We're moving again. Can you guess where?

Do you know what's wrong with this picture? 

(A young friend glanced at it and commented "It's a Toyota!" 

Well, yes, but that wasn't what I was getting at.)

There are sheep on the side of the road! Between the highway and the airport! Sheep!

Give up? Ellie may need one of these once we arrive. Through the head may be a bit disturbingly big, as is the price tag (around 50 pounds!).

We are off to Jolly Old England. Josh has been given a wonderful work opportunity, and will now be  General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer for a new division they have just formed within his current company.  This branch of his company will be based out of London, so off we go!  


Ellie and Sam have taken the news surprisingly in stride.  Ellie's initial reaction was, "I don't want to move," but it has been replaced by some interest in her new school, what the houses look like, and particularly, her 6 year old glee that we will have to learn to drive on the wrong side of the street. I think it is understandable for her to note that we will also have moments of transition, change and difficulty.  Hopefully it just doesn't end up in an accident.  Sam is interested because Finn McMissile from Cars 2 is from the UK, so maybe we will run into him.  We've been listening to "Collision of Worlds" from the soundtrack quite a bit. *


My reaction? I am very proud of Josh, and really excited for him. He is very excited.  I am less excited about this:

which, in case you were wondering, is both a washer and a dryer in London. Or this:

Friends, this is a very small fridge. And oven. This oven is not fitting a traditional turkey. I am not sure it will fit a chicken.  Or my cookie sheets. But it is all part of the adventure, and some houses actually do have North American size fridges and ovens, so we'll see what happens at the end of the day. 

The best part? All of the kids on scooters, who scoot around town as their parents walk.  I think it will be cool to explore the Tate, the Tower of London and Kew Gardens, especially with small kids.  I will probably sing "My Country Tis of Thee, Sweet Land of Liberty" every time "God Saves the Queen" is played, staging my own mini-American rebellion every time.  (What do you expect of someone who taught Virginia history?)  Ellie and Sam will get to continue with their French instruction, and practice in France.  We'll get to see friends who are in Europe, and maybe even see the Olympics.  


We are excited for this next chapter. We are so, so very sad to leave another amazing community, but we also know that they will visit us, and we will put on the kettle for them anytime they want to come over. 




*Soundtrack "Collision of Worlds" of Cars 2 by Robbie Williams and Brad Paisley

Lyrics :

At the first sign of the morning light, Old Glory's in the sky
Across the pond, it's afternoon and the Union Jack flies high
We're on our first cup of coffee
We're on our third cup of tea
And we can't pretend to live on different planets, you and me

In this collision of worlds
Watch the new day dawn on a distant shore
In this collision of worlds
Oh you can't sit this out no more

Abbey Road, Route 66, CIA, to the MI6
Right lane, left lane, Metric, Imperial
Pounds, dollars, howdy, cheerio!
A v8 growls, to a v12 screams
Hail to the chief, God save the Queen
Cops, bobbies, tabasco, wasabi, pistachio ice cream!

In this collision of worlds
Well it's too late and you can't stop it now
In this collision of worlds
Yeah find you a place and just watch it now

Well you're a good ole' boy
Yeah you're a decent bloke
I say it's irony, I say it's a joke
When I look around, now I can see
We ain't so different, you and me

Meat and potatoes, burgers and mash
Dollars, pounds, dosh, cash
Audobon, to the riding sun
The I10, to the M1
Congress, Parliment, President, The Queen!
Petrol, you say gasoline
Now grab your bird, and get your girl
Now its a small world

Collison of worlds
Watch the new day dawn on a distant shore
In this collision of worlds
No you can't sit this out no more
In this collision of worlds
It's too late and you can't stop it now
Collision of worlds
Find you a place and watch it now

Skiing and Ladies Ski Day - Winter 2012

*

I heart skiing.

Josh never thought he would hear those words!!!  We've been going up to a little hill suggested by our friends about an hour away from our house every Saturday.  Ellie and Sam love to ski. LOVE it.  Ellie proclaims she is better than me but I am trying hard to stay in front of her.

She is pretty good, though. And Sammy is getting better, going up the "big" lifts, if any lifts in Ontario can really be called big.

Josh is skiing with some friends in Vail this weekend, and we are going to meet some family in Vermont in a few weeks to end the season. It is a far cry from where we were a few years ago, driving up to Ski Liberty, with me grumbling the whole way and chasing after Sammy in the lodge.  My goal this year has been to be able to go down blue runs with less fear and more speed, which I have mainly been able to do. We've been somewhat hampered by terrible snowfall, so most of the snow has been manmade.

Friends, I will let you in on a little secret of skiing in Canada. Ladies Day.  (Gentlemen, they also have Men's Day**.) My friend is a member of a private ski club, which is a concept which is fairly unique to Canada, I think, but it is just like any private club, except for skiing. At ladies day, for the price of a lift ticket and a bit more, about 200 women were given lone access to a hill for a day. It came with a complete breakfast, mimosas, lunch, wine, swag bag, special club jacket, complimentary mani, pedi or mini-massage, and lessons.  They also had vendors on site if you wanted to do a bit of shopping, a DJ, and fabulous raffle gifts, including a trip to Banff.  There was no waiting for lifts. No small kids zooming past you on skis, almost knocking you over. The club she belongs to is a hidden gem, about 45 minutes from where you live. You know it is a great day when two very drunk women ski past you, telling you that "skiing is always better after a few glasses of wine!" The skiing was amazing and fun and I also was able to take my first skidoo ride with this kind gentleman.  It was a bit scarier than I thought.

