Getting a Hair Cut

Week 53 – March 20, 2021 – The Little Things

Ha. Here is a selfie of me at the Vancouver International Airport last year. My how times have changed. I cannot believe the lifestyle I was living over the last few years. I was living in two places. I was separated from my kid and now I am separated from my husband. I feel like I’m starting my career all over again and I am STILL figuring out what my strengths are and what I have to contribute to the world. I know… sounds intense. I was flying up and down from Prince George to Vancouver. I used to take the ferry ALL OF THE TIME before that. How did we get here? Oh ya… the global pandemic. I was trapped in my apartment… ALONE… and isolated for months (from March 13, 2020 to May 8, 2020). I left on Mother’s Day, as a gift to myself, to head back to the Sunshine Coast to be with my daughter. I have no regrets there. I’ve been living my life on the temporary. I did return to Prince George once with my daughter for a quick visit to pick up my desktop and books from my office and apartment and that was it. I never looked back. To think that my brother, sister, and dad planned to fly up to Prince George during spring break last year to see the women’s world curling and now we are hard-pressed with what to do with the plane tickets. How long with the credit and points last? This pandemic has played trick on my mind and there is nothing in my body that says, “I want to get on a plane.” I was on a plane all of the time, but now I rarely get out of my house. I am never on a ferry. I may go to Gibsons, which is about 25 minutes away from Sechelt, to go to London Drug. But really, I just stay home, go for edu-walks with a couple of friends, and go for a Tim Horton’s steeped tea from time to time. That’s it. I work remotely from home and I have slowly become very accustomed to this lifestyle. Weirdly, I’ve met more people from where I work from where I am via Zoom and I have never been so busy. Now that I in the groove of things, I feel content with what I am achieving with my service work and teaching. I do try to carve out some time to engage in research, but I’m not there yet. My position is predominately teaching and I am fulfilling that role. What I am enjoying is living and learning in transformation within the university and program. It’s super challenging, but reminded of the importance of leadership. I love being back in my home on the Sunshine Coast to be with my daughter. The global pandemic has been a gift that way and I am very grateful. What I am totally surprised about the pandemic was my ability to grow out my hair. I used to have short hair and struggled to grow out my hair for years. This is a pretty good photo of my hair (without bangs), but now I can tie my hair back into a bun. I have not cut my hair for more than a year and I think it’s time to get my haircut. I’m getting one this Tuesday and I was so proud to tell my hairdresser that my hair is long FOR THE FIRST TIME… (well, I think the last time my hair was significantly long, I was 5-years old). Not sure what to expect but I would like to have some “style” to my hair so that I don’t feel compelled to tie it back all of the time, even though it makes my life super easy and feel like I have short hair. Well, aside from the pandemic and waiting for my turn for the vaccine, I am delighted to know that this is a joy and gift for me to look forward to my first haircut in quite some time. This is truly an exercise gratitude and I am very thankful for the little things. Maybe next week’s blog will be a selfie with me with my “new do.” Yes. I am embracing 2021, but I cannot believe March is almost over. The time warp has to stop, but in the meantime, I will enjoy every moment. Grace.

#lifeisgood #streamofconsciousness #pandemicreflection