So long, farewell.....

I LOVE the movie "The Sound of Music", and one of my favourite songs from it happens when the Captain hosts a ball for all his friends to meet his fiancee, the Baroness Schrader.  At the ball, the children say good night in a way that only Rogers and Hammerstein could have orchestrated, both literally and figuratively.  As they are standing on the steps of their ornate house, they bow and curtsey and each child sings a special verse of their own to say good night to their father, the Baroness and all their guests.  They sing the song again at the Strasbourg Folk Festival near the end of the movie, but this time instead of "Good Night" they sing "Good Bye" because their father is going to the Austrian (i.e. Natzi) army right after the festival, and, unbeknownst to everyone in the audience, they are fleeing Austria.  I always wondered how difficult it must have been as that character to say good-bye to your family, friends and, in a sense, the way of life that you have come to know and love.

Well, now my family is experiencing that.  We have talked about it and we all feel a little bit weird about saying "Good-Bye".  Good-bye implies that we will never see you again.  It is so permanent.  Although we are going 6,500 km across the country, we will be physically returning both at Christmas and next summer.  We will also be taking each and every one of you in our hearts, and, thanks to technology, you will be able to see what we see and experience a lot of what we will be, which is the whole point of this blog.  So....when you see us in the next few weeks before we begin our cross country journey to Tuk, please make sure that you say "So long", "Farewell", "See you soon" or "Until we meet again".  You get bonus points if you sing the song from the movie because I know you will have read my blog!

The kids and Simon in Sarnia.

Now that I have mentioned that, here are some highlights from our last weekend in Southwestern Ontario, some of which we chose to spend in or near Detroit, Michigan.  We went to see my Mom (aka Grandwanna), brother (aka Uncle Darren) and sister-in-law (Aunt Natalie) and Simon (cousin) on Saturday and had a lovely visit.  The kids got to hang with Simon which they all love doing, and the grown-ups had a chance to hang together too.  A good time had by all.  

National Shrine of the Little Flower
Detroit, Michigan

We spent Saturday night near Detroit, and went to church the next morning at the Shrine for the Little Flower, St. Therese of Lisieux, one of our fave Saints, because Laura, my sister-in-law, is related to her.  The church itself was gorgeous and there were all kinds of amazing little nooks and crannies in which to pray and contemplate.  It was very peaceful.  The priest was also very young and enthusiastic, which is a breath of fresh air these days!  This was an exciting mass for me as a mom because it was Charlotte's last time where she received as a blessing as an alternative to the Eucharist.  This Sunday, August 10th will be a proud day for our family as we celebrate her First Communion, along with that of our niece Luisa. More to follow about that in another blog.

The kids and I at the DIA....we were in a hallway of armour.

After mass, we went to the DIA (Detroit Institute of Art) to soak up some culture of an artistic sort from different eras.  We all enjoyed ourselves, and even with my sore back and knee, there were benches galore so I could enjoy the galleries too.  We all had our favourite parts, and it was fun to discuss what they were and why.  The kids had no idea that their ideas of art appreciation were being put to the test, but they all had lots to say and it was fascinating to hear their opinions.  James enjoyed the Egyptian art, especially the mummies.  Patrick liked all the different kinds of armour, and Charlotte loved the paintings by Vincent VanGogh.  Greg liked looking at the First Nations' Art, especially the art depicting a water panther, and my favourite was the entire house from the 1760s that was taken from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and placed in the DIA.  That was amazing!

After that, we took the tunnel back to Canada and swung by Point Pelee National Park, Canada's southern most tip.  The kids had a blast and enjoyed themselves, and the lure of the water was just too much for some members of our family!  Charlotte and Patrick were throwing stones in the water for a while, and then all of a sudden they were splashing in the water fully clothed! I enjoyed photographing the event just as much as they did the swimming.  As I watched the sun set on another day, one I will remember for a long time, and my children were playing innocently in the water,  my heart became very full of love and gratitude to all our friends and family, who enrich our lives with love and laughter.  So long.  Farewell.  See you soon.

Greg watching the sun set, and enjoying the water.

Patrick & Charlotte lured into the water at Point Pelee.