Best Street

I've been asked if I'm glad we moved back to Toronto...and yes, it was the right decision for us. I really miss my old job and I really miss my family, but you can't have it all. I love that Felix is getting to grow up near cousins (not much liklihood of that happening on my side of the family, unfortunately) and in a multicultural city where he could take up activities such as falconry or see things first-hand such as the chalk art at Nathan Phillips square last week.

One of the very best things about our life here is our street and our neighbours. Last night was the annual Harvest party in the tiny but vibrant community garden at the end of our block. Felix sprayed the garden with the hose happily for about an hour and then ran around with all of the older kids with a huge smile on his face. Screeching, jumping with joy, etc. He knows the names of most of our neighbours and exactly which house "Bob" "Peter" "Odiiiiiiin" "Alex" "Ollie" etc live in. His big smile playing with everyone in the park reminded me that this little being is so much like his Dad and I who love being in the midst of a big warm group of friends and get absolutely giddy and silly.

The community feel of our street (and I'm sure I've blogged about this before) actually reminds me of the best of those Saskatchewan close-knit community events...except it is a bit different because in Toronto you have a zillion different choices about what you could be doing on any given night, and most everyone on our street chooses to hang out with each other, light a sparkler, and go for a walk around the tiny garden (with Joni Mitchell blasting) in memory of everyone's favourite neighbour, Janis.