Dispatches from a happy Hullian

It's been a bit of a challenging winter and spring here, as everywhere. We're all still healthy here, employed, eating eggs from the backyard hens, so not as challenging as it could be, but still.

One of my union colleagues died last weekend. Mehran was quick to welcome me aboard when I got elected to the national Research Group executive, and quick to be friendly and to do what needed doing in general. He was also curious and open and talked happily of his love of food, dance and life in between matters of helping members and being good unionists. I'll miss him; there'll be a very empty virtual chair next weekend at the Group meeting.

Work is a bit of a slog... getting traction and coordinating people is hard and tiring sometimes, and there's a lot of staff movement and random requests going around. I might be able to make some good changes in an upcoming Lean process review, which would help me feel like I'm leaving things in good shape when I find an opportunity somewhere that fits me better. The return to virtual school for the kids, extended one week at a time since Easter, has thrown my routine and energy out of wack, even though Elizabeth has been taking the brunt of the daytime parenting. I have a fair amount of extracurricular stuff going on — Positive Space is getting more active again, union work continues with consultation and a stewarding case that might have legs. Those extras are work but they help make work more meaningful. In good pandemic news, our age slices are up for registering for a first shot next week... I'm hoping for Johnson and Johnson just so I'll be done (and apparently there are 300k doses of J&J coming into Canada now, but there are some possible bumps), but any shot in my arm is a good shot.

I've been mixing running and biking for my mental health/exercise time. I'm still shooting to run and now also bike every public street with asphalt and a name — I'm over half done on the bike and nearly two-thirds on feet. I've been varying it partly because if I run long distances too many days in a row my muscles have some concerns. But overall I'm getting pretty good at this, and seeing everywhere in the Hull sector at least twice, sometimes in different seasons, has been pretty cool. I know where our favourite tofu burgers come from because I've run past the factory in an industrial park. I can see new streets and developments go up, moving the goalposts for this whole silly game.

I'm missing seeing my Vanier loves in person — we've got our stopgaps — virtual D&D, grove rituals (happy Beltaine!), video storytime (Heather has finished the first book of Lord of the Rings with the kids) and various one-on-one chats. I used to do walk-and-talk after the kids were in bed by phone, but the 8 PM curfew has made that harder. Once the restrictions are loosened maybe walking and talking in person will be a thing again.

We're fairly Christmas-y here: tree up, elf maurauding, gifts mostly found, some still in the hands of the good workers of the postal service… It's been a bit of a marathon getting things together and also moving work forward. I'm looking forward to a little break between the holidays! I know I need it, my body lets me know by popping my shoulder out :( In this case just stretching in bed. It's back in and a little achy. Elizabeth has her aches and pains too. With any luck, and with our to-do lists fairly short, we can be in good shape for Christmas. I hope to take some more days off from work over the winter once some major projects are handed off from my unit. Pacing myself will be important.

The kids are schooling from home on either side of the Christmas break. The first day was a bit plagued by technical difficulties in Teams but now it seems to be working well. The music teacher edited together songs from every class to form a Christmas concert, and the class teachers moved the pyjamas and stuffed animals in class up to the last in-person days.

Tomorrow night is the Longest Night. We'll welcome back lengthening days and conduct our first (video-linked) ritual after Judith. I think her send-off will be gradual, given the health situation of the world and her impact on lots of us, but we'll collectively recognize her and remember her tomorrow.

I'm in a kilt today… my purple one, in honour of Purple Shirt Day, the grassroots work holiday where we make the holiday gathering in the conference room more purple. Fortunately it's +3°C out (but Elizabeth still insisted I bring leggings just in case).

Noisette passed away a few weeks ago… she'd had kidney issues for a while and we'd been keeping her going with special food and medication but eventually she got really thin and pretty rapidly passed. She's in the backyard under the patio stones with Pixel now.

I'm looking forward to my four months on loan to another agency starting in the new year… I'll be able to walk to work, do things I've built up a lot of expertise in over the years, and generally change gears while keeping my current job in the long term.

Last weekend, Oscar and I went out to the countryside to help Heather's dad put firewood under shelter for the winter. I think everyone enjoyed the time — there was a moderately big fire of wood bits that weren't worth moving, lunch, and time together across our larger network of blood relations, in-laws and out-laws. And Heather's dad will have an easier time staying warm this winter.

Domestic life these days involves lots of appointments and holiday prep as well as signing kids up for all their winter 2020 stuff. December always flies by!