Living just enough for the city

Not much to share today. Just thought I'd post a few cool pics from our Sunday walk in Leslieville. We (I) wanted to check out the relatively new espresso bar west of Queen and Broadview, Darkhorse (brilliant name). I was suitably impressed by my double Americano and organic date square. I will most definitely return.

On the subject of Leslieville, I doubt I'm the only one who passes by the China Lily factory on Queen East and wonders why someone with vision and cash hasn't done something cool with it. The location is choice and the building itself is neat to look at. Maybe I'll win the lottery and open my authentic soda fountain/pie palace/ crafters den - The Sill Pillow.

Oh yeah---remember the psychiatric assesment fiasco? Well, all is well. I got my letter from my former therapist and I'm in the clear. An excerpt from the thoughtful letter:

"I feel whole-heartedly that Sarah has settled into a stable, calm and happy life in Toronto with Don. As a couple I feel they will offer a youngster a wonderful and stable home..."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Year of the Baby?

It's the year I turn 35---quite possibly the very age I've idealized since I was about 19. Ahhh, 35---life will be PERFECT then.

So naive.

But the irony is---despite the wisdom I've gained and the disappearance of the rose-coloured glasses, I'm actually feeling like this could be a very good year. Admittedly, a large part of this has to do with the optimism around being matched with a baby. The journey has just begun and I have every reason to think we're good candidates. We're officially in the game now (*see our booklet above) and we have a lot to offer, if I do say so myself. I'm sure this confidence will come back to bite me in the ass but for now, it's serving me well.

I happened to be in Ottawa on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (mainly to meet with my former therapist to update my paperwork to appease my family doctor on the mental health question) and at the suggestion of our social worker, I arranged to meet with one of the better adoption licensees in Ontario. I spent over 2 hours with her and walked away with a better idea of what we're in for, in the way of birthmother expectations. One of these expecatations that threw me for a bit of a loop was the surprisingly common practuce of "name sharing." Essentially, it is what is. The birthmother shares her favourite names with the adoptive parents and it's agreed that the baby will have at least one name of the birthmother's choosing. Personally, I have a bit of difficulty with this, but it's not something that I couldn't come around on. My only condition would be that Don and I choose the child's first name (which, by the way, we already have a nice roster to choose from).

Had a great tine in Ottawa, hanging with brother Doug and my expectant sister-in-law. They're clearly made for each other as evidenced by the above picture.

Will this be our year?

How can I not be optimistic about 2007? Starting in about 2 weeks, Don and I will be officially "on the market" looking for a baby to call our own. We'll be calling on friends and family letting them know our situation and asking them to kindly keep us in the back of their minds, should they know anyone who might have a connection to a young birthmother.

Our last homestudy meeting is on January 11th, and our adoption worker will be drawing up her report on us shortly thereafter. We're also attending an "adoption intake" meeting at the Toronto Children's Aid Society on January 10th. Here we'll learn what's involved in adoption through CAS and possibly what/who is currently available for adoption. Even though there are obvious risks with adopting through CAS, we're curious to know more. I'll keep you posted on that.

We started out the new year today with a lovely walk in the Beaches. The weather was incredible (although, we did just see Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth' and I can't help but temper my glee at the mild temperatures with a certain amount of fear and concern for our planet's future well-being...)

Anyway, the locals were out in droves with kiddies and dogs and lattes in hand. It was great to be one of them---even if we only had each other's hand in hand.

My resolutions this year?

1) Learn how to sew and embrace my inner craftiness

2) Become more physically flexible

3) Eat more wisely

4) Obsess less about real estate and home renos (Damn you, HGTV!)

5) Read more

6) Keep in better touch with friends

I think that's enough to keep me busy.

*Above pics from our walk this morning