My friend and I have been skiing together. She is still learning and has been super brave about taking up a sport her children are learning.  She has been taking lessons, taking things at her own pace and having a good time with it.

I think that is what most of our time has been like in Canada - slowly stretching ourselves into new directions and into new adventures, and most of them, like skiing, have been really fun. Sometimes they have been a bit more difficult, but always interesting.

*Hilary had to have another biopsy recently, which was scary. It was clean and cancer-free, so a big cause for celebration around here!
**Apparently Men's Day many involve some sort of barely clad women. There has been no confirmation from any men on this point.

Happy things about Toronto

I am strangely sad today so I will list some happy things about Toronto for you.

• Calling 311.  When you dial 311, like my darling husband did last night, a real, live person picks up. Immediately. Without even putting you on hold or making you listen to a menu of options.  Then they help you answer a detailed question. (Ours was about trash, of course.)  J was shocked at how helpful they were. That's Toronto!
• No strike. Municipal workers almost went on strike this week. It was averted. It would have meant hockey rinks would have closed down, and now they won't.  And trash wouldn't have been picked up, except in our area, because ours is contracted out.
• Trash plays an important role in the average Torontonian life.
• Regina (pronounced like the body part, yes, that one) means Queen in Latin. It is actually on all of our coins here. It means that my friend, who works for the Department of Justice, or equivalent, is actually Regina's lawyer. I find this hugely funny.  Also, all court cases are Regina against (they don't use versus, I don't remember the exact wording), and they wear robes. Which means, I guess, that the lawyer representing Regina could be naked, I guess. Which could be EVEN more hilarious. (Normally/Usually they wear pants or business attire, I'm told.)
• Ellie slept in her own bed last night. Ellie and Sam decided they needed to sleep with their beds bunked.  Ellie is on the top bunk and Sam is on the bottom bunk. They are pretty funny in the same room together.  They wanted to do it, though.  
• Tim Horton's Coffee - I love it. I don't love the new cup sizes - very confusing! I do love the coffee. Happiness in a cup.
• Ellie and Sam's teachers - they have delightful teachers.  Even though one speaks a language I haven't yet learned, they are happy in their jobs and with children.  
• Donnybrook Park - the park was crowded yesterday with parents, nannies and kids since it was so warm up here! It was fun to watch everyone run around. (I heart our street!) 
• Paul's ice rink - even though it has not been very cold, our neighbor has his own backyard ice rink, and we get ice updates via email.  It is very Canadian. 
• Skiing - I love skiing so much it will get a separate post.  Ellie and Sam are doing so well!
• J, who is finally home after his first round of long travels. Hooray!
• My new gym, with N, who is a drill sergeant who would make Paul Regino proud. With a heart of gold, and lots of enthusiasm and love for me. 
• Tim Horton's again. I really love this coffee. The convenience of the drive-thrus. The ease of ordering (no soy milk!).  
• Widow's dinners. 

I am now not sad anymore. Thanks for being a part of my day. More next time! xo

Why are you home?

I was walking with Ellie and a small friend of ours and he innocently asked,

"Avery, why are you home?"

Implying, of course, why am I home when his mom is at work? Why does he have a nanny and my kids don't? Why does the world work the way it does where some moms work and some don't?

I explained to him that before we moved to Canada I did work, just like his teacher, in a school.  That jobs were hard to get in Canada, and I tried. And it didn't work out, and I'm home for now and the near future.

What I really wanted to say, though, was, "I don't know, little dude. I just don't know."

I don't know how I got to this place in my life where I am a stay-at-home-mom. It is not a role that sits easily or comfortably on me.  I like to read Martha Stewart. I am certainly not Martha Stewart.

I am a teacher, preferably of other people's children. I have patience with them, because they don't crawl into bed with me at night and I don't listen to their sibling rivalry while I cook dinner.  I like to observe their intelligence.  I love their idiosyncrasies.  I enjoy talking "teacher talk" incessantly at social functions, much to my husband's dismay.

I would probably be fired if I was audited for my stay-at-home-ness.  I would like to outsource most of my day to day tasks and would if I could afford to, including things like: emptying the dishwasher; putting laundry away; dishing out goldfish crackers; budgeting; opening the mail; taking out the trash; emptying luggage after a trip (we need a trip fairy!); watching Cars 2.  I could use a small army of elves, or perhaps a butler or lady's maid.  I enjoy: grocery shopping, volunteering in classrooms/schools, cooking, reading with my kids, hosting playdates, the flexibility of stay-at-home life.

I miss work. I do not miss the crazy hectic life of trying to balance it all.

I don't know if it would be easier or harder to work in a different country, and if the parenting-work balance would be calmer.  Women seem to manage better here.  Policies like one year of maternity leave, on the surface, seem to help.  Yet it appears, at least in my neighborhood and at my children's schools, that women are the primary caregivers; they are the ones picking up the kids and volunteering.  To be fair, we had a family in the neighborhood just leave for Abu Dhabi. For her job. She has a seven month old.  (And a preschooler.)

I have to go now. I have to color a book. Then bathe 2 small, squirmy children. Then read to them, and convince them that sleep is a necessity worth their while.