Day 8 - An anecdote

The Movie Marathon was a huge success, but boy! Are we tired. As such, I figured I'd post a little anecdote based on a gift from our friend Shelley.

Shelley went to high school with us (her childhood best friend is Dr. Beth's sister) so we've all been friends for years. She lived in Halifax for a decade (we saw her when we were out there in '05) when she wasn't in Belfast or Afghanistan. She's works in community radio, and is working on her Master's in Journalism here in Ottawa (which means we get to see her!). But for a chunk of that time, she was doing reasearch and working in Rwanda. She was back there not too long ago and she brought back a gift for Teddy. It's a gorgeous carving of a gorilla with her baby holding on to her back.

The carving instantly reminded me of a game we'd play with my Aunt Pat's two youngest girls - Hannah and Leah. The girls have always loved Dave and they would climb him like a tree. About 7 years ago, Hannah hopped on Dave's back and Dave started pretending to be a gorilla. Leah (who was 2) took one look at me and begged: "Me monkey back too!" So, I hauled her onto my back and we pretended to be apes interacting and grooming each other. We played that game for YEARS! Hannah's now almost 15 and Leah's almost 10, but they still have fond memories of it.

So, thanks Shelley. And thanks, too, for the CDs of new music. Shell makes the BEST mixes on earth, and Dave and I nearly jumped for joy when she brought ones for us - atypical lullabyes, parental tunes...we can't wait to check them out.