Season's Greetings

By Alston on December 26, 2007 9:31 AM | | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

And happy tidings. Rose and I are in Brockville right now, and we will be returning to Montreal later today. I can't say that I am looking forward to it. Let's compare the two places.

BrockvilleMontreal
  • A nice, warm, clean, familiar house with plenty of space.
  • Two people that enjoy taking care of things like ironing clothes.
  • Good food on a regular basis.
  • Relaxation and distance from my problems, time to heal and deal.
  • Proximity to my brother, my favourite relative.
  • Proximity to my sister, whose house is like a mansion.
  • Proximity to my nieces and nephews, some of which I know could benefit from my presence.
  • Access to a car if I get insurance.
  • Stores open until six on the weekends instead of five. That makes a big difference.
  • Satellite TV
  • A small, dirty, crappy apartment whose kitchen and living room combined are the size of my 8-year-old niece's bedroom. I am not kidding.
  • Obligations and responsibilities, not all of which I feel I can handle.
  • A sense of futility and frustration.
  • Having to walk around and deal with the metro and bus system, which is normally pretty good, but still.
  • A more complicated way of living.
  • Unfriendly people.

On the other hand,

BrockvilleMontreal
  • Many places are closed Sundays.
  • There isn't really much there in terms of culture, things to do or specialized products. You have to drive to Ottawa or Kingston to get to a Future Shop.
  • It looks like LegoLand in the north end. Much of the Brockville character now looks like the eastern GTA.
  • Little French to be spoken here.
  • As much as I love my parents, they drive me insane, especially my father.
  • Proximity to my sister, whose house is like a mansion.
  • Proximity to my nieces and nephews, some of which I know could benefit from my presence.
  • Access to a car if I get insurance.
  • My friends.
  • Everything I want or need at my fingertips.
  • My job.

Being here really was needed. I've just gotten through a pretty rough time, and I expect that I will be returning to something significantly less so, but there all the same. My body is slowly beginning to get back to normal; it's just taking its time. Like me, it can't be rushed.

Christmas was perfect. It is done at my sister's place every year. My parents went out there around 10:30 which left Rose and I at my parent's place. I pretended that it was my place; it was fun. I enjoyed being able to run the place the way I wanted. We got to my sister's place at 2 pm, my older elder (?) brother's son and daughter arrived shortly afterwards. The children received a Nintendo Wii, a Nintendo DS, and about 8 games. Not a bad haul. And they would say that they are "comfortable". You should see where they live.

Lunch was a little late this year. It's usually at 2, but this year it was 3:30. As usual, a pork meal was prepared for me since I don't eat turkey, and Mom had lobster. The food was delicious; my sister's husband really knows what he is doing in the kitchen. Atferwards, everyone hung out, just doing their thing. Some settled into TV, while others played cards or did something else. It was a perfect day. Rose and I got home at 9:30. She enjoyed her Proust, while I enjoyed some PSP action.

I hope that I don't feel shitty when I get back. Thankfully, I have an outing planned for Thursday, and that should help.

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4 Comments

zura said:

Important: "Like me, it can't be rushed." This is true. Often healing can be taxing in ways we don't think. The long healing processes can be killer in that there is this pressure to "heal and be fine already." Pressure from self and others around you, even. Glad you can consciously take the time that you need.

Myself, I have been at my parents' in Toronto, relaxing, eating and cleverly minimizing the insanity they can put me through. The dial-up access attached to the only phone line in the house is also killing me. I'll be glad to be back, of course. Tomorrow.

(Heh, I almost read "...Rose enjoyed her Prust". Almost. ;) )

December 26, 2007 2:42 PM
DAVE ID said:

Ya don't eat turkey? How could you not eat turkey? But isn't the Anglo-Saxon tradition to serve Roast-Beef at Xmas diner?

It's always hard to come back from those quaint towns and reinsert yourself in the big city even after a few days. But then Montreal has so much to offer but we don't see it anymore. To close to the forest and all.

I may leave soon, for two years to work abroad and I feel I'm gonna seriously miss this gray and brown city of mine.

December 26, 2007 3:11 PM
Alston said:

So soon, Dave? Is this with the Cirque?

To tell you the truth, I am back now, and I feel pretty good about being back.

December 26, 2007 8:17 PM
DAVE ID said:

Yup with the Cirque. Already started doing fly-ins. Qc, Chicoutimi, Detroit, Cleveland and more. Freaky stuff, clowns, acrobats and then it gets weird :D

December 28, 2007 1:02 PM

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