20th May - Stirring things up

This morning we waved Pat's son Jamie good bye and then came to hospital for Pat's 6th dose of chemo. His stay with us has been a whirlwind of conversations, good food and trips out. It's been wonderful and just what we needed, stirring things up.

Jamie arrived 6 days ago and just in time to help Pat repair the front of the car which I had accidently ripped off the day before. Immediate father-son bonding over tinkering with the car.

The next day we travelled to the other side of the city to show Jamie our poor neglected yacht at Williamstown. We stopped along the way for breakfast at one of our favourite cafes, and afterwards enjoyed lunch on the beach. Looking out over the ocean was a salve for the soul. We also promised our little boat that we'd be back soon. We are both longing to go for a sail.

Wednesday was work day for me, so father and son visited local vineyards inclusive three course lunch. Jamie has his own vineyard so this was purely business (wink). They had such a good time that we had to venture out again the next day to try another winery and lunch. Being indoors around other people and not wearing a mask has been a big step for us. We are still fearful of getting Covid (or the flu), so we'll continue to avoid small unventilated places.

Jamie's visit has shown us that we need to get out more. He's stirred up our routine and challenged our caution. He's also been a wonderful distraction from the wait until the next CT scan (two weeks away). Importantly, his visit has allowed us to reconnect again on a more deeper level than what is possible over the telephone. We could show how we were going beyond what words can convey. Best of all, Jamie has warmed our hearts with love and created new happy shared memories.