Riding over the Burrard Street Bridge at 6:30 on a Sunday night, in the dark and cold I looked just in front of me to see my daughter pedaling away. "Mumma my legs are sore, Mumma my legs are cold, I want to stop," she called to me. "Keep going Oliva, we've got to get to the top, then it's smooth sailing down the other side," I stressed. "You're doing great, you're strong, we're almost to the top," I encouraged. She kept pedaling.
What a trouper she was, we had been riding already for a few hours and now to end it, up and over the Burrard Street Bridge to get home. We started out around 3:30 that afternoon, the sun was shining in Kitsilano, a beautiful and clear day. It was the end of January, above zero although felt quite cold on the bike. Olivia had been requesting unsuccessfully for days to go for a long bike ride, I had not been excited about riding in the winter rain. When the sun came out that Sunday, I couldn't refuse another request to ride, I loved bike riding as well. "What should I wear for bike riding Mumma," Olivia had asked me that morning. "Oh, jeans or track pants would be great and comfortable," I replied. "OK Mom," said Olivia with a glint in her eyes. A few minutes later she tromped into my room wearing a purple dress and light brown, sort of latte colored tights.
"How's this, do you like my dress, it still fits!" she exclaimed. "What about the pants Olivia? I think pants are best for bike riding," I mothered. "I'm OK and I love my purple dress," followed Olivia. "OK wear what you like but don't complain when we're on the ride," I warned. Me and the three kids all got dressed up in our warm coats and stretchy mitts, excited about the ride. Olivia, Samuel and Sasha filed out the front door, nudging and teasing each other the way kids do when you're trying to get out the door. I packed my red Roots backpack with wallet, camera, Kleenex and four cans of Spritz-Up pop for a break when everyone started to get thirsty.
Out the front door, the kids were ahead of me, throwing rocks into the pond and fighting with each other. What's new! As I walked through the yard I noticed that it really looked like winter in Vancouver. Our fish pond looked dead, dark and lifeless. The twenty odd gold fish had slowly disappeared in late fall and throughout the last months. Most likely the neighborhood racoons had treated themselves to a snack.
I missed the fish darting around under the water, the golden and orangy color that lit up the water. The ground around the gardens in the yard was dark brown and wet, as were all the trees and vegetation. I couldn't wait for spring and summer to come back. The garden would be alive with color in just a few short months, lots of bright greens, purples, pinks and yellows.
"Come on kids, let's get the bikes out," I called. Around the corner of the house we went along the path to the back yard and our storage room. I examined the rocks along the side of the house, it was like a rock garden about a foot wide. I always wondered where the landlord found such rocks. The kids and I were rock collectors, always loved rocks, the colors, the feels, the shapes. We were so happy to find so many beautiful rocks in our own backyard when we moved into the house about 4 years ago.
As I got closer to the back of the house, I smelled smoke, cigarette smoke. That's funny, I didn't see anyone around, nobody in the house smokes and the neighbors don't smoke either. I lifted the latch on the back side gate looking intently around me, wanting to know where that smell was coming from. No clues. All of a sudden, Olivia exclaimed, "Mumma there's a cigarette burning here!" On the sidewalk there was a cigarette butt still smoking.
Angrily, I looked around. Where did this come from, did someone throw it over from one of the balconys above. What if it had landed on one of the kids, I was not happy. I called up to the third floor balcony. Nobody answered, so I climbed the steps to the top floor to see for myself. The house was a big old 4 storey with decks and balconys off of every floor front and back. I knocked on the glass garden style door, nobody home. Still curious and pissed off, I headed back down the stairs.
Opening the storage room door I was met by the sight of many spider webs. The storage room tended to be quite neglected throughout the winter months as we didn't ride our bikes much in the cold rain. I started wheeling out the bikes. They were packed in smallest to biggest, Olivia's pink bike came out first. She was ecstatic, the bike had been new at the end of last summer. She picked it out herself at Ace Cycle and promptly learned how to ride it. At the time, she was already 8 years old and not yet riding a two wheeler on her own. I had purchased a Trail-a-Bike a few years before that Olivia was in love with, she screamed with joy riding behind me. "Ride faster Mumma, ride faster," she would call from the seat behind me. I remember the first time we used the Trail-a-Bike, we rode in the alleys of Kitsilano around our house. We found out the if you ride in the alley behind West 2nd Avenue, west to Dunbar, you find a pretty good and bumpy downhill section. She was infatuated with that hill, we rode down that hill many times that day! It was when the Trail-a-Bike started squeeking and groaning that I realized she was too big for it. I had actually enjoyed very much having her attached to me and glancing back to see her blond hair flying in the wind and the priceless smile on her face. Today would be a big ride and that was what Olivia had been asking for. We would start in Kitsilano, from our house to Kits Beach, along the water, onto the bike path to Granville Island, then on the Sea Wall past Science World, into Yaletown, and then to the West End to drop Sasha off at home with his Mom. After that Olivia, Samuel and I would head to the Burrard Street Bridge, over and back home to Kitsilano. I guess I forgot when we left the house that afternoon that although the sun was shining, it was still winter and darkness would fall around 6pm.
