The Year of the Stork

Happy New Years from Ottawa, Canada (well close enough)!  Goodbye 2010!!! You were the year of babies! I know of at least eight among our circle of friends:

Girls

• Helena
• Maggie
• Margot
• Maren
• Shayla

Boys

• Cobin
• Duncan 
• Owen 
• Xander

Oh 2011, what will you bring? Hmmm, the Magic 8-ball says, “You may rely on it”. What does that mean? Thanks for nothing Magic 8-ball!

Happy New Year from Simon, Jen and our friends Yack and Bec :)

A Dash of Culture

Both Jen and I enjoy cultural activities. Wherever we have lived over the years, whether Ottawa/Gatineau, Bristol (England), or Fredericton (New Brunswick), we have made the most of our stays by visiting the local museums and seeing whatever concerts or plays caught our attention (let’s just say the years in Fredericton were…a challenge - although the Beaverbrook Art Gallery is quite impressive for such a small town). 

Today we took Margot to the National Art Gallery of Canada to see a temporary exhibit on the architecture of Moshe Safdie, a famous modern architect who has a strong Canadian connection. OK, I’ll admit it: I never heard of him before! That’s somewhat embarrassing as he designed the National Art Gallery itself! Still, it was a cool exhibit as he from what I saw he has designed secular, Jewish, Sikh and Muslim buildings – all with a modern flair.

Anyways, Margot is obviously too young to take all this in yet! Still, I hope that over time our love of culture will eventually pass on to her.  Taking her to an art gallery is a much more fun way to learn than being forced to listen to a stodgy teacher drone on (with apologies to all the great teachers out there!). Who knows, maybe Margot will HATE this one day! But until she tells us otherwise I think we’ll keep up the cultural visits for now.

December Philosophy

I sometimes think I’m a bit of a rebel in that despite being a fairly avid reader of the news, with all its doom and gloom, I’m a fairly optimistic person. Indeed, I feel there are many indicators that suggest that the world is getting better in general:

• People are living longer.
• Certain values now seem to be generally accepted almost everywhere - as reflected by the growing number of human rights treaties and institutions.
• Technology continues to march forward in many areas even if the improvements are evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

Indeed, if the world were getting worse wouldn’t that mean that sometime in the past, humankind peaked? I wonder what year that would be? Sometime in the 19th century when colonization was rampant? Or perhaps a more recent time, such as the 1950s when the world was on the brink of nuclear annihilation and fundamental rights for many groups in Western society were nothing but a pipe dream?

Of course, the world has a long way to go and I can’t help but feel occasionally dispirited by news stories highlighting the callousness of people towards one another or the shortsightedness humankind consistently displays to problems spanning more than one election cycle.

That can be a tough feeling to shake.

But, as a parent, I think it’s important to do so. It means that you have hope. It means that you won’t give up trying to build a world that’s just a bit more just.  It means that…lol I don’t know! For me, it just means limitless potential.

"We have a loud house"

So I’m trying to write this blog entry but there is all manner of craziness around slowing me down.  My sister and her husband have arrived and are laughing and talking with my parents. They are test-driving my parents’ new record player (yes, record player!)  My dad is puttering about.  Stories are being told. A lasagna is in the oven. Margot has conquered Mount Epson Stylus. It’s a loud house. It’s a good day for a short blog entry! 

 p.s bonus points for naming the song :)

With Family

Today was 100% deliciously non-productive. The focus was on being comfy and cozy with a glass of wine or two thrown in for spice.  My parents, brother, sister-in law, uncle and grandmother all wandered about my old house munching, chatting and playing with Margot. Margot was the star of our little world today of course! As the first member of her generation in my immediate family she gets A LOT of kisses and hugs.  The little cutie is pretty good about it all and generally has a smile (or a burp or a stinky diaper – it’s like Russian roulette sometimes!) to share.  The only hard thing is that she’s at the age where strangers frighten her a bit at first (even family), which can be hard for people who love her. So it’s all about taking things slowwwww. 

In general, I think these moments are good for me. Having just left (temporarily) a busy job I’m learning to live at a bit of a slower pace, which can be hard sometimes. Liberating. But Hard!

The Long Road

Every year around Christmas time I go visit my family in Newmarket, which is where I grew up.  I prefer to take Highway 7 to get there: a more scenic route than the faster but more hectic Highway 401. It’s a long road, which passes through a mostly flat landscape of marshes, forests and small towns. If you’re lucky you can drive stretches of it with only a few cars for company, although every year it seems a little busier.

Newmarket is a bedroom community north of Toronto, Ontario. It’s a short 5-hours (or long 6 hours in baby-time) from Gatineau, Quebec. I like to think of it (and I’m channeling my inner geek here) as my “shire” as there are probably few areas in the world as safe and sheltered as Newmarket. That makes me smile.  I know I’m always guaranteed a warm welcome when I arrive.

The sun beamed down on us as we made the drive this year. Margot took full advantage. 

First Christmas!

My first blog post and my first Christmas with Margot! It was quite relaxed and cozy. Margot got comfy pants, a hat, boots, and socks: everything a 7-month old baby would ever want! Of course she is too young to understand Christmas or gifts yet. Although from this photo I get the sneaking suspicion that she knows that the hat may come back to haunt her. 

Jen and I gave each other snowshoes (very 30-something of us!) plus other goodies. We then took the little tubby princess on a hike in Gatineau Park. Sometimes I forget how lucky we are to live next to almost-true wilderness as it was quite peaceful and beautiful.  However, I’m not sure I get the snow-shoe-ing thing yet - we weren’t exactly "gliding" down the slopes. Whatever! It was still great fun and a perfect excuse to have hot chocolate when we came home. 

That's it for my first post. Merry Christmas!