Time Travel

Last night we had a wonderful evening with some of our oldest and dearest friends. Mark and Krista nearly always host a get-together while we're visiting NB so we can have all our closest friends gathered in one place, and it is always a highlight of our trip. The kids are happy in the pool. The adults are happy catching up on the latest news. We're all happy eating lots of good food. In many ways it feels like not a thing has changed since we moved and left all our friends behind. Oh, our kids are all taller. They are the true markers of time in our yearly visits. But our friendships haven't changed, and that gives me much comfort. These are friends we'll have our whole lives, no matter where we live.

At one point in the evening last night, Mark started playing old home videos on the computer in the kitchen. He found a video of a similar party ten years ago. That time it was a going-away party for friends moving to Toronto, and Krista had decided to make it an eighties themed party. There were no kids running around that time -- the oldest would have been 7 or 8 and home with a babysitter. But many of the same faces were at that party as this one. I say "the same faces" rather loosely: I was amazed at how much some of us have changed in 10 years. We were all in our late twenties or early thirties then. Most of us had very small children, and some of us hadn't yet become parents. But one thing hasn't changed at all since that party in June of 2001: we were having fun! We were enjoying being together, catching up, being goofballs together. Flash forward ten years, and here we are, in the same house, with the same people, having the same fun. Loving being together. I'm looking forward to next year. Time travel.

Thanks to Mark and Krista for another wonderful evening with some of our favourite people. Thanks for new memories to add to our abundance!

Heading Home

Over the past year the meaning of the word "home" has become a bit fuzzy to me. Whenever I mentioned "back home" in conversation, everyone knew I meant "back east". But when I put my kids to bed at night, we would say bedtime prayers thanking God for our beautiful home. Which was it? Where is my home? This past couple of weeks I've been able to bring it into focus a bit.

I'm in New Brunswick, the place I have immediately and without hesitation called home for most of my life. Our drive here was successful, and most importantly, completely uneventful. The first day we drove 11 hours and stopped in Levis, PQ, and I rewarded my awesome co-pilots with a hotel with a pool. We all went to bed early and were in the car again at 7:24 a.m., ready for the last leg of the journey. By early afternoon, we arrived for a visit at Nana's, and by 5:15 we had arrived at my parents house in Rothesay. HOME!

We've been "home" 10 days now. We've spent some time in the Saint John area, some time at the cottage in Cambridge-Narrows, and took a day trip to Fredericton last week. Tomorrow we'll go back to the cottage, and then spend a few more days in Freddy. It is as beautiful here as ever; my favourite place in the world. We've enjoyed visits with friends and family. The kids have loved connecting with their cousins, and I've relished the time with my family. But one thing has become abundantly clear to me on this trip. This is not my home. One thing is glaringly absent, making it impossible for this place to fit my definition of home. My husband isn't here. He is in London. So London is home.

I underestimated how much I was going to miss Chris in the two and a half weeks we planned to be apart. It began to become apparent in the few days leading up to our departure. I wasn't looking forward to leaving nearly as much as I had last year. I thought it was because I was nervous about the drive, but when Chris mentioned how we wouldn't see each other for most of July I realized I wasn't looking forward to spending such a large chunk of my summer without him. Thank goodness for technology, because my texting skills have grown by leaps and bounds in the past week! I miss sharing my days with my husband. He knows me and understands me like no one else does, and I appreciate him in a whole new way now. I love my family, but he is the most important part of my family. Home is where he is, and that is absolutely the way it's supposed to be.

I'm sure when Chris arrives next Saturday I'm going to be completely content to be in New Brunswick, and saying goodbye to this place and all my loved ones in it a week later will be just as difficult as ever. I will miss my dear friends and family and look forward to visits from them, and another trip "home" next summer. But I'm also pretty sure about something else. In two weeks, when we get in the car to begin that long journey back to Ontario, I'm not going to be confused about where I'm going. I'll be heading home.

Twenty Minute Post

I have twenty minutes that I cannot spend packing. I decided that I don't want to arrive in New Brunswick looking like a grandmother, so I should probably add a quick dye job to my list of "must-dos" today, my last day before leaving on vacation. Therefore, as any other trying-to-stay-dark-haired 40-something woman knows, I have to sit for half an hour as my amazing transformation takes place. I spent the first ten minutes trying to figure out how I was going to productively use this time. Then I thought of my blog. Can I write a post in twenty minutes? Well, let's see...

I could talk about lists. About how at heart I am not a list maker, but how getting ready for vacation always seems to push me to the place where I feel I desperately need a list. Then I end up writing all sorts of lists that I leave all over the house and I wind up ironically needing a list of lists. No, that just stresses me out.

