Anne's Diary: A Companion Story to 'By a Simple Twist of Fate'

by DW.618

Kslchen's "By a Simple Twist of Fate" immerses us into the modern-day version of Rilla Blythe as she grows in maturity and in her relationship with Ken. But have you ever wondered what her mother, Anne Blythe, must be thinking through all of this? With kslchen's blessing, I am attempting to explore Anne's thoughts on Rilla's life via excerpts from Anne's personal diary.

24. After 'Twist' chapter 35

Author's Note:

I've decided that I've reached a point in the story now where I will sometimes need to post shorter diary entry excerpts in order to help keep this story moving along. I have been trying to add other creative content or greater insight into Anne's thoughts in the earlier diary excerpts since Rilla's burgeoning relationship impacted Anne and the family to a large degree. But now that Rilla's relationship with Ken is known and has become "commonplace," it seems appropriate to give some "Twist" chapters less inclusion in Anne's diary.

As always, please remember that this is not supposed to be a complete display of Anne's entire diary – just segments and bits that relate to the events in "By a Simple Twist of Fate."

Thanks for living "Twist" through Anne's eyes with me. I am thrilled that people are reading it!

DW.618

.

.

- - - Anne's Diary - - - Anne's Diary - - - Anne's Diary - - -

.

.

March 2012 (Anne wrote this diary entry after the events in chapter 35 of "By a Simple Twist of Fate")

Dear Diary,

Did I already record that I got roped into being on the planning committee for Dalhousie's Spring Awards banquet again? Every year, I promise myself I will learn to say "no" in a pleasant but direct way. But every year I find myself saying "yes" since I always want to celebrate the successes of the students…especially the graduating seniors who will be moving on to their new futures.

It is not just the Dalhousie seniors who will be facing new and different worlds. 2012 is also a year of change for all of my daughters. Obviously, Joy's change was not intentional (who would ever intend to get fired from their job and investigated by the tax authorities?). However, during our last phone call, it seems that she is slowly rebounding and is finding some fulfillment by helping abused women while waiting for the tax investigation to proceed. So, maybe there's a slight silver lining to her forced changes.

But the other three girls are all making specific choices for their futures as their current studies finish.

Di is the only one of the girls who will be entering the world of full-time employment at this point. (Joy feels that she is unlikely to be hired anywhere at the moment.) It is so impressive that the institute Di's been working with has offered her such an amazing opportunity when she finishes school in June. She said it is practically unheard of for a recent graduate to be invited to join their top research team! I'm really happy for her! She deserves this opportunity and I'm delighted that she has her first microbiology job lined up already – rather than having to worry about finding a position. However, selfishly, I do wish Winnipeg was a bit closer to Halifax!

Nan has been accepted into the graduate program she has had her sights set on…University of Toronto's child psychology PhD program. Despite the prospect of five more years of schooling, Nan is still very set on this career…and she will be brilliant at it, I think! Even when she was young, she seemed very insightful of why people behaved the way they did.

Rilla will be graduating from NYU with her economics degree. I still remember being surprised when she switched majors to economics, but she has done well and definitely seems happy to be graduating.

And…Rilla has now been accepted into my favored "hallow halls" …Oxford! Before Ken's arrival into Rilla's life, I would have never assumed that Rilla would choose to continue her education (and certainly not for a Masters in Sociology). But continuing one's studies at Oxford certainly cannot ever be considered as a bad thing! Plus, this year at Oxford will provide a good opportunity for them to work on their relationship – in the public eye and in the same country. (Seriously, who would ever think that those two conditions need to be spelled out as basic criteria for a relationship…they are usually just "givens"…well, for everyone other than royals or celebrities I guess.)

As Gilbert and I have foreseen for these last two years since the twins began their Masters' programs, this is going to be one hectic graduation season for us! It is a good thing that he is able to adjust his work schedule to accommodate our travels this summer. (And as I've already written in your pages, I am not teaching this summer.) So…here's the basic schedule:

* In mid-May, we will fly to New York City to attend Rilla's NYU graduation.

* In early June, we'll fly out to Winnipeg to attend Di's graduation from University of Manitoba.

* In late June, we will then fly to Toronto to attend Nan's graduation from the University of Toronto.

* Then…(whew)…we'll collapse in Ingleside for the family vacation in late July/early August.

We briefly considered simply flying directly from one city to the next. However, coming home between the graduations will allow Gilbert to be able to see patients. He becomes so attached to his long-time patients. I know it will reassure him to personally monitor his patients' progress.

At least we will accrue a lot of frequent-flyer airline points with our travels this summer. I'm going to suggest to Gilbert that we redeem them for flights to Oxford during Rilla's year there. As Thomas Hardy so beautifully said in his poem about Oxford:

"I can see the towers
In mind quite clear
Not many hours'
Faring from here…"

.

.

- - - Anne's Diary - - - Anne's Diary - - - Anne's Diary - - -

.

.

Author's Note:

Special thanks to kslchen for sharing with me her notes on the Blythe children's schooling history. Early in her writing process, kslchen created an amazing list of details about all of the schools that each of her characters attended (FYI - they all went to Halifax Grammar School) and in what subjects they received their university degrees.

So, just for clarification here are the specific degrees that the three girls will receive in the summer of 2012:

Rilla: "BA in Economics with a minor in English and American Literature"
Di: "MSc in Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases"
Nan: "MA in School and Clinical Child Psychology"

Thanks for hanging in there with my slow updates. I realize I need to write fast and furiously if I am to finish this companion story in a timely manner (especially since "Twist" is wrapping up). I have the next chapter almost ready and will likely post it on Tuesday.

DW.618