April 26, 1978 was the day that we moved into the house in which I am currently living. At that time there was just this first set of carriage homes built and all but the one next door to me was occupied. It was not occupied until early July when the family of two parents and seven children moved in. Sort of funny in a way as I was the middle child of seven children. My husband did find it overwhelming to have so many children next door and would come in from the yard to get away from all that but gradually he did get used to it somewhat as they did not actually spend a lot of time out of doors as the years passed. Sometimes I think that was behind his looking at other houses (single family) up on the hill as they were built but he did love this house. The rooms were large enough to suit him and the yard was always the selling point for him. Nothing he looked at had such a huge yard and he did love to garden when he wasn't working. Spring would find him out there shoveling away the snow from his flower beds year after year. He waited breathlessly for the first snowdrops, the crocuses and then all the rest to come up. He did so love them. So this year April 26, 2024 we have lived in this house for 46 years and there isn't anyone left now that was living here before us. It has been an interesting run. The first year I was busy with my little one at school (a tuition student at the local 4 year old kindergarten) in the fall and helping out one day a week at her school. I was also volunteer secretary at the local Anglican Church (my parents always went to Church when they came and I always went with them. The priest needed secretarial type help and so I volunteered). There wasn't a United Church nearby at that time and Edward really wanted a United Church. That did actually happen through that year but I had committed myself to my Anglican Church that year and wanted to wait until the next Fall which we did. In the meantime I had become involved in some volunteer proofreading/copy editing work which kept me busy whilst my daughter was in school. It was a special time in some ways as I now had some time to work through my ideas of where to move to next in my personal life. I was interested in doing my masters and did pursue that idea. I had had a second miscarriage when my eldest was two so was taking it easy in terms of excessive exercise (I am prone to excessive exercise!) just in case but as my daughter got older the desire to have more children was disappearing to some extent on my part as I approached 35 I must admit although when I did become pregnant I was very content but cautious to ensure that I did not miscarry again and I was very excited about the upcoming addition to the family although also busy as I was Brown Owl for my daughter's brownie pack at the local Roman Catholic School, I was volunteer secretary at Edward's United Church (he became treasurer so spent time in lines doing the banking that he needed done) plus I was teaching him to do that bookkeeping since I had taken a bookkeeper course in my high school days, I helped one day a week at my daughter's school working with 12 French Immersion students at a time improving their reading in English, and I ran five kilometres most days so I stopped running as that seemed like a good idea. Although it turned my world upside down once again I decided not to pursue my masters not long after she was born and instead started proofreading journals for the National Research Council having spent the year when my second daughter was an infant marking papers for the professor with whom I had planned to do my masters. It was a good fit; I preferred to be with my daughter and I enjoyed proofreading/copyediting. So the years passed during which I continued to help with the various organizations that my daughters attended and helping at their schools and doing some work for which I was volunteered (my husband did have that tendency to volunteer me to help here and there including his United Church (he just thought it was something that I would enjoy because I had been volunteer secretary at the Anglican Church!). Then I suddenly went back to work outside the home after proofreading/copyediting for private printers for ten years and I stopped doing anything here (except for keeping score at my daughter's baseball games!). From that point onward I seldom talked to neighbours or even knowing who they were and it pretty much remains that way. Surprisingly when I do walk about people say hello as if they know me which is very kind. But now as I contemplate selling and moving on I will leave behind being the longest living person on the street (I do not think I am the eldest; at nearly 79 I suspect there are people older than me)! Sort of funny actually.
Yesterday seven items left and I was just a little nostalgic for the trunk as it went out the door. But it all went except I changed my husband's old overstuffed rocking chair for my blue stuffed chair since I wanted to get rid of one of them and my daughter wanted to keep the other one. It didn't really matter which one. The wooden fireplace was a brute to move; Edward and I carried that one in and down the stairs so do know how heavy it is. The bed took a while to take apart but was glad to see it go without damage to the walls. The rest of the things were easy to move out and it was done in 1 hour and ten minutes (three hours had been allotted). They actually came early around 10:30 in the morning because they were already finished with another project I gathered. I would say they did a good job although did leave their tool kit behind and I had to send a message in to their office to let them know that. I just left it between the doors for them to pick up (always handy to have a front entrance like that and I did watch to make sure they got it as did my daughter!). So now I have a huge empty room and we can begin the process of bringing all of Edward's material that still needs to be sorted into one room where I have a scanning station and can also take pictures if items that are too big to scan. It will also become the book room and I will move my two bookcases into there. The closet is huge and I will be able to put all the boxes in there with a schedule to show placement making this task a little easier. Who would have ever dreamed that I would still be sorting original pictures and material three years later. All of my originals are with my sister and it is an incentive to ensure that there is a place for everything as I near the end of life. I will try to get that all organized so that my daughters do not have anything to do except bury me. But Edward's decline although over a period of a decade was very slow and it always seemed that there was lots of time until there wasn't. He had done a good deal of organizing and giving away boxes himself already. But now the room can be set up and the downsizing of all of that material can commence going to cousins who are into the genealogical history of their shared families and it will not be lost.
Still a little swelling in my eye although coming down nicely. Sometimes a little headache if I do too much on the computer so avoid that. Concentrating mostly on my Latin still as I will not do any heavy research until early September.
I think that looking at the pro-Palestinian encampments the worst part of all of this was the protests helped to prolong the war and the deaths/injuries by supporting the terrorists Hamas. They gave Hamas an impression that there was hope for success in their desire to commit genocide against the Jewish people and for that I do condemn these protests in our streets and universities. They started with a lie - the Palestinians have never had a right to any Israeli land once the decision was made in the United Nations in 1948! Obviously we can not have Palestinians (even Palestinian-Canadians if such a people exist; myself I think we are Canadians with no hyphenation and my English roots are just as complete as any Palestinian roots!) teaching in our schools or working in any way with our children. We can not have adherents to the philosophy that is spouted by Pro-Palestinians involved in our schools including universities. It is false what they say. We need to ensure that the social media is corrected when claims are made supporting Hamas. I do not see that Hamas, Hezbollah or the Houthis have done anything for the peoples in the countries where they have taken over from the legitimate governments there. None of these countries are self supporting or efficient and remain on the verge of collapse at any change in their status. They should not be so generously supported by the United Nations when other peoples like the Rohyingas have so little support but lots of enthusiasm to become good corporate citizens if they ever get the chance. Having terrorists to fight their cause (genocide of the Jewish people) should be eliminated and not supported. It will always be a mistake to support terrorists.
Breakfast and then Latin; on to the day.
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