Month: October 2009

Elliot and I are nearing the end of our nine-day trip to Ontario. We spent the first day in Ottawa with my sister, my nephew and my mother. Both my parents live on the west coast with me, and I think out of the five or six times I’ve been to Ottawa, half of those times one of my parents has been here as well. Nothing like traveling across the country to see your parents who live in the same province as you.

On Monday Elliot and I drove to Petawawa to see Jen and her kids. The drive was nicer than I expected, especially the last half. Lots of fall colour and rolling hills. We stayed with Jen for three nights, and got to see a bit of Petawawa and the area. On Wednesday we went on a really pretty drive to Black Water, and visited the Sierra Designs warehouse store. I was hoping to find a nice fleece for me, but only came away with a running shirt. Laird slept in the car while we were there, and Elliot was a superstar “watching” Carys while Jen and I shopped. It worked out really well.

Elliot and I came back to Ottawa on Thursday afternoon with Jen and her kids, and Friday we visited the Children’s Museum in the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau. It took Elliot a while to warm up to it, but we ended up staying a few hours. Unfortunately things didn’t work out as well for Jen — not the easiest place to go with two kids and one parent. So she ended up heading home after lunch.

Today started off horribly with a knock at the door. My sister lives on a busy street, and one of her cats was hit and killed by a car. The car that hit him didn’t stop, but two other men who saw it happen did. One of them was going door to door trying to find out who owned the cat, and the other stood by Posho so he didn’t get run over again. I ended up going to get him as Jan was consoling my nephew and trying to find her other cat, who was also outside (he was found). One of the men helped me get Posho into a box, and we buried him this afternoon in the yard. Elliot watched, and as my brother-in-law covered Posho up, Elliot said he’d be safe and sound. Sweet words. I will miss Posho — he was a great cat. And I feel bad for Momo, Jan’s other cat, as the two were brothers and definitely buddies.

We were able to enjoy most of the day, despite the loss. The boys kept us distracted. I had a hard time not crying at first, but every time I cried Elliot would start acting very silly, to try to cheer me up. I was able to have a bit of a cry here and there, but I didn’t want to upset Elliot too much.

Tomorrow Jan and I are going in a 5 km run, and the boys are going in a 1 km “Turkey Trot”. They have t-shirts and numbers, and Hugh at least is very excited. Elliot has told me a couple of times he’s not going to race, but we’ll see how tomorrow goes. Peer pressure might motivate him. The medal at the end may as well.

Then Monday we fly home, very early. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing Amy and Greg — it feels like it’s been a long time. But it’s also been a good trip. Elliot and Hugh have been having a great time together, and I love seeing the cousin bond grow.