Preparing

There is a small part of me that has started saying goodbye to this home I have made, even though I still have two months left until I take flight. I linger a little longer on the view of the sun cresting Mount Sloan, spend an extra moment looking across at the red canyon walls, listening always to the river in the throat of town.

It's busy here too, the trucks frequent and fast, the run of rivers project back into full swing, logging up in Bralorne, power line clearing, brush clearing. All the rooms in town are taken until the weather turns back into winter, and prospectors are trolling for vacant space to house their workers as brazenly as the town crows pick open coolers left in the back of pickup trucks. Certainly an interesting shift to behold in a place like this.

This past weekend I went into sorting mode, parsing out those items on loan from friends or borrowed from the library and never returned (no late fees here). Went through the closets, my drawers, amazed at all this "stuff" one can accumulate when we stay in one place for a while, especially when the place is a large multi-bedroom home, and I am a frugal spender and thrift shopper at that. It makes me think of a statistic I have heard many times in the past few years: that 99 % of the things we buy will end up in a landfill. Before I start a rambling tangent on this topic let me switch gears.

I have been doing a ton of writing, and had the realization about a week ago that I have been in the process of writing a book for years. I have been filling up notebook after notebook since leaving the city, and have yet to take the time to go back to read through them all to search for the story I am trying to tell. Thankfully whenever I have taken some time to peek back I have been pleasantly surprised, but still, there's a long slog of work awaiting my perusal.

They say one's first book is always an autobiography of sorts, and an author I met the other weekend said there is a genre called "fictional autobiography"; that's what I'm writing, which is an easy way to say that it will be about me, somewhat, with some made-up stuff thrown in there too. I'm still in the process of writing to find out what I am writing, if that makes any sense. I imagine a structure will start to emerge once I spend the time looking over the puzzle pieces that I have so far, and that's what I plan to do as my job once the school year ends. And I'm going to pay myself to do it with my little bit of savings, because I believe.

The more I consider my options over the next phase of my life, the clearer it becomes in my mind that the time is now to write. Ever since I was a little girl I have been fascinated by the world around me, and have yearned to record what I witness in words. And now is the time. The only time. I've paid off my debts, have a little savings, am free from a contracted position, have a reliable vehicle to gypsy around in. I'd like to see some of the nooks of B.C. while I'm at it. How will I know where I want to settle down if I don't scope out some of my options first? Just not the city. Everything else is fair game.

So yes, to write it is and has been lately. To write and write.

It has been cold here over the past week, and incredibly windy. I love the dramatics of a gusty windstorm, the unexpected upheavals rushing by like hammer strokes, turning the air calm in between. Have been walking with Hunter in the evenings, and generally enjoying having this house to myself with only the sounds of the wind against the windows, the wood popping in flame from within the stove, and the fridge humming itself on and off with a certain regularity. This has certainly been an adventure.

Things at the school are drumming along with the ease of spring. I find that things hit a wonderful rhythm in the classroom in the last couple of months of the year: routines are ingrained, relationships have been built, foundations laid. And it's spring, so outside we go more than we did during the cold winter months.

The students hosted another great tea party this past week. We have been having them monthly, and what a great way to get shy students and community members interacting! There is usually a theme or activity, and last week it was staining the bat boxes that a generous member of the community built for the students. We also made quiche to serve to our guests, which went well with the fraction unit we are studying in math.

Spent the April 20-21 weekend in Lillooet attending the Rivershed Society of B.C.'s annual forum. It was great to re-connect with the two Lillooetians who went down the Fraser River with me last summer, and to meet new faces who may be on the trip this year. Met a couple of authors which was incredibly inspiring and gave me just the direction I was looking for at this point in my process. I always love when the universe links things up like that: a very serendipitous meeting of minds. On the Saturday night there was the Planet Peace Cafe in honour of Earth Day, a night replete with performances of all sorts: guitar, a cappella singing, poetry and story reading, skits. The performances went on until midnight and I was completely inspired by the talent. Next year it's my goal to get up there to sing a few songs, and I've been practicing guitar all week inspired by the creative energy.

Well, my house is super clean which is great. Vacuumed and swept this evening while some leftovers heated up in the oven. It takes a ton of energy to keep up with a house and yard of this size, in addition to everything else I squeeze out of a day. Feels good to have that out of the way so that I can be ready to play outside when the weather warms up again. And it'll give me more time to write. Speaking of which, my notebook awaits. And thank you, dear reader, for spending the time reading my meandering updates.