Joyriding Through A Pandemic

JOYRIDING 1.0

I blame my Mother. When we were little, my Mom would drive my older brother, T, & me in our Ford station wagon, Smoky the Pig, out to the Cottage. Once she hit the country road, the pedal went to the metal, the volume of the music would increase & as we crested the hill we flew towards 'my ocean'. Since those days I have been a joyride or die kind of girl.

JOYRIDING 2.0

As I moved towards my teens, the family car was a lovely vintage Mercedes in British racing green, the Tank. Out at the cottage when I was 15, T encouraged me to 'borrow' the car to drive up to the Trading Post for some snacks. Our parents were in town in my father's car, so why not? I just want to add that T was 17 & had his driver's license so not sure why I agreed to 'borrow' the car, however I sped up the road, took a sharp right & landed in the ditch. I am proud to say that not only did we get the car out of the ditch, but I also successfully drove 6 - 11 friends home after the bar on more than one occasion in the Tank. Apparently, when you do this too often, the whole bottom of the car is left on Foul Bay Road as one speeds up to University. That was an awkward phone call to Father.

JOYRIDING 3.0

My parents were less than thrilled about my stellar driving performance in their cars, so my Father (an ex-banker) negotiated, a loan with interest, from him to me to buy my own car. I bought a 5 speed VW Golf. I could drive from Oak Bay through the Uplands to my girlfriends in Ten Mile Point in 6 minutes, while shifting gears, car dancing, smoking a cigarette & drinking a Diet Coke.

JOYRIDING 4.0

Once married & a mother I became responsible, slowed down, however still listened to my music at deafening decibels...until it was time to go to the cottage. My mother swears she can hear me cresting the top of the road as I search for 'my ocean'.

This Pandemic is much like joyriding, navigating twists & turns, hanging on for dear life & hoping the music you are listening to rings true. Closing the store, even temporarily, was very emotional. For the first month, I was in the shop, alone everyday. Cleaning, organizing, posting on Instagram etc...trying to generate revenue. All the while, social media was letting me know how inadequate I was because I hadn't pivoted my business into online shopping, while losing weight, working out, learning 18 new languages & making nutritious meals 3x a day, I was spent. So, I went for a drive. I put my music on, opened my sunroof, cracked a can of soda water & drove to the cottage. I had an aha moment...I own a brick & mortar store because I enjoy you, your stories, hearing about your grandchildren, your holidays & your hobbies. So for now, I'm pivoting to less time on social media & to looking forward to when we can all meet again & enjoy each other's company at the Mode.