his best day....ever

monday sebastian had an idyllic, exciting afternoon.

one of the drawing cards of coming to yellowknife for him was the promise of being able to watch the float planes land on great slave lake. monday afternoon i called air tindi, the main float operator, and asked them when there would be a lot of action that afternoon. come by between 4-6 they told me.

i packed a little picnic lunch for sebastian. cheese and ham slices, dried apple slices, orange and a long yogurt. a cup of milk. and a halloween sized box of smarties that i almost ate myself but decided not to.

my little sister mandy drove us down to "old town" and we parked at air tindi. sebastian was very excited, as the parking lot is about 10 feet from where the planes are parked. he raced over to the planes and started asking anyone questions about the planes. they were really patient with him.

i asked a fellow there where we could sit, and he gestured to a set of stairs leading to some rocks overlooking the water behind the main office. we clambered up there and sat down. gave sebastian a warning about walking too close to the rocky edge. he sat down between mandy and i and started rubbing the lichen covered rocks.

we talked about several topics, looked at the houseboats, watched a dog with a tongue so long it appeared to be a third ear sniffing the air jubilantly as its owner operated a little putt-putt of a boat.

sebastian got up and walked around a little bit, announcing that "i will be back in five minutes!". i informed him that would not be the case and he scuttled back to me, carefully navigating the rocks.

one of yellowknife's shortcomings can be the black flies and mossies. but there was a breeze that kept the bugs away and so we just squinted into the sun and watched the water. it was gorgeous, and as sebastian threw rocks into the water, we smiled and were very content.

and then we heard one of the floats start up, and so we raced into optimum viewing area. the plane cruised along the water and sebastian started yelling to it, "goodbye plane, goodbye!" and the pilots saw my little man and waved at him. crack, oh yes, that was my heart breaking.

it taxied for a while along the water, and then revved up, skated along the water, and lifted up.

the sky was blue and we watched the plane curve, then there is that confusing bit where you don't know if it is coming toward you or flying away from you, and then it was smaller, and finally gone. just the blue blue sky again.

sebastian was enchanted.

we witnessed this performance three more times. the sound made by the engine of one of the smaller, noisier planes really hurt his ears (little man!) so he kept close to me when they were taking off. the sun was hot, the bugs were no where near us, the sky was blue, the water was shiny.

we took some great photographs that shows how wonderful the day was. it was one of those afternoons that i wish sebastian could remember always, and probably won't. maybe the photos will help prompt memories of, if not the event, then a remembrance of what he termed, "the best day, ever."

we're going back this afternoon.

 

Comments

[Louise M]

My oldest brother Brett was enchanted with trains. When we were kids, living in Saskatoon, we were a couple miles fron the train station. Sunday afternoon drives always included a stop to watch the trains, the switching track, the huge number of wheat cars. It was even better if we got stopped at a train crossing, counting the cars of wheat as they went by. Anything less then 100 cars was considered a small train. Brett memorized the route from our house to the train station, started going there on his own (without permission) when he was five or six. My Mum was on a first name basis with the police officers. We weren't neglected, life was different in the mid '60's, kids went outside in the morning, and except for lunch/dinner and bathroom, didn't come in until bedtime. Brett is still fascinated with trains, travelled from Montreal to Vancouver by train at the end of December 2003.

This may be the start of a life-long fascination for Sebastion. I hope he remembers it.

[Karen]

Tess,

That was such a sweet story, thanks for sharing it. I can picture exactly where you were...fond memories for sure. I could also feel the black flies and mosquitos biting, as if there was no wind to keep them away. I love your storytelling talent.

Hugs, Karen

[joeinvegas]

Come on, post some pics of the smiles.

[knobody]

sounds divine! i hope the flies and mosquitos stay away and the magic never leaves.

[Boulder]

Ah, what a wonderful day you had together!

I imagined I was sitting there with you, squinting in the bright sun, enjoying the afternoon's pleasure.

I think I'd have had a lovely day too!

Can't wait to see the pictures~

xoxo

[Boulder]

Oh, now see, that is fantastic - I LOVE the pictures! What a wonderful day.

Seb will remember a very long time, because he'll have your written words and the pictures to prompt his memories.

Simply divine.

[Lioness]

He'll be back in 5 minutes, that's hysterical! He is the spitting image of Charles, isn't he? I want a day like that myself. And LOVE your outfit, you seem to as well, no?

XXXX

(I am fine, really I am. Tnx dahling.)

[joeinvegas]

Thanks for the pics - change you over from words to a photo story. And the pink does look good.
Kind of looks like Ketchican, Alaska - visited on a cruise a few years ago. Caught the boat in Vancouver, so I have been to BC once (for at least a few hours). I do like the green. And water.

[karen]

How cool!!!
Love the pictures...and the stories!!