As I strolled along a northern dyke walkway in the beautiful community of Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, I stopped to look behind me and in front of me and said: the road is long but the walk is worth it.
This past year the journey of life has seemed long because of the international pandemic. I’ve experienced the nice side of strangers and the not so nice side of others. Acquaintances have become friends and friends have become acquaintances.
Impostors have been outed and impersonators have been let go. People have died and others have been born.
I have stayed fixed in my home and in my community finding hidden and not so hidden jewels, and discovering the bounty of my neighbourhood along rivers, lakes, dykes, no thru roads, endless roads, on sunny days and not so sunny. I’ve seen horses, sheep, cows, owls, coyotes, bears, eagles and falcons, but I’ve yet to find colourful ducks.
It’s kind of been a story about life in that there is always something more to see and something more to do. Or, maybe it has been a story about housekeeping, literally and figuratively.
This road I am on has opened my eyes and my ears. I think I have seen (in all senses of the metaphor) so much and so much better while under strict public health orders; I have heard so much and listened more carefully than ever. I’ve smelled a rat and outed a rat. I’ve had good days and not so good.
I’ve experienced a friendship that became like a hole in a bottle of wine (a lyric from Shania Twain’s latest hit). It drained me slowly and the bottle eventually cracked. It was then that I was finally able to label the wine accurately — IMPOSTOR. I won’t be marketing it as it definitely would not sell well, so don’t even ask me about it. I will stick with the good stuff and maybe it is time to fix the antenna on my radar! Yeah, another step forward.
I will keep moving forward, postured and proud, on this road, sometimes rocky and sometimes paved, thankful for so much and for so many good people, sights, sites and sounds all around me.
There is still so much to see and do, like finding those amazing colourful ducks and much better grapes (friends) for my future wines (friendships). The cellar is nicely stocked but there is always room for more!
The road is long but the walk is worth it!
Submitted by Antoinetta DeWit.