SITTING IN A HOT TUB WITH MY DAUGHTER

 

Sitting in a hot tub with my daughter

on Chestermans Beach on New Year's Eve,

tall cedars swaying in the wind, the waves

rolling endlessly in - this was happiness,

a moment in time, in our busy lives,

on this beach we both loved so well.

Later, I sat by myself on a log, by 

a small crackling fire, watching

seabirds, the light playing on the water

in refracted rays of silver, clouds

like shapeshifters, the long quiet day

winding down.

Maybe it's not going to happen, my return

to this place I love, I thought, and I have to

be all right with that. 

She drove me home to the farm, dropped me off.

I unpacked, settling back into my nest. Then

the phone rang, and it was a landlord,

offering me an apartment in Tofino,

as rare an occasion as winning the lottery,

and even better.

I had to let go of the dream, for it to be

offered this third and final time. And

there was never any question that, were

it to happen, my answer would be

anything but Yes!!!