notes from the city

I'm not even going to weigh in on Pope Francis except to say, Yay!  Mucho excitement about what the wonderful Holy Spirit is up to.

I find myself this March Break in Halifax with the twins and Baby Sarah.  This was a long-planned trip but we only broke the news to the kids a few days before departure.  We made sure that Ben and Joe won the consolation prize, tickets to see the Ottawa Senators.  Somehow, in their limited understanding of family economy, an NHL game is equal to a week in Halifax.  Whew.  Let's not talk about Isaac.

I have now spent over eight years in small Ontario towns and a trip back to the city is becoming increasingly foreign.

Here are my thoughts in point form.

1.  Taxis still exist.
2.  No evidence of ice fishing.
3.  Teens accessorise with something other than camouflage.
4.  Everybody has a dog.
5.  I am not the only runner.
6.  It's true, we do have a big family.
7.  People derive their ancestry from places other than Ireland and Poland (which leads to the next point).
8.  There are Protestant churches.  (No, the MV school gym doesn't count; nor does the ill-attended Anglican Church.)
9.  Macdonald is not a strange name, Kutchkoskie is.
10.  A religious Jew could not survive spiritually in Barry's Bay.
11.  Where are the pickup trucks?
12.  Where is the sawmill?
13.  What do you mean you can't readily identify hunting season on the calendar?
14.  Everybody is renovating and the only people who look familiar are the workmen.
15.  Not every ambulance contains an acquaintance.  Sirens are not a cause for personal concern.

Off to put Sarah to sleep.  And in news almost as exciting as Habemus Papam, I am going out for supper after 6pm with a real, live friend.