I could talk about how I'm not really able to get excited about going to NB this year because I have to drive the whole way myself, and until that 18 hour drive is behind me, I'm not getting excited about anything! But Chris has carefully mapped out my route, even printing pictures of all the exits I need to take, so that really absolutely nothing can go wrong. Between that, my somewhat trusty GPS, and my eager co-pilot Connor, we should be just fine.

I could explain how different it feels to be going home this year. Last year I returned to London absolutely miserable. There wasn't the sense of excitement that we had when we first moved here. There was just emptiness -- a house that didn't feel like home, nearly no friends to lift my spirits, and a desperate ache for the friends and family I had left behind. This time, I have friends here, very good friends who are going to miss me while I'm away. I have a life here, and I'm actually looking forward to getting back to that life.

So I'm going to NB, and I know it will be a wonderful trip, because it truly is my favourite place in the world. I can't wait to see everyone! I know I'll be making wonderful memories, and the time will fly. And once again I'll be sad to have to leave. But this time I won't be broken-hearted. Because London is starting to feel a little bit like home. Finally.

I think the grey is nearly gone. Time to wrap up. One of my loyal readers asked me on Facebook today if I was still going to blog while I'm away. I love to hear from readers, whether commenting on posts or on Facebook! It is so encouraging to know people actually read. The answer is, I'll try! I don't have a laptop (can you imagine?), but I think I can manage to borrow a computer now and then. Last year I was able to get one post written from NB. I'll try to at least double that. Ding! Time to go! Remember to offer a prayer for our travelling safety tomorrow if you think of it! See you soon!

Summer Reading

This is a post I've been planning for quite a while, but just haven't made myself sit down and write. It's my summer reading list. To me, reading is one of the best parts of summer: sitting on a deck chair with a cool drink and a good book, listening to the wind in the trees and feeling the cool breeze, all the better if it happens to be near a lake, river or ocean. Heaven!!! But what I'm reading is always an important part of that picture, so it is important that I choose just the right book. I have quite a long list this year.

I'm leaving for New Brunswick next week, and this year I'm determined to only take my Kobo. Last year, I think I needed to take an extra suitcase for all the books I carted along with me. Not again. Oh, yes, I do have plenty of books lining my shelves that I plan to read, but there are certainly more than enough on my Kobo to keep me occupied for a few weeks in NB. Here's my planned ebook list, order yet to be determined:

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova    I loved her first novel, Still Alice, which I read for book club last year, so as soon as this one came out I downloaded it. But have I managed to read it yet? Nope. Definitely one for vacation.

Learning by Karen Kingsbury    I'm a Karen Kingsbury addict. Even though I swear each time I read another one of her books that they become more and more predictable, and that I'm getting tired of reading about the same people now that she is on the 207th Baxter Family book (perhaps a slight exaggeration), I can't help myself. It's kind of like the way company can begin to get on your nerves before the end of a visit — You still can't wait to see them the next time! (Anyone reading this who has come to stay with me before, I'm of course NOT talking about you!) The book came out June 21, and I downloaded it that day. I can't wait to see if Bailey and Cody are finally going to get together! (As if there is any doubt... I know... I'm an addict, I tell you...)

The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis    I'm told by very reliable sources that this work of Canadian political fiction is absolutely hilarious, and a definite "must read". I planned to read it in Mexico, but never got to it, so it has moved down the list to the NB vacation. I'm really looking forward to this one.

Ape House by Sara Gruen    I read Water for Elephants a couple of months ago, wanting to read it before the movie came out. I still haven't seen the movie, but that's okay — It's never as good as the book. And the book was very good. I really enjoyed it. And I like that the author has a connection to London, so I thought I'd try this one. May not get to it before I head back to Ontario, though.

I also have Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult, 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper, and The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley on my Kobo waiting to be read. Plus one hundred classics that came preloaded on the device. I don't have to worry about running out of things to read on vacation.

At the beginning of August I'll be back in London, and back to my loaded bookcases. And my library card. Today I took two books back to the library unread, resigned to the fact that I won't have time to finish them before I leave for NB. They were The Centurian's Wife by T. Davis Bunn and Janette Oke and The Mermaid's Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. They'll have to wait, but they'll still be there when I get back. If I have time for them. This is the stack of books I have waiting at home:

I know — There's NO WAY I'll read all of these before September!

To Kill a Mockingbird is for my book club, and I may not even be home for the meeting, but since it was my suggestion, I feel like I should read it. I suggested it because I haven't read it since high school, when it didn't mean nearly as much to me as I'm sure it would now, and after our club read The Help, I really wanted to go back and read something authentically from that time.

The rest are books that have been highly recommended to me, by one book lover or another, which is how I usually formulate my reading list. I'm really looking forward to reading all of them, and I'm determined to get to each and every one before Christmas. Some of them will get read in the summer, though. I would ask for further suggestions, but as you can see, I really don't need any. Unless, of course, anyone sees any glaring omissions... No, those can wait until next year. Meanwhile, which one should I start with? There's where I need help!