What a trouper she was, we had been riding already for a few hours and now to end it, up and over the Burrard Street Bridge to get home. We started out around 3:30 that afternoon, the sun was shining in Kitsilano, a beautiful and clear day. It was the end of January, above zero although felt quite cold on the bike. Olivia had been requesting unsuccessfully for days to go for a long bike ride, I had not been excited about riding in the winter rain. When the sun came out that Sunday, I couldn't refuse another request to ride, I loved bike riding as well. "What should I wear for bike riding Mumma," Olivia had asked me that morning. "Oh, jeans or track pants would be great and comfortable," I replied. "OK Mom," said Olivia with a glint in her eyes. A few minutes later she tromped into my room wearing a purple dress and light brown, sort of latte colored tights.
"How's this, do you like my dress, it still fits!" she exclaimed. "What about the pants Olivia? I think pants are best for bike riding," I mothered. "I'm OK and I love my purple dress," followed Olivia. "OK wear what you like but don't complain when we're on the ride," I warned. Me and the three kids all got dressed up in our warm coats and stretchy mitts, excited about the ride. Olivia, Samuel and Sasha filed out the front door, nudging and teasing each other the way kids do when you're trying to get out the door. I packed my red Roots backpack with wallet, camera, Kleenex and four cans of Spritz-Up pop for a break when everyone started to get thirsty.
Out the front door, the kids were ahead of me, throwing rocks into the pond and fighting with each other. What's new! As I walked through the yard I noticed that it really looked like winter in Vancouver. Our fish pond looked dead, dark and lifeless. The twenty odd gold fish had slowly disappeared in late fall and throughout the last months. Most likely the neighborhood racoons had treated themselves to a snack.
I missed the fish darting around under the water, the golden and orangy color that lit up the water. The ground around the gardens in the yard was dark brown and wet, as were all the trees and vegetation. I couldn't wait for spring and summer to come back. The garden would be alive with color in just a few short months, lots of bright greens, purples, pinks and yellows.
"Come on kids, let's get the bikes out," I called. Around the corner of the house we went along the path to the back yard and our storage room. I examined the rocks along the side of the house, it was like a rock garden about a foot wide. I always wondered where the landlord found such rocks. The kids and I were rock collectors, always loved rocks, the colors, the feels, the shapes. We were so happy to find so many beautiful rocks in our own backyard when we moved into the house about 4 years ago.
As I got closer to the back of the house, I smelled smoke, cigarette smoke. That's funny, I didn't see anyone around, nobody in the house smokes and the neighbors don't smoke either. I lifted the latch on the back side gate looking intently around me, wanting to know where that smell was coming from. No clues. All of a sudden, Olivia exclaimed, "Mumma there's a cigarette burning here!" On the sidewalk there was a cigarette butt still smoking.
Angrily, I looked around. Where did this come from, did someone throw it over from one of the balconys above. What if it had landed on one of the kids, I was not happy. I called up to the third floor balcony. Nobody answered, so I climbed the steps to the top floor to see for myself. The house was a big old 4 storey with decks and balconys off of every floor front and back. I knocked on the glass garden style door, nobody home. Still curious and pissed off, I headed back down the stairs.
Opening the storage room door I was met by the sight of many spider webs. The storage room tended to be quite neglected throughout the winter months as we didn't ride our bikes much in the cold rain. I started wheeling out the bikes. They were packed in smallest to biggest, Olivia's pink bike came out first. She was ecstatic, the bike had been new at the end of last summer. She picked it out herself at Ace Cycle and promptly learned how to ride it. At the time, she was already 8 years old and not yet riding a two wheeler on her own. I had purchased a Trail-a-Bike a few years before that Olivia was in love with, she screamed with joy riding behind me. "Ride faster Mumma, ride faster," she would call from the seat behind me. I remember the first time we used the Trail-a-Bike, we rode in the alleys of Kitsilano around our house. We found out the if you ride in the alley behind West 2nd Avenue, west to Dunbar, you find a pretty good and bumpy downhill section. She was infatuated with that hill, we rode down that hill many times that day! It was when the Trail-a-Bike started squeeking and groaning that I realized she was too big for it. I had actually enjoyed very much having her attached to me and glancing back to see her blond hair flying in the wind and the priceless smile on her face. Today would be a big ride and that was what Olivia had been asking for. We would start in Kitsilano, from our house to Kits Beach, along the water, onto the bike path to Granville Island, then on the Sea Wall past Science World, into Yaletown, and then to the West End to drop Sasha off at home with his Mom. After that Olivia, Samuel and I would head to the Burrard Street Bridge, over and back home to Kitsilano. I guess I forgot when we left the house that afternoon that although the sun was shining, it was still winter and darkness would fall around 6pm.
Nice pictures too! Glad to see you writing every day. It's fun, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI find your writing has an awesome flow. It goes smoothly describing the places, the characters. Very good and excelent pictures, where did you find them?
ReplyDeleteErnesto Salvador Dominguez
Witty and inspirational writing!
ReplyDeleteMy all family loved reading it!
Lovely photos!