Dispatch from Georgetown

While the baby is napping, I am posting a quick update. You know you are excited! Bullet points will have to suffice, though.

• I am writing this post from the computer in Dave's childhood bedroom. We are in Georgetown, visiting my inlaws. They celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on April 26th, and the sons and daughters-in-law (mostly Barry and Wendy) had an Open House for them on the 25th. It was lots of fun. We decided to stay for over a week so that Nanny and Poppy (and the Georgetown family) got to spend some time with Teddy. Dave is working in the Toronto office and I am chilling here.
• It's been so strange to be back, effectively living in Georgetown, for the first time in 5 years. I went to visit my old next door neighbours (my old house looks like CRAP) and they were excited to see the baby and upset about the state of my old house. The town has changed a lot, too -- so much more sprawl! Not to mention Milton -- it looks NOTHING like the town in which I went to high school. WHO IS BUYING ALL THESE HOUSES?
• One great thing, though -- seeing all the friends and family in the area. We are usually only here for a day or two. This time, we've been able to see almost everyone -- and some several times!
• A not-so-great thing: Dave's commute. In order to work the same hours, he has to tack on 3 hours to his day. If we lived here, he'd never see Teddy awake. I miss the people here, but do we ever love life in Ottawa.

In other news:

• Our cats are back at the Pet B&B, having a blast (as evidenced by the photos on the B&B blog: http://tiny.cc/f0s9p .
• My parents are on a well-deserved vacation. My Dad has now lived one of his dreams, sailing across the Atlantic. They hit Madeira yesterday, and are now hanging out in Europe for the next few weeks. LUCKY!
• Teddy is charming the heck out of everyone. He is such a sweetheart.

And on a more introspective note : visting the street I grew up on, and the town I grew up in, I have been reflecting on how the scope of my life has broadened geographically over time.

• As a small child, Pennington Crescent was pretty much my whole life. My friends and babysitter lived there, too, and save trips to church, shopping and to Kingston, my whole life took place on that block.
• Next, my life's geographical area was extended by about 10 blocks (including this street; my childhood best friend grew up 8 doors down from my inlaws). St. Francis was next to the mall and the movie theatre, and all my friends lived close enough to walk to the school.
• In grade 9, the area extended to encompass the whole town and Milton, where we attended high school. I got to know the backroads en route to Milton, where the lion's share of my friends lived. And I knew people who lived on virtually every street in that town, too.
• In University, my life sphere extended outward to Guelph, and to include almost all of SW Ontario to the towns where my new friends lived. Down to Windsor, up to Ottawa.
• By my 4th year, when I started studying abroad with MSU, my horizons shifted as I now had close friends living in the US and existing friends moving all across North America and abroad.
• Now, we live in our nation's capital, and I have friends and family living all over the country, the continent and the world. From one block to the globe -- what an amazing expansion! I can't wait for Teddy to experience the same thing.