Oh, Canada! Romance Writers Weekly #lovechatwrite

This week's blog topic comes from A.S. Fenichel:

If you live in the U.S., how did you spend July 4? Tell us about your Independence Day weekend. Now make up a story about how you wish you'd spent it. It can be as long or as short as you want, but make us wish we'd been there too.
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If you've joined me from Leslie Hachtel, welcome! I hope you enjoyed her story.

As a proud Canadian, I've taken license with Andrea's topic, and switched it to July 1, which is Canada Day. After all, both holidays are on the same weekend!

I actually spent the day quietly. I went golfing in the morning with my husband and my Mom and Dad. The weather was rainy to start but cleared up for most of the day – until dinner time, of course, when we decided to have a barbeque and it poured while we were cooking. Lucky we have a covered patio! Then we listened to the fireworks from a nearby park that night.

The second part of Andrea's challenge is to write a story about how I wished I'd spent the day. This is tricky because I really enjoyed my day exactly as it was. But here's a short imagined memory of what it could have been…

The park is filled with people of all shapes and sizes, ages and attitudes, colours and creeds. The scent of souvlaki, curry, bacon and candy floss fills my nose. A small hand grabs mine. "Can I have a snowcone? I want a purple one!"

I look down at my daughter. "It's not exactly snowcone weather, is it?" The July long weekend in Northern BC is often cool and rainy, and today it's holding true to form. We're wearing shorts but have windbreakers over our shirts to block the chilly breeze.

"I'm not cold. Can I?"

"Sure."

We head for the snowcone cart. On our way we pass a booth where a tiny, pale skinned girl with blonde eyelashes and rose petal cheeks sits patiently while a member of the Sikh community wraps a bright pink turban over her sunshine hair. In another an informal Taekwondo lesson rings with gleeful laughter and happy shouts.

The sun sets late this far north, and my daughter's eyes are already drooping with fatigue by the time it's dark enough for the fireworks. I cuddle her in my lap as we sit on the blanket spread onto the fresh grass, leaning back on my hands so we can watch the kaleidoscope of colours sparkling and bursting across the sky.

I'd love to hear what you think. Leave a comment below!

My fellow Canadian (although she's leaving in California now!) Jenna Da Sie is up next. I wonder what she wrote about? Check it out here!