The Last Days

The family at the beach.

My last three days in Connecticut weren’t quite as exciting as the first couple. On Sunday, we went to the beach. It was rather pleasant – I love ocean beaches, and I collected a few nice shells. We also had an awesome lunch from the deli in the little park village just down the shore. Overall, though, it was pretty uneventful, save for both my mother and myself getting massive sunburns. I’m still in a good deal of pain, even two full days later.

On Sunday evening, the adults went out to dinner; this left me, my brother, and my sister to babysit four rambunctious toddlers and small children. We managed okay, though, and we got paid in pizza, which was excellent.

On Monday, we didn’t get up to much of anything; I didn’t want to move, due to being crispy all over, so I drew instead, prompting endless questions from the kids, as long as their attention span could keep them hovering over my shoulder – about five minutes at a time over a period of several hours. My aunt and uncle gave me a beautiful journal and some inking pens that evening, as a graduation gift.

The next morning (that being today), we got up rather early, as my aunt and uncle’s family was leaving early in the morning to catch a flight out of state to visit some of their relatives. I took some pictures of a bird in the backyard, and then we drove home. I spent a while writing on my laptop in the backseat, but then my battery died and I was left to listen to Franz Ferdinand on loop again.

Oh, the joys of monotonous travel…

Going to the Fair

The classic fairground centrepiece.

This evening we went to the church fair just down the road from my aunt and uncle’s place. It was held in the building’s parking lot, with your classic portable small-fair rides and carnival stands. It wasn’t big, but the kids were sure excited; I don’t know that they’ve ever been to a fair like this before.

It was an interesting experience for me, who has been to many similar carnivals in Canada. There was something different about this one; a distinctly American flavour, from the candy stand lady with the Southern drawl who called me honey to the colours of the American flag adorning everything. And there really were American flags everywhere – even splashed across the wristbands we bought to guarantee us entrance to every ride. You wouldn’t see anything like this in Canada, except maybe on Canada day; even then, it wouldn’t be held in a church parking lot with rented carnies.

The carnies, too, were a wonderfully mixed group: a portly gentleman who smiled when I thanked him, a guy with a shaved head and what looked like prison tattoos on his face, an African-American man with the Rastafari colours embroidered on the pockets of his capris. This isn’t something you’d see just anywhere; typically, they wouldn’t be in a church parking lot, either. As I was walking home, I saw that the people in the house across from my aunt and uncle’s had set up a pavilion to host a party in their backyard. This is the real East Coast American heartland, and I can’t imagine a better place for my cousins to grow up.

On the Road

Well, today the vacations begin in earnest. Yesterday was graduation – I’m still not over it, by the way – and then I went out to dinner with my family, my grandparents, my girlfriend, Nami, and my best buddy, Meaghan. I got a camera for a graduation present, so as of now you can expect pictures to start showing up in my blog posts. Meaghan cut out for a while to go to another friend’s grad, but then she and Nami and I all crashed in my room. This morning we got up at eight, Meaghan and Nami left, and the family headed off to Connecticut to visit with Aunt Zed (short for Elizabeth), Uncle Colin, and our new fostered/adopted cousins.

The drive itself was not particularly exciting. In fact, I’d say the highlight of the ride would have been listening to the Tonight: Franz Ferdinand album for the first time – which was excellent, by the way, and I heartily recommend it. I took a few photos, but not much in the way of excitement.

My aunt and uncle's house: supremely New English.

I could tell we were getting close when the scenery started to take on a decidedly “New English” feel. You may not really recognize the term, but I feel like you’ll know the look. The houses are square and flat-fronted, with shutters, windowsills and window boxes, front porches, and American flags; it’s the sort of place where the roads wind, the village fire halls are more often than not contained in a barn, turkeys walk by the side of the roads, and the signs are hand painted. I always feel like the people who live here are the sort who bake apple pies and leave them to cool on their windowsills, take picnics in manicured parks, still borrow eggs and sugar from their neighbours, and are intensely – but politely – proud to be American. It’s a foreign environment, but a homey and welcoming one.

