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Lessons from the past, a key and some hard work for the Carr’s in week 13

History Lesson
After the outbreak of the Second World War and the resignation of then British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, the First Lord of the Admiralty – Winston Churchill started one of his two terms as arguably the United Kingdom’s most noted Prime ministers. Known as a dedicated leader, a brilliant orator and grand statesman, Churchill would be given many honours and titles over his lifetime including, by decree of the Queen, a state funeral after his death January 1965. In Canada, the honours included, naming a street after him in Mississauga. Stretching from Lakeshore in the south and Caledon in the north, connecting Peel with Halton and Wellington County, Winston Churchill Boulevard is a major and busy thoroughfare and a fitting tribute to a grand life led in such civic service.

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)

Stretching from highway 427 in the east and Carlisle, Ontario well west of Mississauga, Derry Road, has its origins a little further back. As a very busy pioneer trail, in the early 1820’s, it gave way to many small hamlets and rural communities along its path, including Malton, Mount Charles and Meadowvale. Mount Charles, at the corner of Derry and Dixie, but for a cemetery and a couple of now boarded up buildings shows no signs of its fascinating heritage. However, both Malton and Meadowvale, although much different from the time of the horse and buggy, still play key roles in their respective communities. Malton, as the current home to Toronto’s International Airport and the birthplace of the Avro Arrow and Meadowvale as the first village to be incorporated into the then new town of Mississauga in 1968.

And now, where a long history meets a great world leader you will find the new, very happy home of the Carr Family, because when we are asked by the pizza delivery company “what’s the closed intersection” we will happily say “Derry and Winston Churchill”.

The Keys
Thursday could not have been a longer day if it had tried. That was the day that the lawyers would have all the “i’s” dotted and the “t’s” crossed and the key and money exchange all taken care of for our little house deal of the century. Waiting all day was not what we hoped would happen, but as it turned out just the way it worked out. 3:30PM, Nathalie’s phone rings, with the lawyers name as the caller ID, so this could be very good or very bad and it was. Good that is, the keys are ready! The call came while in the line at the MTO office to officially change our address, so we stay and wait our turn but as soon as we are done, we take the quick trip to the office, and un-ceremonially, pick up the little envelope with one single little key. One little key, but a significant, powerful instrument, that will unlock our family’s future.

Some hard labour
Today was the first of what we are hopping will only be 14 days of some mad renovations and in only 7 or 8 hours, we accomplished way more then I could have imagined. Nathalie and I are sore in places we didn’t even know we had, but we are on our way. Look for before / after pictures coming soon and more recaps as we go!

In closing
Driving to one of the many “stuff for the new house” shopping trips this week, while stopped at a red light the girls made us laugh out loud. You see on the boulevard to the right of the car, dancing in the sun and almost it would seem playing, a large murmuration (I looked it up!) of starlings was pecking through the grass. What made us laugh was the phrase Jordyn coined and the conversation the girls had after the statement. Jordyn said, “Birdie Work, it looks like they are doing birdie work”, Julia in her best cartoon bird voice says, “You do this, and you do that” Then Jordyn adds in her little boss birdie voice, “Hey, don’t do it that way, do it this way”. I am not sure where they got the voices, but it was way too funny, and just the statement “Birdie work” is one you can’t say more then once without a smile appearing on your face.

I hope your birdie work goes well this week, and I know a couple of birds in Mississauga that will be very busy!

Thanks,
Jim

A Tooth, a House and the Dance, week 12 in the continuing life of the Carr family.

The Dance

“Exactly 5 ½ years ago today, I met someone who changed my life, and now would like to make that person my wife, so through the power of radio, Nathalie de Rooy, will you marry me”

Words I wrote and produced into my proposal to Nathalie that aired in Toronto, December 20, 1995. I guess it is no secret she said yes, but what you would only know if you where there that beautiful Saturday, a year and a half later in a Church in Scarborough when we stood at the alter and exchanged our vows in front of family and friends was how great of a day it was.

Last year, while attending a Jewish wedding of a friend, the rabbi talked about the importance of the wedding ceremony, and the fact that everything in your life together will always come back to this important day as the symbolic day of beginning. Both Nathalie and I talked about how much that made sense and that we had never looked at it like that before. It is easy to see that now, if we look back to how great of a day it was that warm July afternoon, 13 years ago this week for us, it was the first of so many wonderful things that have happened to us as a married couple.

As you can imagine, 13 years in any relationship will have an ebb and flow, and for two very passionate people we have experienced a lot, but all said and done, I look back to my wonderful life with the one I love, and I would not change anything if I could. The only wish I may have is, that the new people in our lives that where not there could somehow magically be in attendance. To have ALL the wonderful people that make a difference in our lives today, share in our celebration 13 years ago would be a blast. If you could have seen how stunning Nathalie was, to see the smiles on both of our faces that never left all day and to see us dance under the stars at the end of our night, you might have been able to imagine what lay ahead. The children, then in our hearts and minds, now running around and making us laugh each day and the house we would make a home and the friends we would eventually have. I can tell you this, life as it is now is much better then anything I could have imagined and for that I thank my love and dance partner of the rest of my life.

