Last week we were about to leave for the airport when a notification came in that our flight from Washington to Toronto was cancelled. UGH. Scrambled around for a bit and then booked a rental car and drove. Ten hours later we arrived at J's brother's place in the west end of Toronto. I drove a little more than halfway, through the most intense storms, just torrents of rain in the mountains rendering the road completely invisible. I just followed the flashing hazards of the car in front of me and hoped for the best. It would have been more dangerous to stop. Despite the last minute pivot, I had a great time just hanging with R in the car, listening to Chappell Roan on repeat and then swapping our favourite U2 songs for hours - inspired by our recent viewing of the film "Eno", which reminded me that Bono is annoying about world affairs but the man can sing. When we stopped for gas in upstate New York at 1am, the air was cool, and I finally started to look forward to the trip. The DC heat sapped my all my energy.

It is nice of J's brother and family to let us crash here, although the house feels chaotic and overwhelming. I am currently hiding in the teenage daughter's room, which is the calmest space in the house, though very pink. There is a sweet lumbering dog and a slightly frightening cat who hangs out on the banister of the stairs and swipes at us as we edge by. We've been told we need to keep the doors closed so she doesn't pee on the beds, so moving around the house feels slightly fraught.

J and I settled on a narrative to explain to people that we decided to see each other every year even though we live on opposite coasts. I spent an afternoon catching up with a very dear old friend, just the two of us, which rarely happens these days. Met friends for a ballgame, then the next morning we drove up to cottage country for a few days and played Aggravation with Mary and her parents and sat on the porch watching more torrents of rain - remnants of Debby. I did one long swim - rhythmic breaststroke, measured breaths - through the cool lake. Then we trekked across the province to Waterloo for CJ's 50th and then back to my parents to visit for a night, and now we are back to Toronto. Last night J and I biked along the waterfront to meet friends in Kensington for beers followed by dumplings in Chinatown and drinks in Little Italy. R somehow managing to be present and charming and interested for all of this but also moving his work along. He's probably going to have a breakdown soon. We overprogrammed this month like idiots - have crammed a whole summer's worth of visits into 3 weeks while also working but I don't know what to cut out so I guess we're doing this.

12:40 p.m. - 2024-08-13