Erin's Journals

Just a thought… Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. [Swedish proverb]

Vaccines: check.

Move out cleaning: check.

Packing list: some checks….

Well, this is a week fraught with worry for us, but nothing like food insecurity or illness. Not real worry. No – this is the kind of “you did this to yourselves!” anxiety, which gives you a fresh voice in your head to try to drown out!

This Thursday Rob and I will fly to Puerto Vallarta where we’ve rented a house in nearby Nuevo Vallarta. He stays two weeks, comes back down at Christmas and returns one more time to get me in March, and I’m packing for four months there.

I’ve never done this: tried to fill two large suitcases with clothes (not many) and our comforts of home. Does the house we’re renting have a coffee maker? Of course, but it’s not a Nespresso, so we’re taking our tiny one, alongside – don’t laugh – an air fryer. They’re in the suitcase, and so is my weighted blanket. Anything else I need I’ll buy there, once I figure out how to get to and from the shops without a car. My step counter is going to be very happy this winter!

As you may have heard on Gracefully and Frankly Episode 151 (and if you’re not listening, join us – you’re missing a fun half hour with me and my pal and radio vet Lisa Brandt, free every Thursday or whenever) we are taking Dottie and Livi with us to Mexico to keep me company for the winter.

We flew with them to Ottawa last spring on the same airline as a trial run; all went well as they curled up in their respective carriers under the seats ahead of us. This time, though, we have to stop off at a special office in the PVR airport and get them checked, present their papers and make sure they get the green light.

Here’s where the worry comes in: there’s no good reason they won’t be okayed, and we even went to our own YYJ airport to make sure the girls’ carriers suited WestJet’s extremely picky size allowances, but…what if something goes wrong? We had to pay $100 per dog, each way, to get them there and back (in otherwise unused space under the seat ahead of us); a trip to the vet last week to have their papers checked and get flea/tick/heartworm meds for the winter all came to the grand sum of $800. Yep. Not travelling for a long trip with the girls again, I’m afraid. And I know I won’t be going away for this long again.

Anyway, I’ll be sure to keep you posted here and on my Facebook page as we take off Thursday and land and get settled in our new winter abode. Life was a lot easier just making the three-day drive to California but, of course, any travel to or through the US is not going to happen. We even got a direct flight from Victoria (hurray!) to make sure. Hearing that plenty of US airports are cutting back flights makes us doubly sure we made the right decision.

As for other worries (like where to get a meal the first night without a car or groceries), we’ll deal with them when we settle in. My nicotine gum addiction (’cause it’s always something with me) is facing some serious challenges as any nicotine replacements are forbidden in Mexico. I’ll take what I can get away with and then figure it out. I wanted to quit it anyway…and Rob will be lucky he won’t be around when I do.

So that’s where we are. After a weekend spent cleaning the house that we’ve sold and closes while we’re away, the days ahead involve tying up loose ends: lawyer visit, hair, nails, dog groomer, etc.. I’m also getting more Drift with Erin Davis sleep stories recorded in my studio so I can edit while I’m away and have fresh ones for you in the months ahead.

I thought about writing Christmas cards that Rob can mail when he gets back to Canada before December arrives, but I’m afraid I’ll just have to miss them this year. Efforts to remain sane include cutting back where we can, and just going with the flow but not the Ho Ho Ho.

Take care of yourself. Of course, we’ll all be pausing at 11 am in our respective time zones tomorrow to remember our veterans. I’ll be thinking of my dad who died this summer, and his immense pride in serving our country. He never saw conflict, thank God, but he was always ready, often gone from home, and we are grateful for his contributions to Canada’s safety and sovereignty, as we are for all the sacrifices of our veterans, active military personnel and their families. Love to them all.

Sisters Cindy and Heather, Ottawa 1963

Just a thought… I’ve been crying, for like probably for an hour. I thought I was done with the tears, but I just love these guys so much. I was having so much fun coming to work every day and battling with these guys. We have so much to be proud of, even though it didn’t go our way. [Toronto Blue Jay Ernie Clement]

What a weekend! Hearts racing, then breaking; tears of joy and regret for what might have, what should have been. Most of all there were memories of the loved ones who would also have enjoyed this incredible season-long ride, those who are no longer with us but always within us.

