A Few Catch-Up Observations

1. When taking two 2-year-olds for their first ever camping trip, it is good to stick close to home. That way, if the boy wakes up at 4:30am, inconsolable because he's in a tent, then you can just drive home and come back in the morning to pick up your stuff.

2. It's a bad sign if your kids' favourite gleeful expression becomes "Molly/Jacob run away". But phooey to those parents who insist that if you never chase your children then they never run away. Jacob never even looks back over his shoulder. He would run to Toronto if I didn't chase him down.

3. It's particularly bad if running away coincides with becoming tall enough to press elevator buttons. In Halifax, the kids took off down the hotel hallway while I was unfurling the stroller. When I got to the elevator bay, there was Molly, but no Jacob. He was in an elevator. Fortunately when I (somewhat frantically) pressed the elevator button, the door opened to revealed a grinning boy.

4. Folk festivals (Mariposa, last weekend) with 2-year-olds aren't the same as folk festivals as a carefree pre-children adult. We had a lot of fun, but I don't remember hearing much music. Seeing the Skydiggers was quite a trip down memory lane - I must have seen them 25 times during undergrad and hadn't given them a single thought since. Steven Page needs to find a new band, and fast. His only applause was for old Barenaked songs, and he sounded hollow playing solo. I've been enjoying the Luke Doucet and Good Lovelies CDs that I picked up.

5. Our old Gambier property sale went through last week, so we now have some cash burning a hole in our pocket. It is earmarked for a place here in town, but that may not happen until next summer. I felt sad about visiting Gambier for the last time, and about listing it for sale, but not so nostalgic about finally selling it. I was worried all of last winter that a tree was going to crash through the roof, and it's just too far away to be practical. Lots of great memories though, and I'm glad we were able to take the twins there.


6. Can't wait for Dan & Alison to move to Toronto later this summer. They bought a fantastic looking place and it's going to be great seeing them every few weeks instead of a couple of times a year.

7. M&J seem to be getting over their water issues. We're going to the splash pad every day and we were wading in Georgian Bay, out near Collingwood yesterday. Swimming lessons start the first week of August, so we should be de-traumatized by then.

8. We started Playball last week. A bunch of two-year olds crawling through hoops, chasing balls, running to "the blue square", etc. Followed by french fries in the park. Now that's living.

9. In case anyone thinks I have it tough (what, nobody?), I have a sandals tan on my feet for the first time in my life. Which is impressive for the guy who Darryl likes to deride as "the only person to move to Africa for 3 years and come back whiter than he left". Which is tough, coming from a Finn.