A Day Off.

Today I decided to take the day off. Yes, totally off.

Didn't go to work.
Didn't drive for a field trip.
Didn't volunteer in the classroom.
Didn't do any housework... except for one load of wash.

I took the little ladies to school, boot-clad, mitten-clad, hat-clad. Not the typical clad for this Vancouver climate, but with the chilly temperatures we've been having lately, there comes the need to dress like we're living in Toronto.

Dear Vancouver Winter,
Please come back. I miss you.
Love Me.

I came home and called my family, eight time zones and six thousand miles away. Sometimes I truly dislike this vast distance that separates us. How I wish that, instead of drinking coffee solo and having a telephone conversation, I could "drop in", enjoy some face-to-face repartee, and sip tea. But, I resign myself, since the latter is not to be. Still, I was grateful to hear those cherished voices and chat with all members of the home-based crew... even my baby sister, who, for once, happened to be on the premises. Turned out she is actually house-bound, due to her recent altercation with a fence. She brought me up to date, huh-hem, on her breaking news.

I returned some "didn't-like-them" items to Costco and Walmart. Stood forever, in what seemed like post-Christmas return lines, but mission finally accomplished, I went cash-refunded on my merry way.

I took Miss Lannie's violin to the Tom Lee Music Shop. This is an old violin that belonged to the mother of an elderly family friend, and was kindly passed along to us for free. Very grateful for that, despite the fact that I know squat about violins and therefore have no true sense of appreciation for their worth. This one definitely needed some minor work done on it, but I wasn't sure if it was even worthy of repairs at all. Turns out, as the friendly music man at Tom Lee declared, it's in perfect condition, can easily be restrung for a small fee, and... wait for it... is an excellent quality German model that retails new for around $1,000. Whoa. Guess it's worth the $75 in repair costs. Hope Miss Lannie takes really good care of this expensive piece of musical apparatus. And takes the time to practice it too.

Picked Stew up from work and we went for a drive together. He had to run some errands, so I went along for the ride. And conversation. It was nice, just having an uninterrupted dialogue. Need to do that more.

Drove to school to collect the little ladies... and the Term One Report Cards. They're doing awesome. Good grades, eager learners. Always putting out their best effort, which is most important. Love them so much. Proud of them too.

Made dinner for the troopers, then I headed off for an evening at a tapas restaurant in Whiterock with eight fabulous moms from school. We met when our now Grade Four offspring began in Kindergarten class. An unusually close friendship formed back then, and we've had regular outings together since. Lots of laughs and sharing. Thanks, ladies, for another fun-filled evening!

Stew headed off to hockey, so the girls and I got on our PJs and had a Read-In, huddled together in our big bed. They love that, snuggling and reading together. Alana is currently into the Babysitters' Club series, loving it, and learning lots of new words. I'm trying to encourage her to use her dictionary to look up definitions, but, lacking in the patience department, she insists on referencing mama instead. Kayleigh's still reading PM books from school, the latest being about Oceans. She asked me last night if she had ever been to the Pacific Ocean. Child dear, we LIVE on the Pacific Ocean. We do? Yes, yes we do. And your school, child, is named for the ocean that flows by our beautiful city. Oh yeah. I LOVE her.

A pleasant day off. Must do that again sometime.