We arrived at my aunt and uncle’s house to excited young children shouting and were introduced to our new cousins. The oldest, Isaiah, is four; he is followed by Keanah (Kiki) and Aniah, three year-old identical twins; and baby Tatiannah, one and a half – yes, that’s right, the baby has my name. They’re very sweet kids and were very happy to meet their new big cousins.

Everyone is reading.

After bouncing off the walls for a while, we settled down to dinner, and then the kids went up to have their baths and go to bed. Now we’ve settled in to a thoroughly calming, comfortable atmosphere. For the first time in quite a while, I feel peaceful. The future holds many unknowns, but for now, there is no need to worry. It’s slow and sleepy around here, with a bit of an old world feel; whatever may come, I’ll be looked after.

The Adventure Continues!

Oh, the adventures that can be had when at home alone!

Here it is! Mine is blue.

As of today, I am more or less living out of my suitcase. It’s spectacular, by the way. I easily managed to fit about 95% of the clothing I’m bringing into the damn thing, and it’s not because I’m not bringing much. Oh no, this suitcase is deceptive in how small it appears. It’s defying the goddamn laws of physics, currently containing approximately fifty pounds of clothing with ease. It’s got wheels and multiple carrying straps, too, and it’s very stylish. If anyone’s interested, it’s a Ricardo Beverly Hills Essentials duffel, and I am rather glad I got one for Christmas. Thanks Nana and Grandad!

The giant pile of clothing on my bed (having been stuffed into my epic suitcase) has now been replaced with the other items I’ll be bringing along with me, such as a few books, some posters, framed pictures, my doll, some games, the gum I’m addicted to, and the remaining accessory-type items that didn’t quite make it into the suitcase. These things will soon be packed into a second suitcase and/or a carry-on case. I still have some other things to collect, but overall I’m way ahead of the curve, which is good to know. I was worried about not getting everything done on time.

Once I’m done with this stuff I’m probably going to move on to my bathroom. As the bathroom is part of the house package that’s being rented out while we’re away (my bedroom is not) I have to make sure it’s spotless. I also promised my mom some help with removing general personal belongings from the public areas of the house.

Fun fact for all of you: packing the majority of your clothes into a suitcase makes it difficult to get dressed. It’s 2:56 in the afternoon, and I’m still in pyjamas!

Using Avatars

Just a quick note for anyone who’s interested in having an avatar accompany their posts if/when they comment on my blog: I run this blog through WordPress, which is gravatar (globally recognized avatar) enabled. To get in on the action, sign up for a gravatar account here. All you need is an email address, but make sure you sign up with the same one you use when commenting: the way it works is by applying your gravatar to your email address on any gravatar enabled site.

I’ll be off to do some more packing soon. Have a good day!

So It Begins…

It began a long time ago for my parents and the family, but it’s really beginning in earnest today for me. Yesterday we sat down to plan what we’re doing for the first little while; today, I started going through my clothing. Most of the clothes I own are currently stacked in piles on my bed, awaiting packing. I have a big list of everything that I have to include sitting on the desk beside me. And I’ve finally managed to get myself into the mindset where I can think, yes, this is actually happening, and I am actually leaving in less than three weeks.

It’s something of a daunting prospect, really. Of course it’s exciting, and I’m looking forward to going, but at the same time there’s something very symbolically depressing about packing your entire life into two suitcases, a carry-on, and a messenger bag, and leaving behind everything you know. There’s still a lot to do, and a lot of preparations to make.

Right now, it still hasn’t quite hit me yet, but if I know myself, I know it’s going to hit when I’m getting on the plane to leave my home country. I’m really going to miss everyone, but it’s more than that: I’m just plain going to miss Canada. I’m going to miss Canadian bacon, maple syrup, poutine, speaking English, the amazing mints and gum I’m addicted to, my favourite downtown shops, being surrounded by my own things, living next to Lake Ontario. I’m adjusting. But the first few weeks are going to be hard.

More to follow as the packing adventure continues tomorrow and the madness goes on for the next week. There will be time enough to be regretful later. For now, I’m just going to enjoy every second I have left.