we drank a toast to innocence

dana and pia sharing spirits,

watching the sunset on the beach in Victoria

circa 1982.

What I'll give you since you asked is all my time together
Take the rugged sunny days, the warm and rocky weather
Take the roads that I have walked along,
looking for tomorrow's time
Peace of mind
As your life spills into mine, changing with the seasons
Filling up the world with time, changing time to reasons
I can show you all the songs that I never sang to someone before
We have seen a zillion stars lying by the water
You have climbed the hills with me to the mountain shelter
Taking off the days one by one, setting them to breathe in the sun
Take the lilies and the lace from the days of childhood
All the willow winding paths leading up and outward
This is what I give, this is what I ask you for
Nothing more
Since You Asked, Dan Fogelberg (1951-2007)

It was the season in between adolescence and adulthood........the time of crossroad solstice where you can turn around and still touch campus life, final exams just a breath away. Ahead is perceived responsiblity fraught with unknown seriousness. Ahead you see brass ring opportunities, ideals that turn real............changes you will be a part of. The future is within reach...........almost........

But only after you spend some time floating and bobbing and enjoying without making any big decisions. Many people never have a chance to experience this particular transitional season. This is a luxury to take a breather from the intensity of studies, from the omnipresent looming career path. I was one of the lucky ones. Well, that's how I see it now.

Then? Well, I was getting over severe heartbreak as well as trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do with my life since it had just taken such an abrupt turn. I was definately at a crossroads, having finished my undergraduate degree, deciding to take a break before entering graduate studies. At the time, it seemed like I was bobbing............in a boat without oars.

When the chance to spend the summer on Vancouver Island poked it's head at me, I seized it with both hands like a lifesaver. I needed fresh air, a new setting, a completely different boulevard of dreams in order to restore, repair, re-energize my whole self. I needed to run away, to stand in the summer solstice to find my own stillness again. My season in between adolescence and adulthood.....well the first part of it........was spent in a house in Victoria B.C. with 4 other females and another free bird who would join us in between tree planting expeditions and sleep in our backyard naked. Sometimes she put her clothes on for breakfast.

Anyways.......there I was, healing and soaking in some downtime, working a summer job running a day camp program, learning, growing, dating, drinking, carousing, sailing, laughing, camping, tanning and getting to know one particular friend named Pia.

From the moment we met......we hit it off, even though we were complete opposites.....extroverted English me, introverted Swedish Pia..........where we met were our interests, our love of the outdoors, our penchant for spontaneous outings, and our love of music. During this season of my life, it was Pia who introduced me to Dan Fogelberg...........I fell in love with life again listening to "Twin Sons of Different Mothers" while travelling along the ruggedly beautiful west coast of Vancouver Island with Pia in her little red volkswagen. Windows down...........seasalt breezes accompanied by the stirring instrumental harmony of Fogelberg and Weisberg......new friends feeling, tasting, inhaling freedom together.

I listened to the music today while at work after I heard that Dan Fogelberg passed away at the young age of 56, vividly remembering the very first time Pia popped the cassette into her car stereo.......quietly and tearfully mourning the man whose music was the soundtrack of my season in between. I also wondered where Pia is travelling these days.............our paths never crossed again after that summer of sharing........me pulling her into boisterous life, and she coaching back into calm stillness. I have this strong feeling that she was thinking of me today too............somewhere out there in this biggish smallish world.

Pia? You out there?? Let's drink a toast to innocence........

My Vauxhaul I bought for 100 dollars. She was the same age at me. 21 years old. At the end of that summer, I sold her for 200 dollars and put the earnings towards a plane ticket home.

The prompt this week for Writer's Island was "the season......." For more seasonal seasoned seasonings, click right here.