Small Town Simplicities

Well I have been in southern alberta for about 3 weeks now. I have spent more time here this last three weeks than I have in years. We are defianetly getting anxious and ready to have our family reuntied and start our next phase of lifein Oakville/Toronto but I haven't forgotten to use this month to unwind a little from the hectic hussle bussle of city life. I have had a few experiences in this last while that has reminded me of some of the diffrences in the rural VS. urban lifestyle. First off, I have finally been able to loosen those grips of maternal control enough to let Maci out the door to play with neighbour kids. When I first got here, I only let her play outside when I was able to stand in the yard and watch her the whole time. Last night a little girl asked if she could come play and I let her out on her own. She was so excited to go out and play like a big girl. It felt a little like a kid releasing a trapped butterfly from a jar. I did open all the windows in the house and turned off the tv and dryer so I could hear her without standing at the windows. This may not seem like a big step for most of you, but for an urban mom, not to mention a mom who has worked in Child Protection for the last 6 years and has a jaded and quite untrusting view of the world- This was a huge step. She came back safe and sound at the end of the playtime!! Another little small town moment happened the other day. Lesley was making Lasagna and had gone up to the Trading Company (only grocery store in Magrath) to get some cottage cheese, she mistakingly got sour cream instead. I went up to the store with the 2 sour creams in hand, and asked to exchange them . I had forgotted the recepit. I knew the sales clery( a classmates fathers) and he let me exchange them without the recepit and also told me not to worry about the small diffrence between the two prices. These are things that just wouldn't happen in my grocery store in Edmonton. I still chuckle as I drive around Magrath and EVERYONE waves at me, although I don't know most of them. Usually in the city, if you are not using both hands on the wheel , you are using one to honk with. One more thing, I was able to sign Maci up for soccer a few weeks late and now she is happliy playing on a little team for the remainder fo our stay.That would of never happened in Edmonton. A deadline is a deadline!!!! This is really my last example: I took Maci to story hour at the public library on Wednesday and the lady who was reading the stories is the very same one who read to me as a 4 year old at the Magrath library, Irene Gruiniger is her name and weird enough she looked the exact same even though 20 years had passed. Anyway, these examples are just a few simple things that have stood out to me while we have been here. Being here hasn't convinced me that a small town is where we should be. I feel most at home now in an urban setting, the slow paced lifestlye is ok to visit but doesn't fit for our family right now, especially for Ryan-he is a big city boy through and through but it has provided us a little respite and time for refueling and rejuvination, and for that we are greatful. Meghann

Homeless...floating.......whatever you want to call it

So me and the kids have been floating around southern alberta since them beginning of May. You can find us in Magrath, Taber, in our van(my mobile home) walmart, the park or wherever. We have been crashing between my family in Magrath and Ryan's in taber. They have both been wonderful to provide a shelter to my little vagabond family. Seriously, it feels really weird to not have a permanent place of my own. Well we do but it is on Ontario and our stuff is still on the moving truck for another week. Our whole routine is off and my kids are sleeping really crappy. It makes me appreciate the routine and structure we once had. Maci keeps asking when we are going home to Edmonton and then when I remind her we aren't she gets really sad. I know my last blogs have made me sound like a really wimp but this is all that is on my mind right now. Other things that are going on, Maci has joined a soccer team in Magrath. She will play every sat morning for 1 hour. She was super excited to go buy little cleats and shin pads. Cohen has figured out a new mode of transportation, it is the bum scooting boogie. He doesn't crawl he just bum scoots everywhere. He is getting pretty fast and has already managed to pull a shelf over on himself , unplugs some electrical plugs and dump over a big box of cd's. He is quite proud of himself and I am hoping it burns a few calories as well. I am going out for dinner to a yummy Japanese restaurant with some of my high school girlfriends tonight in Lethbridge so that will be a nice break. WE all miss Ryan and are counting down the days when our little family can be reunited again. To all our friends in Edmonton, especially all my fellow blogging mom's , we love and miss you all already. We loved Edmonton tons and will always have a special little spot in our hearts for our friends and time we spent there