Cottages & Nephews (or 1 cottage and 1 nephew)

I can't even tell you how many times I've tried to write a new blog post and yet again I've got a bit of writer's block.  Maybe it's because so much has happened and it's hard to get it all down / articulate my feelings about all the wonderful things that are and have been happening.  However, I'm keen to update, so I'm going to start with two items and save more for posts later on.  So without further ado.....

(1) My 6 days in Muskoka

I only get so many vacation days each year so I usually save them up for a big trip I’m planning.  Next Spring I’m hoping to go to Finland (!!!), for example.  So when my parents rented a cottage in Muskoka this summer, I originally planned on just a weekend there… maybe one extra weekday thrown in to make it a long weekend… but one thing led to another and I ended up taking 3 vacation days and stayed at the cottage from Fri Jul 26 to Wed Jul 31.  I’m so glad I did.

Wellesley the cottage dog

View from the deck

It takes time to relax, and then once you do you need to enjoy it, and then you also need time to ramp yourself back up to feel ready (and maybe even excited) to go back to work and routine.  Going through all those motions is too hard in a weekend; doubling my time made it that much easier.

My favourite meal of the trip; UNBELIEVABLE ribs

One of the things I love about a cottage holiday is that you aren’t expected to do anything!  Unlike a vacation in Europe – where I’d feel guilty if I wasn’t out and about taking it all in – cottages are meant for pure relaxation.

So what did I do?  I relaxed.  I slept (9 hours every night), I sunned (with many, many sunscreen applications), I swam (just a dip in the lake almost every day), I read (finished Jane Hamilton’s The Book of Ruth and started Peter Sims’ Little Bets), I played cards, I chatted with my family, and I ate!  I ate chicken, sausages, ribs (my favourite of all the meats), and more chicken!  You may know I cook exclusively vegetarian at home, so it was pretty wild eating that much meat.  It was a holiday though and that totally added to the experience.

So, clearly, my 6 days at the cottage were divine.

(2) My new nephew

While I was at the cottage the hot topic was my sister as she was due to have a baby “any day now” at that point.  She lives two hours north of where we were in Muskoka, so I felt like at any point we’d get the call and spring to action, driving to Sudbury where she is.  It was all we could talk about and we were so excited for the baby’s arrival.

Unfortunately the baby didn’t arrive during my stay in Muskoka, but he arrived shortly after, just after midnight on Friday, August 2nd.  He and my sister were happy and healthy, and our family was all thrilled!  YAY!

I left on the morning of Saturday, August 3rd from Toronto to Sudbury to visit my sister and my new nephew, Teoman a.k.a. Teo (pronounced TAYO).  I spent about 24 hours with them plus my brother-in-law and his parents, and it was absolutely incredible.  In some ways it was surreal, seeing my younger sister with her baby!!!  In all ways she seemed totally natural, and seeing her with a baby seemed absolutely normal and right.  I always imagined that seeing my sisters become mothers would transform them instantly, and in the case of Ali – my sister – it was an instant transformation, but it wasn’t a jarring one.  She seemed exactly who she is, but then a mother also.  It’s hard to articulate, but it was beautiful to see.  We were talking to each other like nothing had changed, but everything had, but it was normal and beautiful.  I don’t know how else to put it!

I love my nephew!  He’s perfect, adorable, mellow (funny to say, but true), and generally amazing.  I got to hold him a lot and I was just totally taken away.  My mom says nothing helps you stay in the present moment like a baby, and I totally understand that now.

It was a wonderful experience; to see my sister and her new family, to hold a baby on his second day in the world, to help her out and be there for her… all of it!  I love Teo!!!

Currently reading... Little Bets by Peter Sims

Posts to come... my 48 hours in Montreal