The Giving Of...

...The Thanks.

It started early.

To be more precise the giving of thanks began on Friday night when we got past the new mall monstrosity and arrived at the Tsawwassen terminal, reservation-free, and somehow still made it on, 2nd-to-last-sideways, in the stern of the venerable old Queen of New Westminster.

And then, upon destinational arrival, we kicked things off with a little late night yelling of answers in the form of right and wrong questions at the TeeVee Jeopardies that had been saved up by Pops since summer. This is something that is always one of Bigger E's favourite activities.

Saturday noonish we braved big box village out by the old smash 'em up derby/racetrack on the Western edge of the south island big-small town I grew up in and got Pops all fixed up with his new computer. Weirdly, maybe because of the massive downpour that Mr. Beer 'N Hockey (and Lenin's Ghost too!) were digging on the other side of the water, there was hardly anybody in the big box store we chose. As a result, the kids working there actually had the time and inclination to really help us. Have to say that they were really great making sure that Pops got what he actually wanted and, more importantly, actually needed. Later on the planned afternoon of sports watching was interrupted by a heating and plumbing problem that was all fixed up good as new almost within the hour or two, this job done by another young kid who knew what he was doing.

Late Saturday afternoon I made my way into town via the View Royal/Vic West backdoor (man, things are really the same but really different too along that side of the Gorge) to pick up littler e. who spent the front-end of the weekend at her friend A's place. An elementary school friendship that has survived right through a move apart on to what is now 12th grade for both of them thanks, in no small part, to all that new fangle-fished social media business that the kids are so into these days. Of course, all of that also means that littler e. is also an aficionado of extremely old-fashioned (to her anyway) still-film-carrying cameras that she and A. find in Thriftstores.

Later, after a big dinner at C's family side, I followed/tried to keep up with E, she on mandolin, me on her little Martin six string. Also had a bit of a talk with someone for whom an offshoot of the things I do in my day job do my best to help other people get the money to do too, is really helping them. Still a very, very tough thing for those going through it though. However, it made me feel pretty good to talk to a relative for whom rational vs. slash-n-burn is starting to matter.

And now it's only Sunday morning with half a long weekend still to go. Today it will be all my brothers and me and their kids too at Pops' house for dinner. Our Mom, shown as much younger version of herself at the top of the post, will not be there but all her boys will.

Our Mom would have been 76 this weekend.

Here's an old cover of a lullaby by E and me and (and a young whackadoodle too) about family stuff, almost all of which turns out to be something to be a whole lot of thankful for in the end...



.