Last Day of School

Wow. It sneaks up on me every year. I am continually amazed at how quickly a school year flies by. I'm afraid I'm going to wake up one June morning not far off and find that I have a child graduating from high school. Connor is nearly halfway through his school years. His former classmates in New Brunswick graduated from elementary school last week. Because the public schools here include classes from JK to Grade 8, I get to ignore that milestone and pretend I don't have a middle school kid yet. But I do. Grade 6 next fall. How did that happen? And my baby in Grade 3? Grade 3 kids are big kids! She isn't a big kid! Although her monster crush on Justin Bieber would lead me to believe that she is growing up much faster than I am ready for. School years fly by way too fast. Kids grow up way too fast. But we are enjoying the ride as they grow!

Connor and Janelle both had a great school year. Connor loved his teacher, Ms. Beaulac. She is a wonderful Grade 5 teacher. She calls her class "The Grade Five Hive", and they have their bee mascot decorating most surfaces of the classroom. Monday I joined the class for absolutely the coolest field trip I've been on. We started at the John Labatt Centre, and had a tour that included the London Knights' dressing room. You can imagine how pumped all those 11-year-old boys were about that! After the JLC, we began the "Mystery Tour", which was an "Amazing Race" type scavenger hunt through downtown London. We were divided into teams and had to complete 100 tasks before meeting for lunch at a park by the Thames River. We even had team t-shirts. We were the red team, and I had four very excited boys, who narrowly missed coming in first (I still maintain that we won -- those pink team girls stole the victory from us!). After lunch we headed to Labatt Memorial Park, which is the oldest active ball park in North America, and three members of the London Majors baseball team met us at the gate for a tour and a catch on the field. So cool! Connor was in his element. He loved every minute, and I loved Ms. Beaulac all the more for all the work she put into creating such a special memory for my son.

The Red Team, in the London Knights' dressing room, in front of former Knight Corey Perry's jersey. Soooooooo coooooool!!!!

One of our Scavenger Hunt pics, in front of the Thames River fountain, not spraying this day.

The Red Team at Labatt Park.



Cleveland Brownlee signing Connor's ball glove.

Janelle loved her teacher, too, and she loved that I was able to become part of her class by volunteering with Ms. Butler two mornings a week. Two weeks ago, the parents were invited to attend "Japan Day", the culmination of a unit on Japan the class had been studying for several weeks. We started with an authentic Japanese lunch, and then moved on to a program presented by the students. There were songs and dances, and each student spoke about an aspect of Japanese life. Janelle talked about Japanese gardens. She was so proud, and she happily proclaimed it the "best day of the whole year". Once again, I was enormously grateful to Ms. Butler for the tremendous amount of work she put into making a memory that Chris and I were able to share with Janelle.

At home, all ready for Japan Day!!!

Soooooo Excited!!!!

The girls all wore chopsticks in their hair.

Not so excited about eating the Japanese food (it was really yummy though!)

I am truly thankful that my kids have been blessed with such awesome teachers; teachers who understand that kids learn best while they are having fun. Connor and Janelle learned so much this year, and they really enjoyed school. In the van this morning, I asked them and their friends who was sad that it was the last day of school. First there was a loud chorus of "Nobody!!!!" And then Connor followed up with "Well, a little bit, because I am going to miss my friends, and my teacher". My heart swelled a little bit. Less than ten weeks, Connor, and it starts all over again!

Second Honeymoon

My husband and I got married fifteen years ago. We were fairly young, hadn't been working long, and our main concern when planning our honeymoon was "What can we do that will be memorable and CHEAP?" I was primarily occupied with planning the wedding, so Chris took over the responsibility of planning the honeymoon. Hopping on a plane and flying overseas was really out of the question, so he came up with the next best thing: a honeymoon in Old Quebec. A little piece of Europe just a five hour drive from home. We both loved the history of the city, so we took an old city tour. Every day we tried a new quaint little restaurant along the cobblestone streets of Old Quebec. We took a romantic carriage ride. And for two nights we stayed at Chateau Frontenac. It was a wonderful honeymoon. I would not trade that week for anything, although we agree that we should have splurged and spent a couple of extra nights at the chateau instead of moving to the cheap hotel on the third night! It was a wonderful, romantic vacation. But after fifteen years and two children, I was ready for another one.

At Tulum on our 15th anniversary, May 11, 2011.

