Visiting sister provides insight

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/05/2022 (1367 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

My youngest daughter and I travelled to Vancouver to visit my sister on the May long weekend.

The city holds a special place in my heart. It was a whirlwind of a trip, though we made the most of our time there, packing in as much as we could.

On the last day, we were driving through the tree-lined streets of a neighbourhood just outside of downtown Vancouver, talking and listening to music. I was high on that feeling of being in vacation mode and filled with fantasies of what it would be like to live in this big, vibrant city, and my sister was basking in our company. There was a bit of sadness in the air, knowing the visit was winding down. I miss her terribly.

The conversation flowed about regular sort of things that happen in our daily lives, and we somehow ended up talking about our goals and hopes for the future — some which seemed impossible or just out of reach. It was easy for both of us to point out the things we lacked or the things we felt defeated in. Looking forward, we were at the beginning of our current journey.

“All this was once a dream,” I told her, staring out the window, watching the city roll by. “The you from years ago would have given anything to be right here in this spot of your life.”

“You’re right,” she told me.

I didn’t only mean her living in Vancouver, though for her, that was a part of it. I meant that all those tiny steps and missteps she has taken over the years brought her here, to this point in her life.

It was that moment where all the checked-off goals and milestones of various points of our lives added up. The places we were at — lots of accomplishments and mistakes (many celebrated or anguished over, then forgotten about) — paved the paths behind us, and a bunch of goals and dreams lined the paths ahead of us. We were at the beginning of the next journey, but we had already come a long way to get to that point.

Life is a funny thing. It happens fast and little by little, all at the same time.

We kept driving and talking, taking in the city and each other’s company for the little time we had left before I headed back to Winnipeg. Both of us felt content and grateful. It was the kind of conversation we both needed and a reminder that resounded so deeply. I know that I’ll probably need to be reminded of this over and over again throughout my life, because it’s an easy thing to forget.

I don’t mean to romanticize or simplify this moment. Life certainly isn’t perfect, and it hasn’t been easy for either of us to get to this point. I acknowledge we both have privilege and have been extremely lucky in a lot of ways, and I also acknowledge that some of this might sound kind of cheesy.

But, no matter where any of us are in our life or journey, it is not a place we will or have to be for long.

shelley.cook@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @ShelleyACook