens.  She doesn't take after dad who was afraid to try anything as a kid.  This girl has been plummeting off of the 5 metre platform at the pool since she was 7.  I actually encourage her quite a bit in this endeavours, knowing how much I regret my guarded ways as a child.  She hadn't been on the platform recently, but last Wednesday she went off 3 times, and was very proud to be "back at it".  Jasmine also got to visit the Richmond night market, which I regrettably haven't seen.  As it is a giant flea market and Jasmine loves garage sales, thrift stores and dollar stores it would likely be a nirvana of sorts.  She also has a nasty habit of wanting things, regardless of the lack of space in her room to store these things.  The previous two sentences have just made me realize that she is in fact just maturing as a woman, and is hardly extraordinary in these interests.  It will be great to see her tonight and here about her holiday.  I am sure she will have a few interesting stories to tell me about the highlights of her trip.

I hope Sheila was able to find some time to relax despite the hectic nature of the weekend schedule.  She doesn't seem to mind driving long distances, especially to see people who are near and dear to her heart.  Her kids are both great travellers, which likely is a factor in deciding to go for a trip involving so much driving time.  She brought along her good friend, which likely made for a fun time on the way down and back.  I heard some remarks about an all day shopping trip on Sunday, which did make me sweat a little wondering what purchases were made.  Sheila has had almost 7 years of my cheapskate ways to deal with, and likely had my voice in her ear when she was out and about.  Truth is, she is vey careful with her money most of time, and hardly ever spends a cent on herself.  I hope she found some nice things and was able to treat herself.  I look forward to seeing my 3 favourite people later tonight.