I don’t think I expected this month to be as busy as it was.

The month was bookended with birthday parties. I did lunch with my high school friends, lunch with my first roommate when I moved out at 18, and then a group birthday party to celebrate my son’s girlfriend’s kids.

At the end was my mom’s 80th birthday which had me organizing nearly 50 people to hang out at my uncle’s farm with catering and cake. Everything went off without a hitch and the weather was perfect.

Went to see The Roots at the Ottawa Jazz Festival, despite only knowing one of their songs well (The Seed). The Shuffle Demons opened for them and was entertained, despite only knowing one of their songs well (Spadina Bus). The Roots show was fantastic. They played non-stop for an hour with one song blurring into the next, the bass thrumming so hard, I wondered if my heartbeat would soon become dependent on it, giving out the moment they stopped. Then they continued to play for another hour with each member of the band getting to do a solo. So many musical callouts from Led Zeppelin to Michael Jackson to, to my surprise, Special Ed. So good.

In between it all was helping my youngest son graduate high school and attend his graduation. It still hasn’t sunk in that he’ll be off to college in the fall.

Ever since my eldest son moved out last year, I’ve been slowly divesting the house of everything in anticipation of selling the place. This month, the bbq, dining room table, and my bed frame made their way to friends. Over the summer, I’ll slowly find homes for the remainder of large items like the couch and chairs. The last step will be after my son heads to college where the house will get a full refresh in preparation for going on the market. After that, I’ll be living downtown full time.

Perhaps by then, the effect of this new phase of my life will have fully set in and I’ll figure out what my new routine will look like.

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