Mother's Day Moments

A Mother's Day Getaway

I am having a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.  As a busy professional and  mother of 5 grown children, I have discovered that for me, time for quiet and solitude are more appreciated than any other gift I could be given.  I am particularly blessed to have a getaway place to enable me to recharge from my busy weeks.  This weekend, I am so very grateful that I am able to be at my Georgian Bay retreat, my little Shangri-La at Rupert's Landing.  Although the weather is cold and nasty - I am very happy. 

The sand bar just beyond the marina causes the waves to break well out from shore.  While Georgian Bay has high waves, White's Bay is relatively calm since it is sheltered and very shallow.

I took a walk this morning out to the end of the sea wall that encloses our marina and forms a break wall on White's Bay.  The wind was particularly bitter, I had to drape my arm over my face to keep the ice pellets from blinding me as I walked out the the furthest most reach into the Bay.  It feels so invigorating to feel the spray in your face and hear the pounding of the waves.  Bella and I very much enjoyed our morning walk although it ended up to be a morning run. It was so cold out by the water that we ran all the way home!

You can see the Blue Mountain ski runs are still snow covered.  Click for a better view.

Even within the enclosed area of the marina the wind is whipping up the water.

The Ruperty's Landing community consists of a number of low rise stacked condominium buildings in an area spanning Highway 26 on the south and Georgian Bay on the north, just on the edge of Collingwood.  There are a dozen low rise buildings and one high rise tower, arranged in a fashion similar to a Carribean resort community.   Each building houses about 14 residences, although most are  occupied by folks like me, needing a weekend escape for either skiing &/or summer holiday fun.  My building is beside the Recreation Centre and Tennis Courts, a short walk to the water's edge.  My idea of heaven would be to have a unit which looked out into the Bay, so I could hear the pounding of the waves and the blue of the lake where it joins the sky on the horizon, but on the other hand my unit has unrivaled privacy.

Some hopefuls have their boats in the water even though capsizing would mean hypothermia in minutes.  It will be a month before water temperatures are tolerable.  Kyaking anyone?

It is just a short walk to the marina following a winding lined with ornamental cherry trees.  They are just starting to come into bloom.  What a contrast to the senses - the warmth of the pink blossoms in stark contrast with the cold white snow pellets carried by the wind.

The ornamental cherry trees are almost blooming along the pathway.

It is heaven to sit here, fireplace warming my toes and cuppa coffee in hand,  in a mellow mood listening to Melodie Gardot and Diana Krall sing some jazz favourites.  I hope I can share these nice vibes with my blogsphere friends as you read my blog today.

I will head back to Toronto in the mid of the afternoon.  We have a birthday celebration planned for my daughter Laura and there will be about 20 of us in attendance. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long to get seated at the Old Spagetti Factory - the spot chosen for the bash.  There will be my parents and myself, the 5 and significant others (or not) of the moment, my X husband - my children's father and his wife.  There will also be a few "honourary  adult children" who have grown up with and become lifelong friends of my biological offspring.  We should have a cozy and happy time.

A Poem by Mahmoud Darwish :- My Mother
For me, anything can be an excuse to look for a poem and Mother's Day is no different.  I promised to lay off the Neruda Poems, but in the interest of acknowledging the wider body of poetry that exists in the world, aside from the English revered poets, I decided to include a poem which was written by a very famous poet from the Middle East - Mahmound Darwish.  I have to thank my friend, A Cuban In London, who introduced me to this poet and the poem on his blog "On Literature and Other Abstract Thoughts"


According to Wiki:

Mahmoud Darwish (Arabic: محمود درويش‎) (13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008) was a Palestinian poet and author who won numerous awards for his literary output and was regarded as the Palestinian national poet. In his work, Palestine became a metaphor for the loss of Eden, birth and resurrection, and the anguish of dispossession and exile.

I have enjoyed learning about this poet and time spent reading his poetry.  This one, I long for my Mother's bread my Mother's coffee, is appropriate for Mother's Day.  My mother never made coffee as a rule, as tea is the drink of choice for those of her Newfie heritage.  I can however, remember as a child, both my mother and my grandmother baking bread.  Pleasant memories of  huge bowls of dough rising on the kitchen counter and the smell of baking bread and if we were lucky, some warm bread and butter fresh out of the oven.

If you are not so enamoured with Middle Eastern music, you can skip the video and just read the poem.


- a poem by Mahmoud Darwish :- My Mother أمي
المعروفة بـ "أحن الى خبز امي"

I long for my mother's bread
My mother's coffee
Her touch


Childhood memories grow up in me
Day after day
I must be worth my life
At the hour of my death
Worth the tears of my mother.

And if I come back one day
Take me as a veil to your eyelashes
Cover my bones with the grass
Blessed by your footsteps
Bind us together
With a lock of your hair
With a thread that trails from the back of your dress
I might become immortal
Become a God
If I touch the depths of your heart.

If I come back
Use me as wood to feed your fire
As the clothesline on the roof of your house
Without your blessing
I am too weak to stand.

I am old
Give me back the star maps of childhood
So that I
Along with the swallows
Can chart the path
Back to your waiting nest.