Neighbours

Ah, yes...neighbours. As in people situated near each other and not the unbearable Australian soap opera that Mark may or may not like to watch (shhhh).
Neighbours can be wonderful things...they can also be terribly irritating sources of frustration. Do you have any horror stories? Thankfully, Mark & I have always had pretty cool neighbours.

Today we hung out with a local dad who brings his daughter to the same Family Literacy Centre that we attend- it's in the school across the road. This father, his wife & daughter happen to live just up the road from us. Either Mark or myself take Adelaide to the centre at least three mornings a week from 9-11:30AM (she squeals with delight upon arrival and immediately runs to give the teacher a hug) so we see the families there quite a lot. It's great. Great for kids and parents.

When we lived at Sherbourne & Wellesley we had an amazing neighbour right next door to our apartment. She was from Montreal, need I say more? We would go back and forth to each other's apartments in pyjamas most often, sharing food, wine, movies, and company all the time. It was so much fun. We thought we would never score a neighbour like that again. She was our Kramer.
We had to move, but we still see her. In fact, we got together last week and accidentally happened upon a cozy ol' diner on Richmond ... I love those kinds of discoveries :)

Today we were just really blessed when our new friend arrived for one of many successful & thoroughly enjoyable play dates. It's the little things, right? Turns out he was a DJ, just like Mark, so they had loads to talk about. And his wife is going through the same immigration process that we just emerged victorious from. And their two-year old is beyond adorable. Yes, above and beyond!

There are seasons in life. Living here, living there. Having one particular job, having another. Dating, engagement, marriage. Times of little, times of plenty. Everywhere I look I see that this is the right place for us in this season, or chapter of our lives...and I see it clearly. The right friends and Kramers are gathering around us to form what I like to call a beautiful mess - a tight-knit, caring community.
That's what we need...people, and support :) An unashamed MUST-HAVE.
Do you feel the same?

Just this morning, when grocery shopping with our housemate (who is still patiently awaiting the arrival of baby - I knew you would ask!) I thought to myself ahhhhhhhh I LOVE THIS!

I guess these baby steps towards community are really leading us somewhere...