Today is a potentially momentous day for our family as it is the day that Lauren will sleep her first night in the house that she will share with two roommates for the duration of her UFV attendance. In order to facilitate our little bird leaving our Abbotsford nest, my wife, Pam, and I headed off to Abbotsford from Harrison Hot Springs this morning to assist her in moving her bed and some other items to her new abode. In typical Palmer fashion we both went in our own vehicles. I have posted before about our mutual discomfort with each other’s driving.

The plan was to put a trailer on the back of Pam‘s van and move the items over in the trailer. I have mentioned before that I am a bit of a vehicle hoarder and that we have six vehicles spread between the houses in Abbotsford and Harrison. Our two biggest vehicles have been sitting on the Abbotsford driveway because of their propensity to consume vast quantities of gasoline. Those are the vehicles, however, best suited to pull trailers and move beds and other items.

When I arrived this morning, Pam was standing with Lauren beside Pam’s van, and I could only see the look of disgust as they discovered mouse faeces throughout Pam’s van. Pam then spent the next significant period of time cleaning and vacuuming her van. Lauren was not prepared to go into the van once the mouse droppings were discovered. I made a dismissive comment to Lauren, which was intentionally not audible to Pam, about the consequences of leaving food in a vehicle. My courage in expressing my opinions in such matters is legendary. But then Karma intervened.

Lauren and I then decided to put the items into my Lincoln with its backseat down and the mattress put in through the back hatch. We then loaded the back of the car, and when we were ready to head off to our destination Lauren noticed mouse feces on the passenger seat in the Lincoln. A fast vacuuming, and my reassurance that any mouse would only have been in the Lincoln for a short time resulted in her acceding to getting into the car to drive the contents to her new residence.

Unfortunately as we unloaded the car, we discovered a lot of mouse feces in the car. Lauren found this revolting, particularly that her items had been on it. I was surprised at her reaction and her reaction to my suggestion to just ignore the mice droppings. Actually if she is in fact really going to run the world someday she is going to have to learn to deal with mouse droppings, spiders, etc, in a different manner. I’m sure she will now be cleaning her mattress and all of the contents ( formerly said “continents” in error) that were carried over with great vigour.

A conversation about whether or not a dining room table of her deceased grandmother that was now in storage might be appropriate in her new residence caused us to visit one of the units in which we store items in downtown Abbotsford. As she looked through the items to see what might be useful in her new residence she found…….. well, you can guess. Mice are apparently everywhere this summer.
​
I wish my little bird well in her new residence and I expect she will enjoy her first night of total independance. Unless of course she finds a mouse……

A Journal of the Covid 19 year. I have just returned from one of my many daily walks along the the lakeside street of Harrison Hot Springs. It is so surreal to walk along the lake and by empty closed businesses that you usually see bustling with visitors this time of year.
Perhaps because tomorrow would have been my 65th birthday if I had not decided to cancel and delay it for five years because of the virus, or perhaps because of the much greater time that we are all spending in our homes now, I find myself much more reflective and thinking about growing up in Levack, Ontario, a town of 3,100  just a little bigger than Harrison Hot Springs). I hope that being reflective of your past is not a sign of impending death. In any event, my walks today remind me of every Sunday in the small town that I grew up in . At that time there was a provincial statute in Ontario requiring Sunday closure. Although I always recognized the problem with imposing a day of rest based on on one faith on citizens of many faiths and often no faith, I did lament the change in the law allowing Sunday openings. Sunday closures created a day when family members would generally be together, rather than individually racing around to jobs and other commitments like all of the other days of the week.
The Covid 19 virus shutdown of most businesses has created that situation every day of the week and reminded me of the closed Sundays of my youth. Don’t misunderstand, I like shopping and being busy on Sundays. The extra day of work has probably improved our collective material wealth. I am a much wealthier consumer because of it. And yet if there is one positive result of this gloomy virus pandemic, it is the forced creation of time for family and reflection. Maybe one day per week of that wouldn’t be so bad.

A Journal of the Covid 19 Year. “May we live in interesting times”. This is one of my favourite curses. Although attributed as a gem of wisdom from China, it probably arises from 19th century English literature.
It certainly seems to be a curse that is prophetic of our present times. Although there is a reasonable hope that the virus will not be as deadly in British Columbia as it has been in other parts of the world, the death and suffering from the virus will be followed by significant changes in our world. Imagine the businesses that will not reopen, The workers living paycheque to paycheque that will not financially survive, even with the announced government assistance. Consider the likely step back from globalization now that we realize how many products we need that we do not produce, and that the market is far from “free”. Also consider the effects of a record Canadian federal deficit likely between 100 and 200 billion, and what that will do to future taxation levels and reduced government services. Not to mention huge provincial deficits that are occurring. No mention of interesting times can avoid a reference to the leadership of the worlds most powerful nation. The United States is suffering from a dysfunctional and deadlocked governmental system, plus they have elected one of the most “interesting” presidents of their history.
The belief that life, economics and our personal finances will return to normal quickly seems overly optimistic. The economic effects will endure. Retirement plans will be delayed. Personally I am now looking at freedom 80 instead of my planned retirement age of 75. We will continue to employ social distancing ( will someone please tell my wife Pam that you don’t have to socially distance within the same family unit). We will continue to be wary of each other. And we will continue to be wary of the United States.
I hope that from these interesting times we learn to be less focused on money and consumer goods. More focused on family. Less focused on pointless busy-ness and more focused on time for reflection. More grateful for Canada and the level of leadership we have seen in our province and nation and more determined to protect our sovereignty and encourage production of those products that we need within Canada. Less concerned about ourselves and more concerned about others in our society. Historically, times of crisis have brought people together. If these wishes come to pass then these “interesting times” will not be for nought.
Maybe I’m just an optimist, or maybe I’m just trying to avoid marking final exams this week end.

This is the third day of snow with more expected. I moved from Northern Ontario as a youth to get away from this. Why has Northern Ontario followed me here?
Because of the snow, law office appointments have been and are being cancelled . University of the Fraser Valley is closed today and my class last night was cancelled as well. This week’s meetings are being cancelled: my Abbotsford Downtown Business Association board meeting, my Fraser Valley Regional Library Board meeting, my Harrison Hot Springs Council Committee of the Whole meeting, and who knows if Friday’s UFV Senate meeting in Chilliwack will proceed.
No appointments. No classes. No meetings. This is a workaholic’s nightmare. I’m going into detox. Please pray for me .
Oops glaring omission. I should have mentioned almost no family as well.