Sometimes You Just Need A Friend...

It is amazing what good company and a good night sleep can do for one’s spirit!  Peg arrived back from her tour at about 8PM and after getting my stuff squared away in the room we headed next door to a little Irish Pub where we had a couple of beers and talked and talked and talked… about what we have each seen and experienced thus far.  And, I must confess, Peg gave me lots of space to talk through my experience of witnessing three automobile accidents in the last four days and how those experiences were affecting me and my larger outlook on life.

It was important for me to hear from Peg how she perceives me as coping with all the changes in my life – and this allowed me to begin to reclaim the core of being.  As I lay in bed last night I took some time to inventory what I know to be true about myself… an exercise in self-affirmation in the face of feeling so unsettled was a very helpful exercise as I fell asleep last night.  It was also very helpful to hear that Peg was experiencing similar sleep pattern issues as a result of the international travel.  It sound bizarre, but it was so helpful to hear her say “Me too” when I told her of waking every morning at two am…

And the good news: I didn’t wake at 2am this morning.  I didn’t wake until 4:45am – and at that – it was to an encouraging text message on my phone, and I was able to roll over and go back to sleep until 7am… and then, lay in bed until about 8am only getting up once I knew Peg was up and ready to face the day!

After a shower and a couple of cups of instant NESCAFÉ coffee (don’t get me started on this one… ugh) we headed off to Denny’s where we had the closest thing we could to a back home breakfast: sausage, bacon, eggs and hash browns with toast, and the New Zealand flare included grilled mushrooms and tomatoes…  But the highlight: “filtered coffee” as they called it – with free refills!!!  Yeah!  Small mercies for a road weary traveller!!

With our bellies full and our hearts content from good food and even better conversation we returned

to the room and each of us did some browsing on the internet, sent some emails home and shared in some texting conversations with friends and family – even as we continued to enjoy each other silent company… good friends are like that: they can be just there in the same room and it makes all the difference in the world!!!

And then… Peg decided she needed a haircut….  The concierge recommended a place and it turned out to be easier to find than we ever imagined: right across the street!!!  I left Peg to get her hair cut and returned to the room where I make a phone call and got another much needed boost of care and connection… and then Peg returned… and lets just say the stylist must have used my mop as a model for the “do” he gave her… she won’t need another cut until at least January!!!

We sat for a few moments laughing, turned on the TV for a moment and watched a New Zealand dating game show were contestants had to accept the baggage of another and if  they did, they got to go on a date with one another… too funny… we turned off the TV when Dr. Phil came on and headed out for a walk down Queen Street: shopping district for the rich and famous!

We browsed.  We walked.  We talked.  We laughed.  We took some
pictures.  We stopped for a coke down at the waterfront ($4 dollars for a coke), did a little shopping in a card shop, picked up some postcards and then stopped for coffee in a little café.  Peg had a caramel/chocolate concoction and I had carrot cake and we both had a “long black” and wondered why we couldn’t just get plain old black coffee – even Maxwell House would be nice…  Ah well, when in New Zealand – do as the Kiwi’s do… and sip your long black and watch the Pigeons on the back of the sofa in the coffee shop!!!

Its been a good day.  In a little while we will head out again for supper and maybe a beer in the little Irish Pub.  We’ll not be out too late as Peg has to catch the shuttle at 5am.  Yes, it’s been a good day!  Not too terribly exciting – but familiar and comforting and this road weary soul who has witnessed three too many accidents needed that… on the Sabbath Road…