Today while driving home from dropping Arabella off at school and after receiving a text message from a friend there, it started to hit me. I miss Montreal. After all Max was born there, so we will be forever tied to Montreal and Quebec. It wasn't an easy transition when we moved there, after all it was during a snowy December that we moved in, but once we found our groove it was a really good thing. I'd still be there if it was my choice, but alas, we are a slave to the corporation known as Caterpillar. And when they say jump, Jay says how high and he (we) like that he is in the field and that has its own set of sacrifices but we would rather have that instead of him being stuck behind some desk in Peoria, Illinois. I loved the expat life and if they came to us and asked us to move overseas again, I know we would both jump at the opportunity. It has some drawbacks but there are mostly positives to living the expatriate life and we were very fortunate to have had the opportunity to live in Montreal.
So as part of my healing and trying to move forward, I wanted to put down 39 things that I miss, or will miss about Montreal. Why 39? One for each month we lived there. (Although, there are more than 39 things I (will) miss.) They are not in any particular order but rather just as they come to mind...
1. A Tim Horton's on every corner
2. Hockey and it being like a religion
3. Magic Circle Preschool
4. My "Hot Hudson Moms" and our support system
5. Zig Zag Zoo
6. The in-store made jam at Metro
7. Thai Express
8. Our neighborhood and the mature trees
9. Emily, the best and most amazing babysitter in the world
10. The daily Lululemon fashion show at our pool in the Summer
11. Pointe Claire swim lessons
12. The Lakeshore
13. Bram and his phone calls or better yet his impromptu visits
14. The other Mom's at Magic Circle
15. Canada's colorful and pretty money
16. Loonies and Toonies
17. June's Canada Day and Corn Roast parties
18. Laura and her understanding of what it is like to have a preemie and all the worry that goes along with it
19. Snow, snow and more snow
20. Living close enough to hear the trains on the tracks
21. Being close to the airport
22. Marche Adonis
23. Premiere Moisson
24. Montreal traffic...I know sounds crazy
25. Crepes
26. Truly authentic French Macarons
27. Having Arabella learn 2 languages from such a young age
28. The Wolf gas stove in our kitchen
29. Seeing signage and newspapers in French and English
30. D&B's a/k/a Ditch & Bitch nights with my girls
31. Our neighbors and knowing that if I/we needed anything they would be there
32. The culture and constant opportunities to get immersed in it
33. A simple and less complicated way of life
34. Tremblant
35. Monthly cross border shopping trips
36. Monkey Bar Gym
37. Butterflies Go Free
38. Poutine
39. True changing of seasons
Wow...as easy as it sounded to do, that was so very hard and emotionally draining.
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