We have had the occassional weekend away together since we've had children. We even went to Vancouver for a week in 2009, but Chris was at a conference, so that really doesn't count. We have never taken a week just to completely focus on relaxing together. After a stressful couple of years of deciding whether or not to move, selling a house, buying a house, moving and settling into a new city, we needed a vacation! Before we even decided to move I made it part of the deal. I booked the sitters before our house went on the market! We hadn't decided when or where we would go, but we knew that when the time was right, we were going. So when we realized that our 15th anniversary would be happening this spring and that my parents would be able to come and stay with the kids, we agreed it was the perfect time. We talked about various tropical destinations, but we were trying to be somewhat frugal, so that narrowed our list of options. Should we go to Cuba? The Dominican Republic? Jamaica? Should we be boring and predictable and go back to Mexico? We had already been to there four years ago for my brother's wedding, but with two kids with us, it was not the same kind of vacation we would have if we went alone. We didn't do any tours of Mayan ruins or try various restaurants at the resort. We really felt like we missed out on a lot of Mexico, so in the end we decided to go back. We are so glad that we did!

Grand Sunset Princess

We found a five star resort with a sale the week we wanted to go. Perfect! Mom and Dad came the week before, I suffered through some drama with a painfully plugged ear that was finally relieved the day we were leaving, and at 1:00 a.m. on Monday, May 9, we got in our car to drive to Toronto to depart on our 6:20 a.m. flight to Mexico.

Snorkeling at Xel Ha

It was a perfect week. We truly felt pampered the entire time. The room was beautiful. The resort was beautiful. We went on two excursions, Xel Ha and Tulum on our anniversary, and Coba two days later. We went snorkling at Xel Ha and toured the ruins at Tulum. We climbed the pyramid at Coba (okay, Chris climbed the pyramid at Coba), swam in a cenote (a sink hole), and even visited an authentic Mayan home. We ate at a different restaurant every night. We took a catamaran out for a sail. And we spent lots of time reading on the beach. And we didn't even once get tired of being each other's only company. In fact, we loved it! We thoroughly enjoyed not having to think about anyone but each other. We knew the kids were fine and loving being with their grandparents, so there were no worries there. I've always thought the term "second honeymoon" was a little cheesy, but that's really what it was. I loved every minute.

The beach at our resort. We took the catamaran out on our last full day.



Tulum



Tulum — Beautiful!

This woman is making us tortillas in her home.

The children played Mayan music for us. The things hanging around the home are for sale. I bought Janelle one of the black purses. The family who lives here has ELEVEN children! They all sleep in hammocks that they hang up every night.

The pyramid at Coba — the tallest in Mexico, 130 steps. The guy in the orange shirt with arms raised in victory is my handsome husband.

Now I wonder how long I have to wait for the "Third Honeymoon"?

A Long Break

I was ready to sit down and finally write a blog post today about the most exciting thing that has happened since I last posted — our trip to Mexico. I even had a good deal of it composed in my head already. But when my fingers hit the keyboard, I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that it has been a whole month and a half since I last added anything to my blog. Six weeks! And no blogging at all!

First I thought about how sad that is. This blog is supposed to be pretty important to me, and I've just IGNORED it for 6 weeks! I supposedly love writing and recording thoughts, sharing my life with my readers, and I haven't even once sat down at my computer with the intention of blogging. Shameful! It wasn't that I didn't have plenty to say. Mexico alone could fill several posts if I allowed it! There was also the visit from my parents, the suspenseful story of my ear problems prior to our trip, our lawn woes, new trees we bought for our property, finally ordering a shed, Connor's first tooth extraction, the progress we've made on our basement, and plans for our summer vacation. I've had plenty of ideas. What I have lacked is time.

I am volunteering at the school at least three mornings a week now: two mornings in Janelle's class and one in a Kindergarten class. I love being there. It fills something in me that I just don't get anywhere else. It is building a longing in me to go back to work that I haven't felt in years. I am so ready to be teaching again! I just hope I am doing the right things to make that happen! Volunteering, watching job postings, and spending significant time in prayer over the matter — I guess that's really all I can do.

I also try to spend at least one day a week with a friend. Shopping, going for a walk, having lunch, whatever. It is so nice to be able to say that I can do that again! I have friends here! A year ago I was despairing that it would ever happen! And as always, I have a home and a family to take care of, and that does take a good portion of my time. So blogging has fallen by the wayside, but only temporarily. I am determined to make it a priority once again.

The difference between now and a year ago, however, is that now my blog is only one of many priorities. A year ago I sent my husband to work and my children to school and looked forward to a long, empty day ahead, seeing my blog as a joyful refuge in an otherwise lonely day. Now I have to find time to fit it into my fairly busy schedule. That is a good thing! It means I have a life here, and that is something to shout about!

So I've taken a long break, but I'm back. I'll be here to write about our trip to Mexico tomorrow, and how a second honeymoon can in some ways be even better than the first. I'll post pictures of the improvements to our yard, and I'll share about my children's daily adventures. But if I do disappear for a bit, don't give up on me. I'm a busy mom, and sometimes life gets in the way of simple pleasures like writing, but I'll always be back.

See you tomorrow!