Natural Rhythms

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It’s 5:30 am. Well, it was when I woke up a little while ago.

Even though I’m home, my body is happily thinking that I’m still on my natural schedule which is early to bed and early to rise. It’s de-lovely.

The sun is rising and I can hear the first sky trains running. The city is waking up. Missing are the sounds of course of roosters and barking dogs. I awaked for the last few weeks to hear my aunt’s two dogs Spot and Bonny rustling around in the early light. And my cousin Joel or my aunt Fely herself clattering around in the kitchen making breakfast. Speaking of which, I need to go by the grocery store today and pick up some staples. We cleaned out our fridge before we left so there’s no bread, milk, or eggs in the house. I ate a bowl of popcorn last night but that doesn’t really work for a proper meal. I’ve had 3 square, home-cooked meals a day and boy am I going to miss the normalcy of that. It is humanizing and grounding to sit at your own table with your own family every morning.

My dad’s older brother Peter, his wife, and some of their grandchildren showed up at breakfast for my brother’s birthday last Wednesday. (Birthdays and other parties are a little different over there.) I’m sure Uncle Peter is in his 80’s by now, but he’s still on the farm and on a farmer’s schedule. He had a light breakfast at 5 am and then sat down with us at 7. They were with us most of the day and then headed home before dark. Natural rhythms.

This was taken, I think sometime around 1968. In the back L-R - Uncle Roy (whom my brother is named after), Uncle Peter, Dad, Aunt Felipa. I don’t know who the boy and girl are, but I recognize my cousin Maureen and my Aunt Dolores on the far right.

This was taken sometime between 2000 and 2002. It’s a hearbreaking image because my Uncle Roy, Uncle Andrew (middle back), and Aunt Rita (right front) are all gone now. We lost Uncle Andrew to lung cancer back in 2003 and my Aunt Rita to another cancer in 2004.

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