Marriage is like dancing to an ever-changing song, the beats are different and rhythms are new, but the partners follow along…

I love you Nathalie!
xoxo

The tooth count
Julia would like to point out that this week she lost another tooth and scored the crisp new 5-dollar bill from the tooth fairy. If you are keeping score, she is up $10 with one tooth still on the verge. She keeps counting her money and I am guessing dreaming of all she is going to buy with her loot.

The house
We did another drop in visit for measuring the new house this week. It turns out that the first time we did some measuring; a couple of weeks ago we missed some stuff. This time in the car going home, we realized we missed something else this time too, but with only 6 days until we get the keys, we should have enough to go by. The family we bought the house from is so nice, and so very accommodating that I think it is a good sign of things to come. He was so happy to show me the box of manuals and important house related stuff he is leaving for us and I am happy too.

In closing
I am even more of the belief that everything that happens, happens for a reason, this week after hearing some news about the first house we put the offer in on. It turns out a family that we know put in an offer after ours was rejected because we did not want to pay what they had it listed for. They did want to pay, so won the house, but it turns out it did not pass the home inspection. Some major electrical issues it turns out and so unfortunately the family that we know canceled the deal and are moving to Milton.

So the life lesson this week is a recurring one – Everything in life happens for a reason, and in the moment, you can’t always understand why and sometimes you are even upset about it but in the end you are better to just let it ride.

Let it ride and look for next weeks blog to be a bit of a history lesson, and a blow by blow of picking up the keys to our first house!

Have a great week!
Jim

Memory lane, a Fridge and the house countdown, a quick and simple but just as filling look into the life of the Carr’s for week 11

Memory Lane
Having to be in Toronto to do some “home get ready” banking, I was able to turn the ride into a nice little trip down memory lane. Having to be in the east end of Toronto, I was able to go and pick up the “little girl on a corner”, Grandma Elaine and bring her to the Caledon estate for the weekend. I was early and because she lives a couple of doors down from my first school I decided to go for a walk with the girls. Not only was it my first school, but it was also my twin sister’s first school, and the school where my much older sister met her husband.

“See that tree girls, I climbed on it when I was your age” and “that part of the playground was not there, wow it has changed!” I was only there for 3 years, and that was back more than 34 years ago, so my memories are somewhat vague, but after talking about the visit with Debbie and Guy I was able to come up with some names. Like Mr. McGargle, the school janitor, who was always sitting on the pipe that is still coming out of the ground by the middle door. He had a wooden leg, and let us kids bang on it with our hands. Mrs. Fryer was my kindergarten teacher, and I do remember Mrs. Armstrong as my grade 1 teacher. I have driven by the school a lot over the years, but never walked on the long since gone footprints of my past, but sure glad I did it today and had the chance to do it with the girls.

House Countdown
We are 13 days away from getting the keys to our new home and the countdown is on in so many ways. Obviously, we are very excited for the future in our first home and the new memories we will create with friends and family under its’ roof and can’t wait to get started, but the thought of the two week TV reality series style renos we are planning are a little taxing on the brain. We have secured a painter, and that is a load of our minds, but we are still currently planning to do most of the work ourselves. Nathalie does not think it is funny, but I keep saying I have spent a lot of time watching HGTV and TLC, so I am very confident in my ability.

Tooth Update
Well the tooth watch at the Carr house did see a visit of the tooth fairy over last weekend, and we got out of the tooth fairy visit, because it happened during a sleepover visit at the Shea house. It was our change to finally break the $20 dollar pattern, established a bunch of years ago so thanks to the wonder woman for taking care of that for us. We are still keeping an eye on two loose teeth.

Fridge
What is it about your fridge that you love and can’t live without, or what is it that you don’t like about it? Do the shelves move? Does it have the freezer on the bottom?
We have been looking over the last week for all the new appliances and have been going back and forth about the various merits of each of the appliances and each of the features and what it is we need and don’t need. We don’t know if it is going to be black or stainless, or if we are going with Frigidaire or Maytag. The only thing that is clear after all our shopping is we need a fridge with an icemaker and a water dispenser and we can thank the house we are staying at for that. The girls have lived on cups of crushed ice for the last 10 weeks, and I just am not sure how that will go over in the new house if we don’t have a button that will deliver their favourite treat.

In closing
This week was filled with pool time for the girls and computer work for me and I am sure glad the Wi-Fi works under the tree, in the shade outside, allowing me to work and watch the play time. The other thing that surely has caused the shortage of good material for the weekly blog, is that the girls are sleeping too much. Not only is it messing up the story content, but also it is messing up eating patterns. They can’t figure out that when they eat breakfast at noon, that there is NO lunch. Maybe a snack before dinner, but there is no time for lunch.

There might be some time for lunch on the weekend!

Thanks for reading and have a great week.
Jim