Guest blogger

Yesterday evening after dinner, Oliver and I decided to go out for a walk. Surprisingly, Nicka also decided to come along. Normally, Nicka prefers to play basketball in front of our house so having him join us was really nice (for me... Oliver didn't think it was so great... I think Nicka came along to bug him 😉... life with boys 😉). Anyway, to keep the peace, I offered Oliver my phone to take pictures. He really enjoyed it and wanted me to post his pictures here. So, introducing my guest blogger: Oliver!

Oliver really got into the sun lines ;)

A lovely habit

While I enjoy walking with Andreas, I also love to put on some good music and go for a walk by myself. My favourite time of the day to go is after dinner, just as the sun is starting to set. The evening light is magical and the purple/pink/blue hues of the setting sun are so beautiful. I love the smell of apple blossoms and lilacs along my route. It is calm and quiet, with light spilling from the windows of the homes that I pass. I get to take a deep breath and enjoy the moment. This definitely a lovely habit.

Happy Sunday evening to you all! Wishing you all a good week ahead xox

More Postcards From a Pandemic

Today, we went walking in Pointe Claire Village. For those of you who do not live near me, it is a suburb just west of Montreal. By North American standards, it is pretty old. It used to be its own village (ie: not part of the westward sprawl of Montreal), ideal for being situated along the St Lawrence Seaway. A bit of history can be read here. Walking by the water on such a beautiful day is really fantastic.

We are going on lots of walks so beware of the postcard spam  xox

A bit of love from Pointe Claire Village

Postcards from a Pandemic

When I walk to work, I like to take pictures. Most of the time, they are not of anything special... just bits of Montreal.  Usually, these are my postcards to you all. Little things that I find interesting or that catch my eye. Anyway, it was been 2 months now where I have not walked my usual walk so, on my now somewhat regular "trying-to-balance-out-my-making-dinner-glass-of-wine" walk, I took these random pictures (making Andreas crazy for stopping every few minutes). We like to pick some nearby neighbourhoods so today you get Ste Anne de Bellevue and Senneville and my first round of postcards from a pandemic. From me... to you... with love xox

Ten!

Today, Oliver turns 10 years old! No more "single digit" kids in our house anymore!

Since we cannot have a real party to celebrate him (at least not yet), we put up decorations on our front yard last night after he went to bed. It was a fun surprise for him this morning. This afternoon, he will have the chance to wave at one of his friends with the same birthday and we will have his requested dinner and cake.

Sorry, Oli, that this birthday is a bit "on hold" but we will celebrate your special day the best we can. We love you xox

Reflections on a pandemic

This whole Coronavirus pandemic is really abstract: this is not one neighbourhood that is affected, nor is it limited to one city or country. It is the whole world. Wow. It is also incomprehensible as to how fast it took hold. One day, I was listening to a BBC report about some virus in distant China and, poof, a few weeks later, the world is shut down. On March 1, I had a plane ticket and plans to see family/friends/work in England and head over to Amsterdam for a conference (departure March 13, return March 22) . By March 6, that conference was postponed indefinitely. After having a discussion with my travel agent on March 10, I decided that I was still leaving to keep my family/friends/work plans in England and Amsterdam. It was not a controversial decision at the time. After all, my ticket was not refundable and I really wanted to go. Some of my colleagues said that they had cancelled their conference plans... others said that they would still go. Andreas encouraged me to enjoy my trip. During the night between March 11 and 12, I heard a report on the radio that Trump was closing the borders to international flights. When I woke up, I told Andreas about my fears about not being able to get back home again. After an initial "come on, your are going", he understood my concerns. A few hours later, my flight was cancelled (with the absolute support of my travel agent who had intended to call me that morning anyway... and a full ticket refund) and I sadly told my family/friends/work that I could no longer go. At that moment, I felt that maybe it was a rushed decision, a bit paranoid... maybe I was being silly. By the next day (March 13... the day that I was supposed to leave), countries started shutting down one by one... My university posted travel advisories and shut down clinical access to all those coming back from international travel. The boys' school closed... and then so did Andreas'... then mine... I no longer felt silly.

Little did we know that day that by May 12 (2 months after my trip was cancelled), we would still be isolating at home.... still no school... work from home... all meetings and classes online. Little did I know that having a "drink with friends" would mean logging onto Zoom. I online shop... for masks. Laboratory hygiene would be required for grocery shopping, as would line ups. Following footprints and arrows on the floor would be almost "normal" and expected behaviour. Social distancing is common knowledge. After biting my tongue so that I would not say "go play with your friends" to the boys, it no longer comes out of my mouth (although I think it regularly). I do not use cash, nor do I need to fill up our gas tank because we don't go anywhere. Take out is the only restaurant experience that is possible. Having a latte at Starbucks involved following footprints and standing at the front door... waiting for my turn... putting my debit card in a plastic box, witnessing someone else tap for me, retrieving my bill, card and coffee from the same plastic box (that was dutifully wiped down before and after me) and handing one of the coffees to Andreas when I got back to the car while I removed my mask and sanitized my hands... and almost finding this normal. All this within 2 months... No one knows what will happen in the next 2 months... no one dares to guess...

Why am I writing all this? Honestly, beats me. I guess I need some sort of reflection. Some sort of WTF?!? Maybe, when I flip through my blog pages on May 12, 2021, I will think: wow... that was messed up. Hopefully, I will then be complaining again about making school lunches and our busy schedule, taking the boys from activity to activity. Right now, as much as I value the time with my family because I am fully aware that, as the boys get older, they will no longer want to hang out with us, I also miss our day to day. Our old day to day.

Sending love to you all xox

The view... from home.

Art with Oliver

This morning, I found a Concordia University alumni newsletter (yes, I went to our "other" English university 😉) that highlighted an online art class. I thought it was a cool idea (Oliver was less enamored) but I signed us up anyway... He did really well (better than me!) and had a good time. Bonus was that I got to feel like one of those productive mothers for the 45 minute session... bigger bonus was that I didn't even have to do anything for it... just log into Zoom. Darn.. should have thought of that one earlier 😉 The session was a bit like the Wine and Paint nights... but in the daytime... and without the wine... and with a shorter companion. Maybe mine would have been better if I had poured a glass 😉

Happy Monday! Love being sent to you <3

Ollie in action

Oliver's work of art

My work