Nicole, the Cruise Director

Those of you who do not live in places with incredibly unpredictable and volatile climates will not be able to understand my complete and utter joy that it is SUMMER in Calgary. Actual, bonafide summer. Warm – even hot – sunshiny days and calm, beautiful evenings. This is a thing that rarely happens, and it is forecasted to stay this way for at least another ten days. The regular reader, or any Calgarian, will recall last year at this time it was dark, frigidly cold, and rainy. And when I say “cold” I mean that a few daytime highs were eight degrees. Eight.

So it has been beautiful and I am doing what any person might do when faced with beautiful weather in Calgary: assuming that things could change at any time and desperately seizing the day. Carpe diem, and soak up that sunshine.

We have been spending as much time as possible at my parents’ place at the lake, boating and paddleboarding and biking, and also eating and drinking a lot. All that activity requires a lot of replenishment, and let’s not forget to hydrate! The kids have also been swimming, although that is a bridge too far in my opinion, as the lake is very chilly, even with all this sunshine.

I’ve been taking care of our very-good-friends’ kids for the past couple of days, and it has been very fun. It has brought out my inner Cruise Director, in that I am devising activities for the kids to maximize our outdoor time. Of course, they are awesome at finding their own things to do, which is just as well, because there is no need to be Helicopter Cruise Director.

I wonder what it would be like to be a Cruise Director. I’m guessing it would be terrible. In general, I don’t like to rule out whole ideas or paint with one big giant brush, but when I think “cruise ship” I immediately think “epidemiological disaster” or “Norwalk outbreak.” I know, I shouldn’t be close-minded, but still. Imagine contracting the Norwalk virus with only one of those tiny cruise ship bathrooms at your disposal. Ew.

Anyway, the kids have had epic water gun battles, including one with our hose, just like a real “1970s summer.” I don’t think anyone drank out of it though; slurping down warm, rubber-flavoured water is a thing of the past, I guess. They also had a water gun battle at a wading pool, which I thought would be fun and it WAS, albeit slightly nerve-wracking with all the little ones and their moms around. I reiterated the rule that no little kids get shot – or any adults – but I think a few may have gotten caught in the crossfire. Mostly I was just glad I wasn’t one of those moms, because I forgot how anxiety-inducing it is to have very small children toddling uncertainly around water.

The kids also had a day at the local amusement park, which was very fun for everyone involved, including me, since I took a book and read while they went on rides over and over. I guess I was channeling my inner Lazy Cruise Director at that point. And, of course, there were Minecraft and Mario Kart marathons; all in all a fabulous week.