These days, when the TV is on at my house, you will find old Bugs Bunny cartoons or sitcoms, many from England. Episodes of Keeping Up Appearances or Last of the Summer Wine take me to a quiet place in my mind and keep worries at bay.
For the past few years, summer in the Rocky Mountains of Canada has become nightmarish due to forest fires. Skies of choking yellow smoke with the sun a frightening neon orange. There are tears for families who have lost homes, ranches with barns full of animals destroyed in seconds. The familiar landscapes are changed forever, but we try to convince ourselves that in a few years, forest growth will be renewed.
You would think we would hope for rain, but rain brings lightning which would make the toughest cowboy shiver in his boots, watching for plumes of smoke in the trees.
A few days ago, Yannick (my better half) texted me from work, saying that while there was still time, I should get items ready in case we were evacuated. He knew it would take some time.
My Parents have been gone for many years, but now I had to choose what was "important" from their possessions. The glass polar bears that were silent witnesses to happy days of music in our basement did not get packed. Decisions like that make one's blood run cold, but there had to be more room for photos, with the dear faces I miss so much.
When I was little, my Grandmother Irene who lived in Montreal, gave me a tiny ring with the initial "I" engraved on the front. It was one of her few treasures and it was an honour to be chosen as the recipient.
Although the tiny ring is still with me, I have to share with you MY favourite treasure which includes that wonderful lady. If you were willing to read to me, you were my best friend forever and this photo is a moment of joy captured that I will always be grateful to have.
So, until there is an "all clear" from the forest management service, or perhaps even when the first snowflakes fall much later in the year, this photo and others are packed up for their protection. I am anxious to feel free to put them back on my desk where the faces I miss can continue to smile back at me from their frames.
Until then, I will keep watching cartoons, where no matter what chaos or crises arise, none of the characters ever gets hurt.
Thank you for spending this time with me,
Lori xx