Keira-anne.com

Yesterday’s trip to Hornby Island was, undoubtedly, some much-needed soul food. However, sometimes there are also people that can enrich your life when you least expect it.

I spent time this morning and early afternoon with my aunt, doing a little bit of window shopping around the Valley and indulging in some bargain hunting. This is pretty standard for the two of us. I’d also like to say that I spent the day driving around in my brother’s new 2007 Ford Ranger Sport 4×4 and it’s pretty much just amazing. Better yet will be when I bring it back to the city with me on Tuesday and spend next weekend in it with Becky, christening it with a little bit of “MmmBop!”

As I headed towards Comox, I stopped in at the I-Hos Gallery, located on the Comox First Nation reserve. A couple weeks ago I promised myself that I would find a beautiful silver ring, crafted by a local First Nation artist, to wear as a daily reminder to be patient and loving with myself. I do that far too little.

The ring was crafted by an artist from the northern-Vancouver Island community of Alert Bay, namely John Lancaster of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nation. I’m not sure why I had it in my head that I needed a ring with a design of an orca, but it’s rather interesting (and perhaps eerily coincidental) that the whale is representative of great strength and bravery.

From I-Hos I continued my journey into Comox and met up with a dear old friend from high school, Emily. In fact, Em and I have known each other since Miss Mergens’ kindergarten class at Brooklyn Elementary. I hadn’t seen her in nearly ten years and, after a chance random meeting on Burrard street several months ago, finally got together with her.

It’s funny how some people in your life never skip a beat. In school, “friendships” are formed through circumstance. As we leave high school, the pull to deviate separates people, such as Em and I, who have known each other for the majority of our lives. Now that I am in my late 20s and have finally gotten a strong grasp on who I am and what is important to me, it’s funny to see the people I now tend to surround myself with.

Needless to say, spending the afternoon with Em was an enormous blessing.

History Tidbit: “Comox” is the anglicized verion of “kw’umuxws,” which is derived from “kw’umalha,” which in turn means “plentiful, rich and wealthy.” The First Nation community of the Comox Valley are North Coast Salish. For more information, check out the I-Hos Gallery’s historical lesson here.