With the May 14 Alberta relaunch of non-essential businesses amid continuing concerns about the spread of COVID-19, I hope you’ve all taken the opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy the springtime weather. After a long winter, I enjoy waking up at 5:00 am to see the start of the sunrise and taking walks in the neighbourhood as the sun begins to set in the mid-evenings. It is heartening to see safe and conscious social distancing, with people feeling safe walking on the roadways as our neighbours are driving at 30-40 km per hour through the community. Is this the new norm for HH-BH? Let’s hope so.
Today, I took a walk along the Bow River at Memorial Drive and across to Eau Claire with a friend who I haven’t seen for a long time. We talked about our life journeys and the relationships and experiences that we’ve had. We talked about lost loved ones, lost partners, lost connections and noted that with it all, we sometimes lose ourselves. At the end, what we realized was one thing that we haven’t lost is our memories. Cherish them and create new ones. Find a friend, go for a walk, and share. For their mental health and yours, do it.
While we wait the staged relaunch of non-essential services and public spaces, the HH-BH Community Association has injected the reality of cancelled programs and playschool into our operating budget. We expect with the successful application of the Employment Wage Subsidy that the CA will maintain a balanced budget by year-end, August 31. Not to sit idly by, we are taking advantage of the Community Centre’s downtime to do a number of long overdue repairs, including refinishing the gymnasium floor, putting on a fresh coat of paint, and installing wi-fi throughout for community users’ enjoyment.
Summer will soon be upon us and while we cannot host our usual Summer Solstice and Stampede Breakfast, let us know if you can help plan a post-COVID community event in August or September. In the meantime, as Sheryl Crow says, lets ‘Soak Up the Sun’.
Cheers!
Terry Wong
President
HH-BH Community Association
