The Village

Heroes often stop at villages throughout their journey. These stops are vital for obtaining supplies, as clearing houses for information and just connecting with people after long periods of isolation. Today I stopped at one of my favorite villages -- the office.

I had an appointment near the office and arranged my day so I could meet Kelly and Marion for lunch. I made a quick visit into the center to say hi to friends and co-workers. Everyone I spoke with was welcoming and warm. It was good see people like Brian and Randall, Deb and Paula, Debby and Susan, Beth, Linda and Deb, Cheryl, Paul, Nicole, Darrin and Mary...I'm sure I'm missing a few. I was drawing such a crowd at one point, I was afraid of distracting the associates. It is hard to believe it has been two months since I stopped work. I even got a chance to chat with Mark, who called Kelly while I was there.

Lunch was fun. There is a church near the office which operates a cafe. It started as an ice cream stand and grew from there. They make the best sandwiches using fresh fillings and their own homemade breads. The portions are generous and the iced tea is sweet. Marion just returned from chaperoning a Dreams Take Flight day in Disney. The program takes underprivileged children to Disney for the day. Yes, for the day. They leave Halifax at 3am and return at 3am the next day. Each child receives a t-shirt, shorts, sneakers, fanny pack, pocket cash, plus the flight down and passes for the rides, etc. Marion had tons of photos and stories from the trip.

This morning the FedEx man showed up at my door with a package. Inside was a soft yellow lamb and a purple dragonfly with glittery wings (he has a wingspan of about 12 inches). The box was from the Colorado crew. I sat the lamb on our home office desk where Cole eyed it intently for awhile. As I've mentioned before, Cole seems to think he has first right of refusal on all stuffed animals entering the premises.

Rob took advantage of the great spring weather and took the afternoon off to go fishing. He caught eight brook trout at a nearby river, the same one we fished last weekend.

The warm weather is also coaxing out the blooms on the forsythia bushes, and the redbud, lilac and potentillas are budding out as well. Unfortunately, the warm weather also seems to be waking up the black flies.