In the 70’s, on Wednesdays, my friend, let’s call her Syd, and I would go to the Jewish Community Centre at 5pm. For an hour we would do gymnastics while learning to teach gymnastics. At 6pm we would swim while learning how to teach swimming. Then, we would have an hour long meeting with other like-minded teenagers to discuss what we had learned.
Every Saturday we would then spend the entire day at the Jewish Community Centre teaching swimming and gymnastics to little kids whose parents had paid the YMCA to occupy their children all day. We were called Leaders in Training and we didn’t get paid a dime.
The garden is doing great. The weeding is coming along, the garlic is thriving and there are beautiful signs of spring everywhere.
We had an unplanned trip to town this week when our friends were able to come to the aid of the island yet again, and bring a 200 pound piece of equipment for the firehall up from Victoria. In the fall they brought the island newsletter up from the printer. Honestly, I love that they have finally retired, so I think of reasons for them to come to Nanaimo and see us. Lunch at the Crow and Gate for the first time in three years was an added bonus.
There were encouraging signs of an impending herring season today. We noticed five or six eagles having lunch with a bunch of seagulls in front of our house. They were flying off with one, often two, herring at a time in their talons. Stay tuned!
We have our granddaughter coming tomorrow for spring break. We have so much fun when she visits. The dogs adore her and I suspect, if given the option, they would gladly replace us with her. When she jumps in puddles, we jump in puddles, when she wants to read eighteen books after lunch, we read eighteen books after lunch and again after dinner when requested, ‘cause you can’t read enough books.
But for this visit we wanted to give our granddaughter another way to spend her time here while enhancing the whole island experience down the road for all of our family and friends. So we have fulfilled a childhood dream of mine to own my own trampoline. It has been fifty years since I did a somersault on land, let alone on a trampoline. Judging by my first attempt this afternoon it is going to be a while before I can jump up and down in one place without falling to the mat in hysterics. But, when our little girl jumps, we will jump.
I may well need to buy shares in Depends, but I refuse to
grow old gracefully
Off the Grid Islander 
As I was reading about jumping on the trampoline I was wondering if pee was not an issue 😂
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Hence the Depends 🙂
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Garden looks great.
On Tue, Mar 15, 2022 at 9:50 PM Off the Grid Islander wrote:
> Off Grid Islanders posted: ” In the 70’s, on Wednesdays, my friend, let’s > call her Syd, and I would go to the Jewish Community Centre at 5pm. For an > hour we would do gymnastics while learning to teach gymnastics. At 6pm we > would swim while learning how to teach swimming. Then, we wo” >
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Long way to go. Weather isn’t cooperating:(
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Where’s the picture of you jumping on the trampoline with your depends on?
On Tue, Mar 15, 2022 at 9:50 PM Off the Grid Islander wrote:
> Off Grid Islanders posted: ” In the 70’s, on Wednesdays, my friend, let’s > call her Syd, and I would go to the Jewish Community Centre at 5pm. For an > hour we would do gymnastics while learning to teach gymnastics. At 6pm we > would swim while learning how to teach swimming. Then, we wo” >
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I am sure it is easy to imagine!
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That’s awesome! I don’t know what she’s going to enjoy more, jumping on that trampoline or watching you jump on that trampoline!! Lol! 😂
Enjoy every minute with her. ❤️
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It is all just too much fun!
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Well that brought back some fond memories! Thanks!
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Enjoy your spring break 🥰❤️👍🏽 She’s definitely a fun & sweet person. One time with my granddaughter Ruthie, I was going to do a somersault on my bed. Like you it had been many years and so I was on all fours and put my head down and rolled forward and my bum fell on my head and I thought I role my neck! I started gurgling and Ruthie went looking for help and tried to demonstrate the sounds I was making! The whole family still laughs at that one!! Hopefully you can still jump and enjoy falling. ❤️🥰👍🏽
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That is a wonderful story and such a great memory for your family… I am going to steal that line “still jump and enjoy falling” .. what a great motto…. Take care
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