Ottawa was a hard adjustment for people who love food, but over the last three years we have found a few things to savour. Mother's Day breakfast involved Aubrey's double-smoked bacon, Sconewitch savory scones and Canadian favorites of five-year-old cheddar scrambled eggs and maple syrup doused raspberry pancakes. Our locally produced brunch to mark a local celebratory day was followed by taking our locally made children to the locally cherished tulip festival. This outing reminded us of things we won't miss about Ottawa, particularly the frigid May days marring Mother's Day moments and the dismal selection of après-tulip nourishment.
My children gifted me variously with an accident-free day of underpants-wearing, and a giant explosion while riverside nursing that involved a complete wardrobe change for daughter and partial costume modification for mom (maternal wardrobe change came later after post-tummy-time spit-up). Note: I am sadly preoccupied with bodily excretions lately between potty-training, nursing, and newborn life, but that's a topic for another time.
The family is now all napping and as I listen to the familiar sounds of birds chirping, the dryer spinning and the calls of children riding trikes on the windy street of my lovely green neighbourhood I realise that though I might not miss Ottawa, being local offers a peace and security that I will surely regret.
