I got to see my Aunt Charlie! I got to play with Daddy & Mommy’s music friends. And I got to go to the park I saw Mike Holmes fix on TV!
He said
This week started with something I had been looking forward to for some time! Long before I went to California… heck I think long before I even knew I had become a Manager at the store, I had bought Danielle and I tickets for Hayden at The Aeolian Hall. He is very much a favourite of mine going back as far as the 90’s when he joined the music I was into. And as much as I have followed his music since our university days, I had never actually seen him perform. It didn’t help that he is a bit of an introvert, doesn’t tour much and hadn’t played London in over six years. So when they announced the show, you can bet your hind quarters, we were going!
I have seen plenty of live footage of Hayden and heard many interviews with him, and I think I have come to adore his banter and sawdust-like dry wit. So, I was really looking forward to the show! And he did anything but disappoint. We were in stitches in between songs and he ended up playing an hour and a half or more… I think the encore was four or five songs. He more than made up for the time away from shows in London, and I was even able to nab a couple of his records I needed to our vinyl collection. It was an absolute delightful date night in the middle of the week.
What was a bit of a challenge however was Emelia deciding that Mommy shouldn’t be allowed to leave the house when we tried to make off to the show after dinner. She was going to be under the doting eye of her Pappa’s but, despite her adoration of my Dad, she decided that Mommy leaving the house was not an option. Thankfully her best friend Marin from down the street came down with a play invitation, off she went, and we were allowed to go to the show. However… when she came back to the house, she gave Dad a hefty dose of crocodile tears and hard luck about Mommy leaving her. Eventually she went off to bed, Dad found the Scotch and the evening was saved. (Save for Dad not liking the brand of Scotch I had found).
The rest of the week played out with the perfect mix of work and family time in a schedule that afforded us time together in the evenings to head to the gym together and even enjoy some parent time after Emelia went to bed.
Saturday rolled around and it was time for the second event of the week we had been looking forward to for some time. For four years, I have been heading down to the North by Northeast (NxNE) Music festival in Toronto to meet up with music loving friends I have met through CBC Radio 3. One tradition that was born out of this was the picnic that is organized on the Saturday of the fest. It started three years ago in honour of a friend who was moving to Ireland for love, and has continued on since.
With my new job title it was near impossible to get the time off for NxNE like I had in the past. But when I heard that our friend Monica was going to be back from Ireland for the picnic I knew there was no, not going. So we moved mountains and made sure I had the Saturday free. But even better was we planned to introduce Danielle and Emelia to NxNE and the Unofficial CBC Radio 3 Fan Picnic. So, Saturday morning, bright and early we were up and off to Toronto to the beautiful Trinity Bellwoods Park which has been home to this gathering every year.
We had an amazing time! There were friends and faces, new and old, from all over the world: England, Portugal, the US, and parts all over Canada. It was amazing to see the connections we’ve made through a shared love of Canadian Music and connecting with people in the same mindset. And it was nice to finally have Danielle and Emelia part of it. I loved hearing over and over as people introduced themselves to Danielle about how they felt they already knew her because how prevalent she and Emelia are in all of my conversations.
The weather couldn’t have behaved any better and while it was only a one day trip down and back, and I might have missed the craziness that was four-day marathon of musical cacophony, it was a perfect day and I got to see all the people that really mattered from me from that community. And we even got to see Aunt Charlie too! The day ended with hugs, laughter, smiles and goodbyes. It was perfect!
Emelia held up amazingly well for a seven year old who didn’t necessarily who all these people were or how they knew who she is. But, she did manage to get rewarded with some serious play time in High Park… the park she saw Mike Holmes fix on TV… In fact in ended up airing this week. She was over the moon to see the structure they rebuilt on his show.
We got back in time to settle in to a glass of wine on the couch and time to connect just Danielle and I. It was the perfect end to that day!
Today I was up early for work, and Danielle for the usual errands. The kicker was the day ended over at Greg and Testza’s to celebrate Vaughan’s 11th birthday. It was the perfect closer for what was a very perfect week. Family, food and tons of fun. I couldn’t have asked for it any better!
