Another week of extreme rain. Am I sounding like a broken record? It rained most of last weekend and then we had another rain warning Sunday night into Monday. Lots of flooding in the Fraser Valley, just outside of Vancouver and a pretty insane amount of rain here. This is what our backyard looked like Monday morning:
In the six and a half years we’ve lived in our house, I’ve never seen our backyard like this. We are very, very fortunate where we live and flooding and damage has been fairly minimal on the Sunshine Coast. Our province has entered a state of emergency (our third this year) and there are people in BC who are facing huge obstacles.
Peter had a busy work weekend but the girls and I enjoyed a quiet weekend at home. On Sunday we joined with some other friends to attend church virtually and then had lunch together. Peter left early to keep working but the girls and I ended up hanging out until 3 o’clock – the kids playing nicely together and the adults chatting. It feels so good to be in community together.
Sunday night Peter and I got a spontaneous date night when some friends invited us to join them to watch Dune at the movie theatre. We made it for a quick drink together before watching the movie. This was our first movie theatre experience since January 2020 (when we took Pearl to see Frozen 2). I read Dune way back in high school so had a dim sense of what the film was about. It was fun to see such a big movie in theatres though afterward Peter and I agreed that the noise and violence of it was jarring after nearly 2 years of watching movies at home on a laptop. Here in BC you have to be vaccinated to go to the movies and masks are required so it feels like a pretty safe option these days.
Monday morning was the day of heaviest rain. After dropping Pearl at school, Rose and I picked up her best little buddy for a morning of play. We are finally at the age where Rose having a friend over can actually be easier for me than Rose on her own. I got a lot done while the kids played together. Tuesday was bright and sunny and Rose and I took the opportunity for a walk to the village and a visit to the library.
Shoutout to the elderly lady at the bank who, when told the ATM was available, replied, “I never use any machines except a sewing machine.”
On Thursday I visited the dentist – an hour I get to sit down and be kid free! – and had a blood test done. I’d expected a wait at the lab so brought a book along but there was no wait at all and I was a little disappointed.
And, just for fun, these pictures of my kids because I enjoy their sense of fashion:
Aside from making sure they are prepared for the weather, I try not to dictate their outfit choices too much. Their ideas of what matches are not always my ideas of what matches but I like seeing their individuality shine through!
Karissa Reads Books 
Rose is getting so big that I sometimes have trouble telling her from Pearl in the photos! It’s interesting that you are now flooding because not long ago you were conserving water for your garden, as there were drought restrictions in the area. Is it common to get a blood test when you go to the dentist? I’ve never done that before. I giggled (but also was a little sad!) that you said going to the dentist was great because you got to sit down for an hour. Motherhood sounds so hard.
Ugh, yes, the flooding after a summer of water restrictions feels extra frustrating. We definitely had an unusually hot and dry summer but much of our local water problems have as much to do with mismanagement as with climate change.
The blood test was unrelated to the dentist! The lab happens to be across the street from my dentist and I took advantage of my kid-free time. I don’t mind the dentist – I had a great dentist as a kid and I’m lucky to never have issues – so I’m mostly just joking about it being an opportunity to sit down. Motherhood is hard but, for me, the rewards make it worthwhile.
Ohhh, so you were doing an errand day. That’s nice! I don’t mind the dentist either, but I know most folks have a deep fear of going. I know that motherhood is totally worth it, but I always feel like something went askew when moms are thankful for a shower, or the dentist, or whatever seems like normal, everyday stuff. It makes me think once again of the parenting style of other countries, such as Japan where it’s normal for one of the grandmas to move in, or in some African countries where communal parenting is the norm.
That’s very true – there’s this idea in motherhood that things like showering and going to the dentist are “self-care” or that they should count as breaks. Unfortunately I think that can be true for some parents but if you have a supportive partner or system around you then they are just things you do because you’re a human being. It can be heard to shake loose of that mentality though.