Music and Friends

Second blog, one week to the day! Congrats to me on sticking to my schedule.

Folkfest this weekend was amazing. I just kept looking around at the lawn-chaired seated crowd and up at the blue sky and feeling so very content. It was actually the closest that Calgary has felt to the same kind of communal experience that I often experienced at home. Everyone just puts their chairs, tarps and blankets down at the beginning of the day and your place is saved for the main stage shows that evening no questions asked. There was a huge range of generations and everyone was so lovely to one another all weekend. The music was fantastic and the food was amazing. All outdoor concerts should learn from their relationships with vendors, it added so much to the experience. I’ve uploaded some videos from the weekend here (singing along with Dan Mangan and 10,000 people was probably the highlight for me).  I already know I will be home to visit this time next year, which I’m happy about, but sad that I’ll miss this very lovely experience. 

One of my folkfest finds were BESH o droM. I heard them do a concert combined with a rap artist (SHAD) and it was so much fun (didn’t stop dancing for an hour), but also really great music. I think I am mostly just so impressed because that clarinet player was blowing my mind!!!

Tomorrow is a day I’ve been anxiously anticipating since I decided that I would be moving to Calgary. It’s my Poppy’s birthday. It isn’t too bad in that a lot of my family are all over the place at the moment so they aren’t doing anything for his actual birthday, but the weight of how far away I am from them is weighing on me this week because of how special my Poppy is to me.

My grandparents are only 70 (give or take a year for either of them), they were still so young when I was born that they are actually more like a second set of parents than what most people’s relationships with their grandparents resemble.  They have both taught me more than anyone that I know. The manner in which I move through this world at all times is consciously or unconsciously informed by them.  They have given me so much knowledge, strength and love throughout my entire life, but I am most grateful for them having passed on their big hearts and love of helping others as this has come to define so much of my life, as these traits have theirs and the rest of their children and grandchildren.

So for my Poppy, here’s what I’m listening to this week: Music and Friends. My Grandparents love to dance and this is definitely their favourite to step out for an old fashioned Newfie waltz. I’m sure I’ll listen to this a few times over the next 24 hours and I’ll try to be less sad that I’m away from them, but more grateful that I am blessed enough to have them in my life.  However, I wouldn’t pass up a few cheering phone calls, texts, etc. to help distract me from how large that distance seems at this time.