This time next week, we’re off with Wolfie for a week across the border at Lakeport State Park. We’ve all been chomping at the bit for this week together and away from obligations, schedules and routines! Can’t wait!!!
She said
What a busy but wonderful weekend! The week itself was uneventful. Emelia has just about wrapped up her extra activities and with nothing planned for her for the summer we for the most part have our evenings free.
Tuesday John and I did manage to have a date night as he mentioned but other than a workouts our evenings were pretty wide open which was a nice change of pace. We were able to spend time with each other and our neighbourhood friends. Friday John had the close shift so Emelia and I spent the night with our friends (Anna, Grace, Susan and the two little girls) swimming in a neighbour’s pool. It was a perfect end to a sunny summer day. And the perfect end of a quiet week.
Saturday morning the beginning of a busy weekend started. Emelia surprised both John and I by letting us sleep in to 8:00 which got our morning started a bit later than we thought. I will not complain because extra sleep on the weekends is not something you often get a parents. But once we got our butts in gear, we packed our picnic lunch and we were off to Toronto for the day.
The day could not have been more perfect, it was warm but not muggy. The sun was shining and there were lots of people to catch up with. We spent the day with our music loving friends. We caught up with people we just don’t get to see nearly as often as we want. For me it was a real treat because this is the first year I was able to attend anything for the NxNE festival. For the last 4 years or so John has made the trip to Toronto and done the marathon of musical events. I have never gone, I was home with Emelia.
This year our good friend Monica and her boyfriend Patrick were home visiting from Ireland and we knew we had to make our way to the CBC R3 fan picnic to surprise her. Well she was surprised and we managed to catch up with some of our absolute favourite music loving friends. Emelia held up like a trooper. She has been raised as a festival kid so she snuggles in and watching and loves seeing the musicians play as much as we do.
As the picnic wrapped up we were able to meet up with my sister Charlie. This was my favourite part of the day. Charlie and I just do not see each other enough. It is the reality of our conflicting schedules and the two hour distance between our cities. We talk all the time, text all the time but we only really see each other a couple times a year and it is just not enough. I certainly don’t have a lot of family and I cherish the time we spend together. We were able to spend the afternoon together and always there were lots of laughs and the time went by far too fast.
We were able to have lunch together and we even got to go to High Park so Charlie could see Emelia in her pure comfort zone. Playing, climbing and being a kid. Emelia was pretty excited to spend the day with her aunt for sure. She was pretty bummed that her Uncle Todd wasn’t there but we promised her that we would find a weekend soon that we could all go back to Toronto together and spend the whole day together. That made her smile from ear to ear.
Just after the dinner hour we had to bring Charlie to work and we did sneak back to High Park for another play and visit to the mini zoo they have in the park. With a sun soaked tired girl in tow we made our way back to the car and the drive back home. She fought the idea of sleeping for a bit but she did finally crash out before we got home.
That was day one of the two part busy weekend. Sunday morning came far too early but we got John to work and Emelia and I got our normal Sunday errands done. As I was packing the groceries at Costco I got a text from Susan. Would Emelia and I like to go for another swim in the neighbours pool? You didn’t have to ask Emelia twice. She was all over this. We spent the rest of the sunny and hot morning swimming and playing with her best friends. She was in her glory.
By lunch time we knew we had to get a few things in order for both families as we had a birthday party that all three girls were attending for their classmate Abby. We were back to Emelia’s much loved Little Gym. Emelia went to Little Gym for 2 years or so when she was a toddler/preschooler. She just adored it. Honestly she’s a natural when it comes to climbing, tumbling and all things gymnastics. And you better believe that rest of the afternoon after we left the party that is all she talked about. We will see about returning to gymnastics for the fall for sure.
After the birthday party we were on to birthday party #2. Our nephew Vaughan turned 11 earlier this week so we were celebrating as a family this evening. Emelia just adores Vaughan. And once again as always with Teeter family gatherings, there was lots of laughs. We left the party a bit too late and at 10:00 we just now got our very tired 7 year old to bed. I am going to sign off now and enjoy the last of our Sunday.
Next week will be a busy one, Emelia is finishing up grade one, I say good-bye to two of my preschoolers and we plan our week of camping in Wolfie. All in all it should be an amazing week.