Fifty Years

I had big plans for my fiftieth birthday.  I was going to get in the car and drive an hour an a half to Wolfville and take a lone adventure to Gaspereau Valley Fibers.  I have been thinking about how I used to be so adventurous.  I was the twenty year old that just left Toronto for NYC without a place to live and with $500 to my name.  I was the thirty year old who slept under the stars and climbed scary rocks. I was the forty year old who packed her husband and kid up and moved to Nova Scotia from NY.  For goodness sake, woman, how hard can it be to get in the car and go spend the day in Wolfville?

But then I felt a bit lazy and I thought, I’ll go to Mahone Bay for the day.  I’ll walk around, have a coffee at The Barn  and go check out Have a Yarn .  That was the back up plan.  I woke up, snuggled into the day bed, had coffee delivered to me by the man and started knitting my first sock.  Three hours later, I was still knitting.  Then I got stuck and walked down to my home town knitting store, The Mariner’s Daughter for help.

The Mariner’s daughter is owned by the most wonderful mother/daughter duo, Hannah and Faye.  Hannah (Mama knitter) was behind the desk and I explained to her that it was my 50th birthday and I could not face the possibility of ripping out hours of stitches on my birthday.  As always, she was beyond patient.  I snuggled into the armchair for over an hour and she helped me understand the mathematics of sock knitting.
She told me about her sailing adventures with her husband, children, dog and cat.  Apparently the porpoises loved to come out and tease the dog and the cat was a true mariner who loved the sea life and also loved to explore the many ports they docked in.

Before I left she said that she and Faye had a birthday present for me and asked me to choose one of their beautiful baskets.  She knew my birthday was coming up because my favourite 83 year old neighbour, Margaret, bought a gift certificate for me.  She told me that they were really grateful for all my knitting anecdotes that I have been sharing on social media.  It seems that quite a few customers have come in the shop because they have been following my adventures in knitting on Facebook.  Well, how could I refuse.  These baskets are so beautiful and are purchased directly from the artisans in Ghana.

On the way home I stopped at Shop on the Corner  and had the perfect latte. 

When I got home there was a giant birthday cookie from my friend, Jennifer,  a boy with infinite hugs, a man who is kind and patient who made me lunch and dinner, and a day bed, made by that same man, just calling to me to curl up and knit.

It’s just so hard to go anywhere when you are where you want to be.