Back again....new chapters

Bronwyn in the sunset - by Mike

Dear Blog...it has been months since you last heard anything from me...

Months of stuff happening that I have not blogged about. The other day Bronwyn said, "You don't write your blog anymore, do you?" She's never read it to my knowledge. I don't know where the thought came from. Perhaps noticing I hadn't talked about it. My sitting-at-the-computer time has become very short...and I haven't been taking pictures 'for the blog' as I used to all the time. But she reminded me of why I started it in the first place. Or at least one of the reasons; so that she would have something to look back on and read later on. I mentioned that reasoning to her and she replied, "That would be very sad."
"Bittersweet", I corrected her. But surely a wonderful gift?

So it is the beginning of September...the end of a long and warm summer. We have been routinely sweeping sand from the floor of the apartment and emptying it from our backpacks and towels, after multiple trips to the beach. Labour Day weekend. It has been nearly a year since I last updated. A year full of events, happenings and emotions that it would be laborious for me to list here. It is easier if I just recap a little and then continue on. Of course, it is the nature of break-ups that I can only show and tell my part of the story.

We moved house last November, just a few blocks from our old place. Older, cheaper, but in a great location.  A simple 2 bedroom place in part of an old Kits house; a little ramshackle apartment. We have the original living room and kitchen; wood floor, high ceilings and big windows. The converted basement for bedrooms - low ceilings, sort of haphazardly strung together. An incredibly small bathroom with a low ceiling that means that anyone taller than 5'5" must stoop. But this is a great neighbourhood and we are only a few blocks from our last place and only a few blocks from Mark's apartment.

I began a new full-time job in March; teacher at a language development preschool. It's an intense, but rewarding job. The hardest thing about working full-time is being disconnected from the kid's school life. This is especially true for River. With resources for special needs education being reduced all the time, I fear he does not get the support that he needs. His anxiety level at school is  high (as it is for many kids with autism) and he has begun to dread going. He was staggering, teary-eyed, towards the end of grade 1, and I am worried about grade 2. As yet the school has not given me any information that would enable me to prepare him. So I am preparing myself for another year of school visits and letter-writing.

Bronwyn turned 9 in June. A smart, funny, quasi-tomboy; expert tree-climber. River learned to ride a bike (something we thought we'd never see), and he's also mostly poo-ing in the toilet (again, something we wondered if he'd ever do!). His communication has come on in leaps and bounds. Wonderful and positive, changes. His rigidity and OCD tendencies are also more pronounced now that he is older - something we work on daily.

The children spend almost half their week with Mark, and the rest of the time with with Mike and I. To be brief, Mike and I became lovers and we now live together. Mike's son, Nicky, lives with us every other weekend and some weeks during school vacation. He is also 9 years old and he is great friends with Bronwyn and a real live-wire, full of boyish drive and energy and great fun. River looks up to him like a big brother. He is one of the very few kids who have patience to play with River and talk to him, show him things. All in all things are usually quite busy around here.

Things are settling into some kind of routine.  We have had a full summer - taking the kids on adventures and biking around the city. But this is it for another year. I ride my motorbike to work every day to work and I love it. I got my license in October. Passed first time! We decided against buying a car as neither of us gets paid very much and funds are low. We have to be creative - but we acknowledge that we make sacrifices on 'stuff' so that we can live in this neighbourhood.

I feel like I need a new name for this blog. Must begin to think of one... In the meantime, here's some pictures from the past year...

Cypress in the snow

Calgary

Keeping up the branches

Stealth camping and hiking on the north shore

Catching jellyfish at the beach

Mike and his sister Kennan

Mask Bronwyn discovered lying at the bottom of a tree stump

River at the mud flats

Mud pie target practise

Superbike