Random thoughts...

Ready to PAR-TAY!

Yes, it's been a while since I've updated this blog. I could say that I've been busy or some other excuse, but to be honest, I haven't really felt like it. For the few people who would have liked updates in the meantime, Je suis désolé. But now that the summer is winding down (and I'm supposed to be writing a cover letter for a job application-I won't elaborate for fear of jinxing it) I thought I should post something. So here are some random thoughts rattling around in my head. 


Maddie has gone back to Florida (she's been in school a week already). Summer always flies by, but this summer seemed to pass at breakneck speed. We celebrated L's 7th birthday this past week as well. A couple of weeks before his birthday, he exclaimed "I can't believe that I've been alive for almost 7 whole years, and I still have a lot to learn!" Aha! So he has been listening to me. It's not selective hearing, it's selective responding that my son suffers from. He's managed to make more friends than both of his parents put together, so we invited a few of them over to play in the pool.

Speaking of friends, we've all made a few friends through the soccer league L plays on (and I sort of assistant coach). Because of the language barrier (did I mention that NOT ONE of the kids can understand me?) we've asked some of the parents to step in if needed. We did get a few dads to join our coaching "staff", and thankfully they are bilingual (as is our head coach).  So now that there are a few of us standing around during the games, Nick also has someone to talk to. Last week he was speaking to one of our other assistant coaches and found out that he's a cardiologist. Do cardiologists make it to their kids' soccer games? Not only does he show up, but he's confident enough in his attendance to volunteer to help coach!? We also ran into him at a Childrens' festival last weekend. Weekends and evenings free? Maybe the pay isn't as excessive as in the US, but at least he can spend time with his family. (We did catch him eating some sort of roast meat with cheese and mayonnaise sandwich at the festival, though. Guess he knows where to get a quick angioplasty?)


So, now that we've been in Montreal for 7 months, what are our thoughts?  Well, there's lots to do in Montreal. However, they could give their failing infrastructure a bit more attention. The busiest bridge in Canada, which is close to our house, threatens to fall into the St. Lawrence Fleuve. There are now T-shirts with the design below:

“Bienvenue à Montréal”

This is a tunnel that we use to get to downtown. Those concrete pieces are supposed to be part of the ceiling.

As summer approaches its end, our  petit garçon is preparing for second grade. He'll be in a french immersion program this year, so the first month or so will probably be hard on all of us....although he will be with other english-speaking kids, I'm not looking forward to the homework. Especially since I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be able to provide. At least I'll be home to help since I'm not working. It's been 8 months since I left the workforce (the paid workforce, anyway). To be honest, I had higher hopes for myself in the domestic front. I had envisioned a nice homemade dinner every evening, with the laundry caught up and put away, clean house, etc...(June Cleaver sort of stuff without the dress and apron).  Apparently, I'm not too domesticated.