54- BACK IN CANADA
The five days spent with Di and Colin in Creemore, Ontario, was laid back and lovely. Each day was something different - high-tea in Collingwood, having nails done in Wasaga Beach, getting a funky new hairstyle in Di’s dining room, pub lunch in Creemore, shopping in Collingwood for a few cool weather clothes (my luggage contains only summer things). It was the great quality time with them that I had longed for.
On Friday, Di and Colin left for a two-week trip to Europe. I accompanied them to the airport where my grandson, Jay, met me to drive me to his heritage home in Oakville. Mal and my three great-granddaughters, Cooper, Taylor and Blakely were waiting excitedly for my arrival. It’s been over a year since I saw them and I hadn’t even met nine- month old Blakely until now. She's an infant that never cries, smiles almost constantly, loves to be hugged and is adored by her family. What a charmer she is!
The kids planned two of my favourite dishes (and theirs) for the first 18 hours of my stay - Sushi for dinner Friday washed down with Prosecco then dim sum for Saturday brunch. I felt spoiled already!
Cooper and Taylor spent three hours at a children's cooking school Saturday afternoon and brought home the hummus pita sandwiches they made from scratch - including the pita!! It was delicious! It brought home memories of when I used to prepare dinner for my working parents and younger brother during the 1940's when I was their ages but I didn't cook anything exotic - hamburger meat in gravy, boiled potatoes and canned peas was the extent of my culinary talent. Eighty years later, many parents' views about what their children are actually capable of seem to me to be quite different. Overprotective perhaps? My grandkids must be old spirits or something because they allow their kids to experience more responsibility at a younger age, thus helping their children to build confidence in their own abilities.
Springtime in Ontario, beautiful as it is, with grass so green and deciduous trees getting all ‘feathery’ looking as the trees bud, daffodils and crocuses blooming, is still chilly with April showers and cool winds. I came back a little early this year but it was worth it. It has been a wonderful nine days that I would have missed otherwise.
Tomorrow I take the train to Ottawa to begin a new adventure in Orleans with Dee. I have ordered a wheelchair on Via Rail so my bags are taken care of - they are too heavy for me now. Aging does take a toll on your strength. I have to change trains in Union Station, Toronto, but a wheelchair pusher will be waiting for me there to help me. This soothes any anxiousness I might otherwise have about where to go, how to get there and I don't have to struggle with my baggage. I can simply enjoy the train - an enjoyable, relaxed way to travel, particularly in business class with a more comfortable seat and other amenities.
I look forward with excitement to taking a trip to North Bay in the next few weeks to meet Levi and Lincoln, my two-month old great grandsons. My family continues to expand exponentially.
I am reminded every day that life is what you make it - you have choices. My choice is to stay active, keep interested in trying new things, pushing the envelope, to live life to the best of my ability every day. This is what keeps me young in mind, body and spirit. Life is grand!