Wannaskan Almanac for Tuesday, July 22, 2025 The Way We Were

My youngest sister turned a half century old last month.  She lives just north of Toronto, Ontario,  We had some time available and were planning to drive up there and visit her over her birthday, but decided to fly instead.  It just seemed like the drive would be too long and at my age probably too painful.  My hip and ankle gett quite painful after about two hours of driving.  This would have been close to twenty hours of driving each way and that seemed to much for me to handle.  

So we flew.  We had to drive up to Winnipeg and took a flight to Toronto.  My sister's partner picked us up there.  All the way back to her place we enjoyed looking at some beautiful old country Ontario scenery.  We drove through Amish country and got a taste of what makes southern Ontario beautiful.  We went through what seemed like hundreds of little towns and each one seemed to have its own theme.  One had statues and images of bears.  Another had dolls.  Each one seemed to have iits own flair...or is it flare?  I guess it depends on whether or not they had flames shooting out of them.  

We finally arrived at my sister's home and then it started...what were we going to do?  It seemed like the only topic we could discuss.  Should we go to this or that?  Should we visit this location?  We did decide to go to a farmer's market that was celebrating their 50th anniversary.  It was interesting, and I did find a nice gift for my wife there, but really it was nothing more than a mall with higher priced items and less walls.  

When we got back to my sister's place...tired and drained...it dawned on me that we were stuck in modern times.  I reflected on going to visit relatives back in the 1980's and how we would all sit around and talk, maybe play a game, and there was no need to go to some outside source for entertainment.  People would all help in the kitchen or go haul firewood or work in the garden even while chatting with each other.  

It almost seems like we have an entertainment complex anymore.  We have to do something.  If there is a lull grab your phone and start playing a game or scrolling social media.  It does seem like we have migrated from a simpler time to one that demands constant stimulation.  

So the next day we put the phones away, sat down in the basement, and played games.  After a while the old ways of using our mouths to speak words to each other began to return.  We had a chance to enjoy each other's company.  Since that day I have kind of gotten better at leaving my phone off and trying to engage in more meaningful interactions with others.  I still have a ways to go, but the healing has begun.