So far this winter the weather gods in Toronto have been smiling on us. That is unless you wanted snow. For me, who gets housebound in snow, I have been so thankful that the sidewalks and roads have not been impossible to navigate in my wheelchair thus far. But I’ve always known that the weather …
As I look out my door and see the sloppy, wet snow dampening the ground and making it impossible for me to go outside on this shitty, depressing first full day of winter, I realize this view lines up with how I’ve been feeling these days; shitty and depressed. Usually I don’t feel the winter …
So I once rode the 7km from my home to my workplace every day. One day it really dawned on me how diverse this journey really was.
So many stories. So many real people with real blood running through their veins. Homelessness is not the entire CV/resume of the folks we see on the street. My life has been so enriched by the privilege of being able to hang out with very real, caring, compassionate, intelligent, broken people.
One of the things we wanted to do was to elevate the yard so that I could actually reach the soil and pull out a weed or two along the way. It’s kind of an accessible yard now which is kind of cool. But before that could happen things had to be turned upside down.
With Erinn being on holidays these past few weeks, we’ve been taking longer walks together. It’s been quite lovely to check out different parts of the city.
One thing I love to do is go through cemeteries. There’s something about them that grounds me I guess. And in the city, a cemetery is like an oasis in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life.
The first time we went to see Cate at camp, she had it all set up so that I could possibly go swimming that day. I was incredibly excited and a little scared as I haven’t been in a lake or a pool since I’ve been in this wheelchair, which has been 2 1/2 years. The guys that are working there were willing to put me on the lifeguard board and haul me down the hill to the lake. I’ve done this many times before when I was using the mobility scooter but it’s been a few years since doing that and my body is not quite the same as it was then.
It’s been a decent month overall. Still no COVID, knock on wood. It’s been an incredibly hot summer. Many days over 100°. Thank God for air-conditioning I guess.
“I think God may actually hate us”.
I’ve said this a few times this past week in jest. Well mostly in jest…
In all honesty, this past week I have to confess I’m feeling kind of down. COVID fatigue really hit me hard these past few days.
Speaking of prayer actually mattering, 31 people who were homeless got housed this week. The sceptic in me thinks that it wouldn’t have happened if it were not for COVID shaming the city into this. But whatever the rationale, this is a huge victory for so many people who were, up until now, sleeping outside in tents.