road-trippin' with mein seestor

Danna and I emailed through the day on Monday debating what to do. From people at work I received nothing but support to go, if that was what I decided I needed to do. I didn't even stop to pee before calling her when I got home, and within 2 hours the decision had been made to at least try, or spend the rest of our lives regretting not having taken the chance to bid farewell. By midnight Danna had made it to Edmonton from Calgary and we were on our way.


We travelled in darkness, and watched the sun coming up over the mountains. I can honestly say I've never seen sunrise in the rockies and frankly it was less than stellar. I'm a prairie girl at heart and waiting for the tall shadows of the mountains to let in the warmth of the apricot sun was frustrating at best. I guess I was expecting smoething more majestic than thin beams of sunlight struggling to spill into the bowl of highway we were sitting in, and it made me think if I had a Superpower, it'd be levitation so I could shoot up in the air and see sun sitting like a big egg yolk along the horizon of the prairies. It seemed to take forever before the roads were warm and golden, but in that painfully long dawn we were treated to a feast of wildlife - elk, deer, bears, and a moose butt (why do they always face AWAY from the road?)


We rolled into Prince George in rush hour traffic, which compared to our familiar versions of rush hour seemed almost laughable. We had initially been concerned about congestion because of a terrible fire in the lumber yards on Highway 97 rumoured to be bunging up the whole city, but by the time we reached town traffic had been successfully rerouted and it was smooth sailing. We headed to Gramma's side where save for a few sporadic 3 or 4 hour naps we waited, hoping for peace and willing Gramma to rest. Because we both had our own reasons, we needed to get home sooner rather than later, and when the time came to leave our goodbyes were the typical mixture of pain and pleasure that has become familiar since lately the only times we seem to see each other is when someone has died.

We agreed to take our time getting home. Danna and I have never taken a road trip together, just the two of us. We talked like only sisters can talk about everything from boys to jobs, easily sliding from laughter to tears and back again as we reminisced about our sordid histories, and talked about the future. We stopped in McBride for a stretch, pee, and a postcard (if you're ever there, you MUST stop in at the Beanery 2 Bistro at the train station - excellent coffee and treats and if you're lucky you'll be serenaded by a train squealing by.)

In addition to a few chosen locations we made several unscheduled stops to watch a mama cub and her bears, to look for frogs, and to prolong the sense of suspended reality. We even stopped by the camp where Danna and I went and worked as kids, the same camp I met my husband Bill at 20 years ago this spring; she got to do some froggin', and I spotted a skunk (the pictures are blurry - I didn't want to alert him to my presence, and when he reared his stipey behind, I didn't stop to see if I was going to get that perfect shot because 9 times out of 10 he had better aim than me...)

The drive home happened in technicolor. I don't know how much of it was because our raw selves were more acutely attuned to our surroundings or because we were simply trying to avoid thinking about Gramma laying there in a bed trapped between the aching desire to be here for her grieving family, and the urge to go meet her maker and be reunited with her pre-deceased husband and children. It was hard to leave, not so much because of sadness over Gramma's passing, but moreso because we left behind our cousins and aunties and uncles to bear the bittersweet burden of sitting vigil through her dying hours.




I spent most of today recuperating. My body is sore and tired, my heart is broken, and I ~ look forward to ~ hate the idea of ~ laying my Gramma to rest with my Grampa and Daddy next week. Thanks to everyone for your kind words and support. I still have so many things to tell you about the Relay for Life. Right now, my priority lays with my family. Until then, enjoy the album, and be sure to read the captions...