Baseball brings together families (as I texted my sister on her Australia trip with frequent updates) and an entire country. I lost count of how many Americans filled my feeds with well-wishes. It was a ride no one wanted to come to a stop, never mind the way in which it did.

To happier memories, this season reminded me of prior glory years back in the early 90s (as it did so many others) but I want to tell you about a little tradition Rob and I had to keep us going through the long cold lonely winter until Spring Training.

We would record (yes on VHS tape back then) a great game from the season that was. Then in January or so, we’d have a bunch of people over for a Jays Watch Party. We’d make hotdogs and serve popcorn, lots of beer and pop and other fun concession-style stuff. Together we’d watch one of the best games of the year.

There was one year that we recorded a close loss, just because we wanted to shake it up a bit, if memory serves. Or maybe we just considered doing that. Honestly, 30+ years is a lifetime ago. But maybe when Sportsnet is rerunning the series – as they undoubtedly will – you might think about doing the same in the months ahead. Get people to wear their Jays’ gear and come for a party. I mean, why not, right? Even a New Year’s Eve gathering!

As we all prepare to donate for a poppy and wear one after another after another (unless you use one of the great hacks out there to keep them in place) I wish you a terrific week.

Also, a huge Thank You again if you shared some time on my Blue Jays watch parties, from the start of the playoffs to Saturday’s bitter end, on Facebook. It helped make this incredible run of 2025 even more memorable, as togetherness always does.

Just a thought… You can start anew at any given moment. Life is just the passage of time and it’s up to you to pass it as you please. [Charlotte Eriksson]

Here we are heading in the final week of October when it feels like a dream that our baseball team – Canada’s baseball team – is in the World Series. Tied at one, they’re in LA tonight for the first of three. All they need is one win to bring it back to Toronto; obviously we’re hoping for two, and dreaming of three.

Aside from baseball, we have other things on our minds these days and Rob is waking up in the night to solve mental puzzles. Because it doesn’t rain, it pours, we have finally sold our house! That’s the big news: after nearly a year-and-a-half on the market, we took the second offer we got. It was well below our original asking price, but we finally caved and just said Let Them.

And now…let us! We have a house not-quite-full of furniture and some we are keeping for a cottage down the road (or more accurately, across the water on a Gulf Island). But what to do with it before that decision is made? Well, it’s going into U-Haul storage containers, to be trucked over to an island when the time comes.

Now let me add more more piece to the puzzle (although “take away” might be more apt for the confusion that surrounds this metaphor): we leave on Nov. 13 for a long-planned trip to Mexico, having sworn off the US. I’m staying until March; Rob flies home two weeks later to resume his hockey duties, both organizing goalies and playing as one. I have at least one friend and hopefully a sister or two coming to visit, so I won’t be alone. And I’m 110 days into my online Spanish course, plus my phone has a translator, so I won’t get into too much trouble that I can’t get out of.

It’s all a matter of what goes where, and when…and then where it gets unloaded and in how much time. SO much to figure out, but then I never did make life easy on us. The day after I did my final radio show in Toronto, we were on a plane to BC. Our friend and producer, Ian “The General” MacArthur asked, “Why would you do that to yourselves?” and I didn’t have a good answer. Once I make my mind up, I just want things done.

Oh, I should mention to you that yesterday marked 20 years since Mike Cooper and I formally began our permanent radio partnership in Toronto with a breakfast broadcast at College Park’s Carlu space. I sent Mike a text yesterday reminding him, and he responded with love and a line from Sgt. Pepper’s: “It was 20 years ago today…”

…Erin and Mike got the chance to play. And what fun we had!

I’m not sure what this next chapter in my ReWirement is going to hold, but I’m ready to let some doors close as others open. And as we get set to welcome November (with clocks going back this Sunday by the way, two days after trick-or-treaters do their thing) the timing feels as good as any to look ahead with hope and optimism. And World Series dreams, of course!

Have a great week and please join Lisa Brandt and me this Thursday for Episode 150 (!) of Gracefully and Frankly. We’ve just surpassed a milestone of 200,000 downloads and show no signs of slowing down. We’d love for you to give us a listen (free, of course, thanks to our friends at enVypillow and SierraSil) and join in this gathering. This week, the focus is going to be on getting better sleep. ‘Cause goodness knows Rob will be listening carefully!

