Family

It’s hard to believe my parents have already been here and gone and are now back home. It was really so nice to see them, and to introduce them to Claire. They wanted to come down earlier, but for private reasons that aren’t mine to divulge, they couldn’t make it until now. But in some ways, it was probably better that way. It’s not like they can come down frequently, so if they had come during the first few months of Claire’s life, they would have seen her mostly sleeping. She is much more interactive and alert now, so in a way they probably got to see more of her.

It was definitely a quieter time here than the last (and first) time they were here. That was two years ago, when Neal and I were getting married. Our house was full of people – staying with us we had my parents, Neal’s parents and Neal’s sister and brother-in-law, so there were always people to hang out with. The weather mostly cooperated, much as it did two years ago, which is good since the “smoking section” is outside on the back deck. It was a little drizzly when they first arrived, and then there were the effects from Irene, but even that wasn’t too bad: Nova Scotia wasn’t as badly affected as Quebec and other places, and it was mostly overnight.

We mostly hung out around the house since Neal was working and therefore had the car, and I wasn’t too keen on putting Claire in my parents’ car as they smoke in it, but that was okay. We did visit Sherry’s on the weekend, and Neal had Monday off to make up for a duty watch he had, so he took my dad out and I took my mom and Claire out.

I know it was harder for my parents this time, what with my dad’s disability. Last time, our main guest room was upstairs, but that is now Claire’s bedroom, so my parents had to sleep in the basement, which meant that my dad had to come up the stairs every morning and go down them every night. They do have stairs at home, but only if they go out, and my dad doesn’t typically run errands everyday. Still, they never once complained to us about those stairs.

After they left, the house felt strangely empty. But thankfully, my in-laws are coming for the long weekend!

Some pictures from their visit: