A long overdue day

It’s been a long time coming. My hubby and I have been so busy with life that we had become passing ships. Waving to each other as the days moved along. We are lucky enough that many of our activities and passions bring us together, but doing things together and spending a day together are two very separate thing.

The last time we left the kids with my parents was New Years Eve. We had been invited to a celebration (combination house-warming and new year celebration) and had decided to go. Little Man slept without us for the first time that night and did wonderfully. It felt so good to see friends, but it still, looking back, wasn’t exactly “time spent together”.

So when you get to that point where you cannot honestly remember the last time you had a day alone with the man of your dreams, your best friend, the father of your beautiful children, your soul mate, you need to take some time. And that is what we did. We dropped off the kids, we headed out and drove East to a little island named Île-aux-Coudres.

I’ve told you before that my River is a part of me. That my River has shaped much of what I am. Well, when the warmer season comes, the River calls to me once more. Going East means salt… where the salt water of the St-Lawrence Gulf meets the fresh water travelling from the Great Lakes is where we went. When we stepped out of the car on the ferry, it smelled like the sea. We stood and closed our eyes, soaking it in.

Much of our day was spent walking the beaches. (I had promised dearest Tracey that I would find myself a beach!) We were lucky to come in as the tide was going out. We were able to walk for miles on long stretches of rocks and pebbly sand, watching herons fly in and out, watching loons and cormorants diving along the shore, watching mama ducks bringing their ducklings out onto the shallow waters in search of food. Swallows flew around our heads and the skies were filled with butterflies. The weather was perfect : sunny, cool, breezy. We walked hand-in-hand, talked uninterrupted for hours (what a luxury!), not once did the radio get turned on in the car. We rolled down our windows and let our faces get whipped by the warm waterside winds. It was glorious.

 

On the way back, we took a little detour. I just can’t resist a sign for a covered bridge. There is something so romantic about them. We drove along a winding gravel road, soaking up the view, to finally arrive. It was beautiful. Silent and strong, a proud piece of the local history.

And we came home. We had dinner at my parents and heard all about our kiddos’ day. They were spoiled, they were dirty and sweaty, the way kiddos should be. And we were rested, renewed, still happy in love and happy to be home, the way parents should be.

Take time for yourselves my friends. Remember that before being parents, your were a couple… and before being a couple, you were a person. All parts of you need to feel fulfilled, all parts of you make you whole.

Wishing you the most wonderful week.