Tuesday, June 03, 2008

A random revelation

I have returned from Germany and although it was a very interesting trip, that will not be the topic of this post. (Just know that it was along trip with hard training and tough competition. I won a few medals and broke the national record for the fifty fly record by three seconds. We did do some touring, but Berlin has so much history that it is truly a city that a tourist should take at least five days to investigate in order to appreciate it properly). Anyway, on to today's post.
I have been home at my parents' for the past week. It's been great to be home as I have thoroughly enjoyed someone else cooking for me. Not to mention, your parents' cooking always tastes better regardless of your cooking abilities. My Mom's two sisters-Auntie Marie and Auntie Claudette-are also up visiting. It's been a lot of fun having them around as well. Sunday night my Mom cooked a huge turkey and invited them over for supper. I made the mashed potatoes and Dad bought a pie for dessert. After supper was finished we headed outside and started up a bonfire. I can't explain how much I love fires. As a kid it was one of my favourite parts of camping. I would spend the whole night scooted up as close to its heat as possible listening to the adults talking and my Dad's friend playing the guitar. Sometimes he'd play kids' songs to appease us younger ones and we'd roast marsh mellows. I loved the warmth of the fire and how it smelled, especially how your hair and clothes smelled after leaving the fire. Back then I had super long hair. Actually up until about a year ago my hair reached the middle of my back. Feeling like I needed a change I headed into my hair dresser's last May and asked him to cut it off. At first I was worried that I wouldn't like it, but I love it. It's much easier to handle and makes me actually look closer to my age-I haven't been carded since I cut it! Anyway, I digress. The point of my story was that, although I love the short hair, I mourned it on Sunday night when I climbed into bed because it is not long enough anymore for me to pull close to my face and breathe in the campfire smell. Up until this year, I would crawl under the covers and lay my hair close to my face so I could smell the campfire smoke, but I can't do that anymore. Although this is not earth shattering and does not impact important issues such as global warming or the illegal trade of tiger parts, I felt that I needed to share my loss with everyone. I'm not planning on growing my hair back out any time soon, so I will just have to suck it up. It's funny how little things in life hold such great meaning and something as simple as cutting your hair short can change them. That said, my enjoyment of campfires has not diminished in the least.