Skip to main content

Dawdling

One of my favourite things to do in Yellowknife is dawdle.

Aiden's school starts at 8:30 and so does my work. From the bottom of the hill they are in opposite directions. So Aiden has decided that in the mornings we should "dawdle" down the hill together. He likes to get to school very early- it has free WiFi away from mom and dad. So we get ready as soon as the CBC hourly news comes on.

Then for the next five minutes we dawdle down the hill. Inevitably we have to stop so he can tie his boots (again). But for five minutes we get to chat and hang out. For as long as I have been a mom I have never walked either of my kids to school, so this is a new experience. And it is great. We talk about how the light is changing, what the weather is like and which classes he has that day.

Before you know it we are at the bottom of the hill and he is going one way and I am going the other. Aiden is in grade 10 so I only have three years left where he is home. If leaving 15 minutes early means I gain 5 minutes with him it is time well wasted.

I am hoping next year Owen will join in too. (Right now he leaves at 7:30 to catch a bus for school.) Since we don't know where we will be living, I may not get the chance to keep this up. So I am grateful everyday for the time I get to spend with my son.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Goodie Day

I work in a building called Lahm Ridge Tower, which is a 3 story (four floors) building that houses a good chunk of the Education, Culture and Employment staff (ECE). Every payday the 3rd floor hosts "goodie day". Here's how it works: Each small unit of ECE is assigned a payday. Usually three units cover one pay day. My unit's turn was this past Friday. The units assigned that particular payday bake goodies for the staff of ECE. Usually that means about 20 people baking, cooking or bringing fruit or chocolate for about 100 people. Some units organize themes and sometimes it is just a random mix. I baked about 3 dozen biscotti seen near Benoit's creme brulle!! He had a draw for the creme brulle- which everyone loved! He also dressed the part in a full chef's outfit- now that's commitment! While I am not overly social, I love the idea of a shared coffee break. It gives everyone a chance to get together to share food and talk about what is going on ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Unexpected Savings

When we were deciding to move to the Northwest Territories we spent a great deal of time budgeting. Yellowknife has the highest cost of housing anywhere in Canada. (I am paying $2850 plus electricity to  live in a 3 bedroom condo!) But it wasn't just rent or a mortgage we needed to account for, it was all the other expenses- food, running a vehicle, sports, and all the little things that add up. We didn't want to make a move for higher salary but find ourselves poorer for the move. Turns out we over budgeted. Groceries is the first place we over budgeted. We assumed groceries would be as expensive as when we lived in Grenada for fresh foods. Unlike Grenada where at least there was an ample supply of inexpensive local fruits and vegetables- the north has a short growing season and everything needs to be trucked in. About the only local thing we buy is fresh eggs from Hay River, which cost about 50 cents more a dozen but we support local farmers. However the cost difference has...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ups and downs of day one

Today was the first day of school for the boys and work for me. By noon Aiden was back at the hotel, feeling sad about not already making friends. He was also frustrated that his English class was going to be studying the same books he had done in grade nine. I came back to the apartment to check on him. It was actually really nice to be able to see Aiden at lunch! So after a couple of hugs (and letting us know Jay had messaged him to say Aiden would always have him as a friend) he was off. Brent gave me a lift back to work, and to my surprise and delight Jay was crossing the street in front of us. It was such a nice surprise. At my work, my manager had been unexpectedly been called to Toronto and my colleague Sarah was off. So my Director ended up dong my orientation. The good news is there is lots of work that needs to be done, and fairly short timelines to get it done. I share an office with two others - which after working in my own office for 10 years is quite a change- but a...
Post a Comment
Read more