Winding Down

Things are starting to wind down after a very busy couple of weeks. The show has come and gone (fabulously well, I might add!), my legs have recovered, the costumes are washed and put away. I visited with Cynthia who, like the show, has also come and gone. And on a more serious note, we attended the funeral of my step-father’s dad in St. Catharines (that time it was us who came and went).

Having Cynthia here this past week was great! She doesn’t seem to mind that the house is messy or that Rob and I are kind of lame or that sometimes Clare throws a tantrum or food. She fits so seamlessly into our little world it’s like she’s lived with us forever. Tuesday night, Cynthia agreed to be my date and we went out to see “Away We Go” – a movie Rob was reluctant to see with me. On Wednesday all four of us went to the Toronto Zoo and had a really relaxed and enjoyable day that we followed up with splashing in the pool and playing on the back deck. Clare, Rob, and Cynthia recovered from our big adventure on Thursday while I went to work and then to the funeral home. We all spent the day together again on Saturday just hanging about the city, walking to the market and around the Danforth, making dinner, playing Scrabble and getting to bed early for Cynthia’s 7 am flight back to Vancouver.

Rob, Clare, and I spent Friday attending the funeral and wake for Ron’s dad. It was a 12 hour trip to St. Catharines and back - a whirlwind visit with family (lots of hugs for Ronnie and Mac and Mum). Despite the sad circumstances for the visit, it was nice to catch-up with the many cousins I haven't seen in a while. Through it all, Clare held up remarkably well! She sat quietly all through the funeral, napped when it was nap time, played with the kids at the wake, talked to almost all of the grown-ups around her without feeling shy, and was happy to go about the place even when Mum and Dad weren’t especially close by. She played with the puppy and was nice to the other toddler. She shared her toys. She ate when she was hungry and didn’t throw food on the floor when she wasn’t. It was wonderful!

Saturday was a different story though. I think probably, Clare was tired from all the excitement of Friday. She was easily frustrated on Saturday morning and nearly unwilling to meet any requests from me. Plus, her tummy was pretty upset. She got angry when we walked past the fruit market without buying anything (I had to use the washroom, so we were on the way to the bakery. I kept saying to her “No, you cannot have fruit right now – we’re going to buy some cookies! No, no fruit – you’re gonna eat a cookie! Oh dear.) She cried at the toy store because she didn’t want to wear her shoes, and then she cried when we went back to the fruit market because she wanted to eat the tomatoes she was carrying and I wouldn’t allow it until after we’d paid for them. Folks at the market thought it was just the cutest and funniest thing EVER that this tiny little girl would want the tomatoes so badly that she was crying for them. After lunch and one more mother-daughter misunderstanding, Clare finally got some sleep. After her 3-hour nap she was back to her charming self!

The weekend culminated in a perfectly lovely Sunday. Clare and Rob watched Wimbledon together while I cleaned up around the house and ran a few errands. In the afternoon we played outside with some of our PushPULL friends – dancing in the pool, digging in the sandbox, and devouring strawberries and watermelon. The picture up above was taken at the end of the day on Sunday. While Clare and I were playing, Rob was busy installing his Father’s Day gift on his bike. He and Clare took their very first bike ride together. She LOVED it and was more than willing to wear her new ‘hat’while they rode. From what I hear, she enjoyed her bike ride into daycare this morning, just as well.

Now that things are starting to slow down a bit, I'll have some time to post pictures. Keep an eye out for photographic proof of all the fun we've been having this summer.

Talk to you soon,

B.