A Day At The Cottage

I went for a walk this morning to check out the lay of the land. I didn't walk on the shovelled roads. They were muddy. It looked more fun to stride across the snow fields. Now I know why more people haven't walked through the fields.

For one thing, I think we're in some kind of retirement community. I see old people and toddlers. Not that they're all over the place, but they're the only kind of people I've seen so far. I wonder if this is a haven for seniors and their grandkids. The grandparents take the kids so the parents can run off to the Caribbeans for some sun and sand.

The other thing is, when I walked across fields, I fell through the snow and had trouble climbing back out. When you are wedged in snow up to your thighs, it's hard to get out. You can sit down to lift your legs out but your bum breaks the snow surface and you fall in backwards. You reach sideways to get up but at every contact your body makes with the snow, you sink back in. I wonder if that's like being in quick sand, only it's cleaner in the snow and you know where the bottom is. Soon you've buried yourself in a snow trench and you feel silly because it's just a few steps to the road and you've flapped about like a fool for no reason.

I'm glad The Boy wasn't there to see me struggle with myself in the snow. That would have been one of those things that he cringes at in embarrassment. Instead, The Boy and his friend slept in till 2 pm. They stayed up till 5 am playing video games. I heard them using the washroom and tiptoeing to bed at that time.

No one drinks milk at our house. I've stopped buying the 3-bag sacks of milk. But I bought one this week and brought two bags up. It's only the first day, the boys are almost done with the milk. What's with that? Fresh air and snow makes you want to drink milk? No. It's because the boys snuck up Oreo cookies and they dipped the cookies into the milk all night while playing their games. I found the empty cookie bag on the kitchen counter this morning.

I confess it's really nice being here. The Man was working on his computer while I made clam chowder. We do the same thing at home, but it feels so much calmer here, away from our usual surrounding. I feel so focussed on whatever task at hand.