This Ordinary Weekend.

Sometimes, Ms J, ordinary is good. Lately, I've been craving ordinary.

I spent most of yesterday at my sister June's house. Her husband, Rob, is a home-based auto mechanic and I wanted him to look at my car. It needs a new muffler and a new turn signal switch. He ordered the parts and I'll return on Tuesday when he'll make the necessary repairs. While I visited with June and the kids, Rob replaced the refrigerant in the A/C system. So now, I have functional air conditioning in the car. The weather's been much cooler lately. But Halleluiah, anyway!

June's kids are great fun. Shauna is six. Her name is actually Erika, but I like the name Shauna better. (Uncle Dale's a bit eccentric.) Everyone's adjusted to it now. Shauna has a brother named Ryan. Ryan is four. I enjoy a wonderful relationship with those kids. They're always excited to see me.

"UNCLE DALE!" they holler as they run to me to be picked up and hugged. Gosh that feels good.

Love begets Love. I love Shauna and Ryan. And they love me back. We played together on the carpet while their mum chatted happily on the phone in the kitchen. I miss the days when my own kids were small. Their troubles were small then, too.

Today, after my morning ablutions, I rode my bicycle to The Canadiana, a local restaurant, for breakfast. I enjoyed bacon and eggs and toast and coffee. After breakfast, I handed Maria a twenty dollar bill.

"Maria," I smiled, "Let's do that thing we do sometimes. Remember?"

Once in a while at The Canadiana, I give my waitress twenty dollars for breakfast. I ask her to take what she feels is an appropriate tip and put the rest away to pay for a meal for someone else. Someone less fortunate perhaps.

"Don't tell the person who it was who paid for their meal," I tell the girls. "Just tell them it's free today."

Then off I pedalled, up Mimico Avenue to church. I saw a sign once in front of the Presbyterian church in Mimico. Its message has stuck with me.

"Give without remembering. Take without forgetting."

I like that.

Have an ordinary tomorrow, friends. Good night, Ms Journal.

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