The Vancouver Edition

I am writing this while tucked into my nephew's Star Wars themed bed.  I am displacing the poor boy while I am in Vancouver meeting my new nephew, Isaiah, and helping my sister out.  It has been so nice to be here this week.  It has been rather chill, as the weather has been wet (typical for November)  and Tovah is not up to her usual stamina.  It suits me just fine!  I joked that we have pretty much just gone from meal to meal while I have been here.  However, I did get to take the kids to their weekend classes and even got to see Marli in a horse show!  My sole reason for coming this week was to help Tovah.  I made no plans, and had no expectations for entertainment!

I only get to see Tovah, Josh, Judah, Marli and now Isaiah once or twice a year.  It pains me that I am leaving on Friday.  There is always so much anticipation for these brief visits and the heart ache of saying good bye is palpable.  Tovah, Josh, Kerry and I watch each others kids grow up on FaceTime.  My kids miss their cousins so much, and I know that Judah and Marli miss them just as much.   But, despite the physical distance, we are all so close.  I speak to my sister at least once a day, and the kids are always Facetiming.  Tovah is an active aunty in my kids lives, even if it is over the internet! Kerry has special jokes with the kids and my kids feel a special bond with Josh.  We work hard to make sure that they are all close.  And this summer at Camp George (and hopefully more going forward) will be extra special!  My three, my niece Abi, and my honorary nephews Tyler and Ben are so excited to show Judah the CG way of life.  And with Alesh and her friends being CITs, Judah is going to be spoiled rotten with attention!  Cousins are such special relationships and we have to work extra hard to ensure our six stay close.

So, while I miss my family so much, I am savouring the time I have here.  I am concentrating all of my time on Tovah and the kids.  Josh knows I love him but I think he is ok when I leave him alone!  I am doing what Tovah wants me to do.  I am holding that precious little baby as much as possible.  Not only to give Tovah a break, but to savour the moment.  I am playing Uno (I now know that my 6 year old niece is a card shark) as much as possible and doing puzzles and reading stories.  I am waking up early and being present in their lives.  I am getting hugs and cuddles whenever  I can.  I miss these little people so much and I want to make sure that they know how much I love them.  I know that if they lived in Toronto, we would spend so much time together.  I know that there would be sleepovers and visits, and baby-sitting and dinners.  I know that the kids would share activities and  experiences.


But, for now, we need to savour the face to face times we have and make do with the FaceTime calls. We will always be close because that is a priority.

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