Just a thought…

But nobody wins afraid of losing
And the hard roads are the ones worth choosing.
Some days we’ll look back & smile
And know it was worth every mile.

[“Starting Over” by Chris Stapleton and Mike Henderson]

I don’t know when Rob and I have had a more perfect weekend, and we’ll hold on to this one long after our flight leaves Pearson on Wednesday and heads directly to Victoria.

We landed in Toronto a week ago, drove straight to Port Stanley (near St. Thomas in southwestern Ontario) and enjoyed the gentle and close hospitality of my Gracefully and Frankly partner Lisa and her husband Derek. Lisa even added to the stencil on her guest room door to include Rob!

We laughed, watched movies, talked a whole lot and enjoyed a perfect Thanksgiving dinner with them, then we hit the road for Mulmur, ON (near Mansfield ski hills) to see my niece and goddaughter Meaghan, who turns 40 next week. She, her husband and their two boys were an absolute delight and it was a joy to reconnect with them after so many years.

Off we went to the Peterborough area to spend two nights with Mike Cooper (including a day visit with Ian “The General” MacArthur) to talk about the present, the best days of our shared radio pasts, and the future. Mike’s doing well and making the most of these Happy Hour years of his life, as is Ian, whose eldest gets married next year. So many changes, but the one constant is our solid, loving friendship. How very lucky Rob and I have been!

The drive from Mike’s to Ottawa on Thursday was nothing short of breathtaking; colours in the trees, shimmering on ponds and lakes, made us both nearly speechless. We’ve not been to Ontario in the second half of October in years, and we’ve missed the shades of golds and oranges as autumn shows her coat of many colours.

We arrived at the kids’ place in time present a cake that celebrated (belatedly) their birthdays, and to watch more baseball and cheer on the Jays.

Funnily enough, today the kids will open the birthday cards we sent in mid-September that got held up in the Canada Post work stoppage. Well, that’s postage we’ll never get back!

As you well know, our boys are but one win away from a Jays vs Dodgers World Series. We’re not counting our chickens before they catch – and hit – as the LA team and their formidable phenom Shohei Ohtani are going to be as big an obstacle as the game has ever presented. Not to mention how late some of the matches could go; as a former early riser, my heart goes out to all working folks with those late-night finishes.

But I get ahead of myself when I should be here soaking in the present. We have one more evening with the kids before starting the trek eastwards tomorrow. We’ll take with us suitcases filled with memories: teaching Jane to ride her bike without training wheels (just as Rob did with both Colin and Lauren; I think he’s about done with that now!) and fielding, running after and catching Colin’s hits as he did BP with us. I have a nice purple bruise on my inner arm and a grass stain on the knee of my leggings, but it was all worth every hit, tumble and moment.

Tired? Yes. Grateful? 100 times more. One day we’ll look back as we always do, and so we know enough to say, “These are the good old days,” as Carly Simon sang in “Anticipation.”

Have a beautiful week. And Go Jays!

Just a thought… Some friends feel like home. Not because they fix you, but because they never ask you to be anything except yourself. You can be quiet around them. You can be tired, messy, honest. And somehow, even in your worst moments, they still choose you. That’s not ordinary. That’s something to hold close. [Author Unknown]

12 days ago my friend Lisa Brandt marked my birthday with a lovely piece she wrote about me and our friendship. Well today, just as I did nearly a fortnight ago, Lisa turns 63. I didn’t want to copy her – she is inimitable after all – so I’m launching into a haiku. I’ve never done this before, leaning more towards the lightness of a limerick. But she’s worth the challenge.

Although I don’t think it can come close to the sentiment expressed by the quote above, I’ll give this a go.

Lisa

A friend for all time

Soft of heart, wise beyond words

Her kindness heals many.

Animal lover

Stoic yet empathetic

A laugh like music.

She is a true gift

To all within her circle

Grateful are we all.

There. I tried a haiku. Besides, with a limerick do you know how FEW words rhyme with Lisa besides Pisa and Theresa???

Happy Birthday, my friend. We arrive at her doorstep on Friday morning after a red-eye from Victoria to Toronto, so our first few hours will be more nappy and less snappy, but a more wonderful Thanksgiving we could not hope for than one with Lisa and Derek.

Join Lisa and me for Ep 148 of Gracefully and Frankly and hear what she’s got in store for us!