Rowyn’s first friend….. is leaving

Rowyn has made a friend. A real honest true friend. She plays with her every day at school. They hold hands and skip around the gym or take turns pulling each other in the wagon. Every morning Rowyn asks for her friend on the way to school. “Lara, Lara, Lara” she sings. Lara’s cubby is next to Rowyn’s and she always notices her “oat” (coat) and say “Lara oat Mama!” Rowyn and Lara are also potty friends. They go and sit together on the potty. This has really helped Rowyn get more comfortable with the potty.

How am I going to explain to her that Lara is leaving and going to another school – tomorrow? Will she understand? How much should I explain? Have I prepared her enough? Have I made too much of a big deal about her friendship with her? Will she be sad? All relevant questions but none that I have the answers to.


We made a little card for Lara last night as well. Rowyn drew Lara a picture and I put a little message on there with a pic of Rowyn that I took. I said we were making a card for Lara because she’s going bye-bye. I’ve been talking to Rowyn and saying that Lara’s only going to be at school for two more days. This morning I said that tomorrow is her last day and Lara will be going to a new school and she’ll go bye-bye. Rowyn seems very unaffected so far. Not that I really expected her to “get it”. I can only hope that Rowyn won’t keep asking for Lara for weeks and weeks and be disappointed. She won’t be the last friend to leave or move out of Rowyn’s life but does it have to be her first friend?

Down in the T.

I've been at a two day conference downtown this week and it feels like I've been to Mars and back. Being downtown in the city is like entering your own twilight zone. Complete with pink hair, long stringy things hanging from everyone's ears, and sharp spiky things on people's feet. I decided to be "eco" and took the train downtown - okay maybe not so eco as much as wanted to save 2 hours of sitting in traffic...... I'd like to think I managed to pull off the impression that I was an "experienced" train and downtowner but somehow I don't think I quite got there.
My experience went something like this:
I didn't really know where I was going after I got off the train. The train stops in a covered area where you descend down the stairs. I'm thinking to myself - Down the stairs? To where?! I think it's suppose to be to the underground PATH, but it seemed more like descending into an underground city. I was brave (my first mistake). I thought I could just kind of go with the flow (and what I mean is the traffic flow) and hope that everyone was headed to the convention centre - which is where my ultimate destination was. Not so much. I was pushed and shoved and guided along against my will until I realized I was in the depths of the underground with no hint of the surface anywhere. 30 minutes later, I managed to find an exit to the outside world and surfaced 6 blocks from where I needed to be and proceeded to heel toe my way to my destination.
Such an eye opener. We don't live far from the city, but we are far from city people. I remember breathing a sigh of relief when I got off the train and drove my car home and passed a farm, a hay field, and a school with a playground that had grass. My brushes with the T. are small and limited and I'm happy about that.
TD tower, Yonge and Eg, Eaton Centre, and Yorkdale have nothing on my little community.
Know what I found when I drove into the driveway after surviving my two days of train, pedestrian traffic, and utter chaos? My dog, my man and my girl hang'n out on the front lawn raking and digging in the dirt.
I gotta love life.....

Rowyn and I at Easter dinner at my Mom and Dad's house.

Auntie and Rowyn hanging out together last weekend

Rowyn and Auntie having a converation via cell phones...... It was an intense conversation

Daddy's girl. Rowyn mimics everything Brad does. First thing out of her mouth in the morning "Dadzee?"

We haven't quite convinced Rowyn that her socks go on her feet - not her hands