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I Left My Heart In Montréal

Coming home after a visit with family and friends in Montréal is always bittersweet.

I love life with my boys in Pennsylvania, but after a visit to Canada I am reminded about how much I miss life in my hometown. And more specifically, the family and friends who live there.

The boys, of course, had a blast. It was a week of endless seeing, doing, and visiting. We went to the Montréal Botanical Gardens and Insectarium, the Ecomuseum Zoo, and Canal and Locks in Ste. Anne-de-Bellevue. We went out for dinners, visited both the pet store (where the boys got fish for Grandma and Grandpa’s aquarium) and book store (where I stocked up on French books). We threw rocks in the lake across from Grand-Papa’s home. And Grandma and Grandpa took the boys to Donald-Mcs for dinner. Have you heard of it? It’s just like McDonalds, but you get to eat your dessert before your cheeseburger and fries. Grandpa’s imagination is endless. Benjamin and Nicholas love Donald-Mcs.

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The boys check out the creepy-crawlies at the Insectarium.    

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Nicholas smells the flowers at the Botanical Gardens.

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Benjamin contemplates the arctic fox at the Ecomuseum Zoo.

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All three of my boys in Ste. Anne-de-Bellevue on a rainy day.

Oh, and we took an unplanned road trip to Ottawa.

The best parts weren’t found in the places that we visited, though. The best parts were with the people that we saw.  These are the moments that I savor: quiet breakfasts at Grand-Papa’s house, watching the sailboats on the lake…family dinners on Grandma and Grandpa’s patio, where everyone is welcome and well-fed (even the dogs!)…bath-time for the boys with Grandma…stories from Grandpa at bedtime (this time about a grumpy old troll under a bridge)…playing with all of Pierre’s Legos and old toys (which Grand-Papa dug out of the basement)…quiet afternoons with good friends…and a big B.B.Q. with the gang, a chance to catch-up, and to see how much all of our children have grown (and how many more are added to the group each year!).

As the boys get older, they are growing to love all this too. They hugely anticipate visits north, and we count-down the days as they tick-away. Both have asked, more than once, for play-dates with the friends that they met at the B.B.Q. I’ve had to explain, more than once, that it’s a bit too long of a drive for an afternoon visit. Both want to know when we’re going back. In fact, about an hour from home yesterday Benjamin said: “Papa, can you put the car in reverse and drive back to Montréal now?”

For Benjamin and Nicholas, going to Montréal is an adventure full of play and fun and being spoiled by everyone who loves them. For me, going to Montréal is about showing the boys where Pierre and I come from, where their family lives, and where they’ll always have a place to call home.

Let the countdown to the next trip begin.

xo Naomi 

Comments

  1. IslayscotAugust 27, 2012 at 10:09 PM

    Love your blog, Naomi. Earl and I enjoyed seeing you and your lovely boys (all 3) at the BBQ. Wish you lived closer, but am hoping to visit this fall. Glad you had a good trip. Susan

    ReplyDelete

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