I just had the perfect weekend in Hope with Lesley. Lesley and I did teacher ed together 19 years ago. We carpooled for the entire year and got to know each other fairly well. We're both wickedly sarcastic and have a rather dark sense of humour. We both care deeply about students and teaching but we are not soft or motherly or sweet. We kept in touch off and on as we both went off to work at different schools. But currently, we are teaching at the same school. So, a few weeks ago I asked her whether she'd be interested in a weekend in Hope. She was and so we set about planning it and actually went this past weekend. It was so good.
We drove up Friday (in her car since I hate driving and my ankle still protests long drives). The traffic wasn't too bad for a Friday afternoon. We stopped at Earls for dinner and then continued on to Hope. My parents' second home there is big enough that we had separate rooms and separate bathrooms. We chatted and then headed off to sleep. On Saturday, we took our time getting up. Then we headed into town. We stopped at Starbucks and then went to the used bookstore to browse. The bookstore is cosy and all the books are two dollars. Self control is an issue when going there, but whatever. On our way back to the house, we decided that it was a good time to visit the Othello Tunnels. The walk was beautiful and so restful. All that rushing water and trees and the clean air! Afterwards, we sat on the back patio at the house; I read and Lesley worked on some report cards. With the babbling creek in the backyard, even report cards seemed non-stressful.
For dinner, we went to Kimchi which was delicious and is our go-to restaurant in Hope. In the evening, we took turns going in the sauna. The sauna is one of my absolute favourite things about the house in Hope. This time I used eucalyptus oil and it was lovely and relaxing.
On Sunday, after a lazy morning, we stopped at Highstreet mall on our way home. Lesley is one of my few friends who likes to shop and is good at finding the deals. Needless to say, we both left there with bags of stuff.
What a great weekend! After a rough few weeks with Emmi and some other drama in my life, this weekend was exactly what I needed. I felt far away from everything. I read, I slept, I hung out with someone who I can be myself with. There was no schedule, no agenda and no drama. We ate cheese and fruit and drank wine. We did no cooking, except the scrambled eggs I made on Saturday morning. It was so good that on this rainy Monday morning, I am still chill and relaxed and grateful. What a perfect weekend!
