Long Beach.  Well named.  

We made it home from our holidays and it's so nice to be back home.  The big guy fell and hurt his knee the first night of our holidays and it hurt for him to walk and bend his knee.  On the fourth day, Lucy, our beagle, hurt her back and she was in a lot of pain.  There was no vet available in Ucluelet or Tofino so I went online and discovered I could give her baby aspirin, so that's what I did.  The big guy also got anti-inflammatories which helped somewhat.  There was less walking than normal, less photos and more general grumpiness.  

The big guy and Lucy are both feeling much better now and I'm thankful for that.

We saw friends and family while we were away which was wonderful.  I hadn't seen my sister in law in eight years and we just picked up where we left off.  My brother was very odd.  He had visited us in June and had a nice visit and he seemed happy.  He was not very talkative when we got there, wouldn't sit down and just kept busy.  He was supposed to go back to work in July but my sister in law said that didn't work.  He's only just gone back to work now.  I didn't realize how depressed he was.  My sister in law said he was suicidal more than once which is scary.  Of course he didn't talk to me about any of this.  

My brother can be very sarcastic and cutting and he was when we first got there.  He's not that funny and his sarcasm can be mean spirited.  When my sister in law told me how depressed he was though I had a better understanding of him.  He pushes people away and does it with sarcasm.  He's sad but it comes across as anger and just general assholery.  He's like our dad in that way.  

But when I hugged him and told him I loved him he responded in kind.  He lost two good friends these past few months and he's grieving but I don't think he knows how to.  He just pushes everyone away, much like my dad.  Much like me.  

On the upside, it is our fifth anniversary today.  We often forget and don't really celebrate but tonight I made a special supper and dessert.  I'm thankful I met the big guy.  

Covid numbers continue to rise in Alberta and our Premier finally showed up today to address this issue.  It wasn't much but it was better than nothing.  I was so upset last night about the whole thing that I had a hard time falling asleep.  It's so frustrating when you can't fix things, when you don't have control:)  It's hard to accept things, for me anyway.  

We see Jack tomorrow which will be wonderful.  I called Gracie this evening to tell her we're home and she had cancelled her shifts for the weekend because she couldn't get anyone to watch Jack for her.  Her parents didn't want to I guess.  It's the long weekend which means a three day party instead of a two day party.  

The laundry is done and put away.  There are clean sheets on the bed and my kitchen is clean.  When I went to bed last night it was so nice to just be back in my own bed with my things nearby.  I didn't have to arrange anything or look for anything.  My clock was beside my bed and so was my book.  Something I take for granted until I'm away from home.  

I'm thankful we're home.