Sunday, 10 AM - Turn Left.

It wasn't where I had to be, but it was where I wanted to be. I think that's a good way to approach Sunday mornings.

I've been doing this "February Photo A Day Challenge" that the blog "fat mum slim" organized. There's a list of words that serve as that day's inspiration. Sunday's simply said "10AM". I'm not sure why, but I felt I wanted to try something different other than what would have been a shot of me sleeping normally. I thought I'd give my 10AM some purpose, some thing I hadn't done in a while.I chose to be at Ashbridge's Bay Park at 10am on a Sunday.

I've been drawn to the calmness of walking along the water of Lake Ontario lately. Toronto has a beautiful waterfront and I've found it peaceful to just sit and watch everything flow by. The spot popped into my head as I'd recently found a box of old writing from high school. Back in my senior year, there were a couple nights where I felt I needed to have a good think to clear my head. So I would drive that old Mazda hatchback down the highway, listening to Nirvana's "Nevermind" or the "Singles" soundtrack on cassette, blaring Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains. I'd pull into Ashbridge's Bay Park, park the car, and then walk the boardwalk out to the Waterfront Trail, sit on the rocks and just take in the night and the waves.

It'd been years since I'd done that. Most of my waterfront wandering has been along the west end of the city. With the mild winter weather this year, I thought I'd take advantage and go back to the bay. So I set the alarm, and on Sunday morning, I took a drive down to the park and made that same walk. I found myself at the east end of the waterfront trail. All along the trail, dogs were being walked, kids were jumping from rock to rock as they tried not to touch the ground. I heard the rhythm of a drum and sure enough, two women were down by the water, chanting while they performed a drum ceremony. I thought for a moment of snapping a picture of them for my 10am shot, but I felt it was something intimate that I didn't want to disrupt.

I shot my 10AM shot as I looked back from those same rocks where I used to sit and think:

I had a good wander and snapped a few more.

 

A little more walking and I found this bench, and its memorial dedication. If you sit there, you see the lake spread before you while the sun warms your face in the dead of winter:

It's funny the things you find when you decide to get up and get out on a Sunday.

Another hour of sitting and looking out at the infinite, and then it was time for pancakes and coffee. Which is where I wanted to be.