Life and Death in Canada

It's been a while since I've blogged, owing to some recent major life changes. Now I'm sitting at the Ministry of health (these titles always sound so Orwellian to me), and that gives me time to catch up a bit. 

And that's really what I've been doing this past month: catching up. First, I had to get caught up on school work. I got behind by three weeks, just waiting for my bags to arrive, and my schedule to slow down. But after weeks of burning at 100%, I'm glad to say that things are starting to slow down a bit. I finally caught up on school work, and now I'm staring down the barrel of a big project and an exam. And then, rest!

I've also been catching up with friends and family. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get to everyone yet. Conflicting schedules and long drives have kept me from seeing some loved ones, but I'm getting there.

On the home front, Dara and I decided to move into an apartment, in the very building we once lived less than four years ago (we got a two-bedroom this time, though). We agonized over this decision for many reasons, but in the end, we were compelled to move back to our old place, right on the subway line!

On paper, it may seem like we're moving backwards. We're living in our old place, and I'm working at the BCE place building (now Brookfield Place), just like I was years ago. But while the details may seem similar, we've made some changes and things are different. I went away a single customer service agent, and came back a married appraiser. In any case, we were quite content with our old neighbourhood, and are quite content to be back there again. Two drawbacks: common laundry facilities and no central air. We deal.

And finally, I cannot comment on the events of the past weeks without mentioning the passing of our dear Papa John, Dara's maternal (and my adoptive) Grandpa. Papa John left us last month after a long struggle in the wake of a series of debilitating strokes. True to his fighting RAF roots, Papa fought for a long time before passing on a cold February day.

He was one of the kindest people I have ever met. I have always said that, though I am different from Dara and her family, clinging to my dubious claims of Jewish heritage (hey, my Grandma's maiden name is Hirschfield, and my Dad is Jewish... that's gotta count for something, right?), Dara's family has always made me feel welcome. Non-blood relatives always remark at how close this family is. I say "non-blood relatives," instead of outsiders because, people who know this family are always invited into it; there are no outsiders.

I mention this because, as Patriarch of this great body of loving people, Papa John had more than a little to do with how the family conducted themselves. He raised a great family, and he will be remembered by them always.

I look to him as a model because, like me, Papa was raised without his Dad. Despite this fact, as his kids attest, he was a great father and a great Papa. He always greeted me warmly, with a kindly "hello Dear," and as was attested during the funeral, he had no shortage of good investment advice.

For all these reasons and more, I will miss Papa John. But I'm very glad to have met him and to have been, however small, a part of his life.