Thanksgiving in Montreal

It was a little crazy to drive all night, but it was also the right decision. We were home from the movie around 10:30, said our good byes to the Benichous, and had Maya in bed in no time. I was packed and balancing my checkbook by 10, and waiting for Eric to get himself ready. I was confused that he was on the phone with his collaborator in Seattle and then with Maurice making last minute arrangements for our visit. I had thought we would be on the road already, but did not want to push, that being bad karma if I hurried him when he was not ready to drive and caused him to crash. He had forgotten his passport at his office too. I worked to be calm, and went to sleep for an hour or two until he announced himself ready to go. Maya had a pillow and blankets in the car, and hardly woke as Eric carried her down and placed her in her warm bed ( she is used to this). I fell asleep too and from 1:30 to 6:30 slipped in an out of consciousness and tried to ignore the roads and the lights and NPR and bad rock music.

I awoke behind a gas station where Eric announced he could drive no longer and had to nap. I did not think I could drive, but after bringing Maya to the bathroom in her pyjamas and discovering that we were in New York State ( I asked the attendant where we were!) I was awake and took the wheel for the next few hours, making good time as the sun rose in the pink sky and the small towns whizzed by. Maya was awake and chatted away. We stopped at Tim Hortons (EVERYWHERE here and in Canada) for oatmeal and bagels and had a short visit at the border. The Thousand Island area is quite lovely, and by then Eric was driving again and we both decided we would have to return in the summer to visit the area in a more leisurely way.

We were stuck in Brockland at a detour which took over an hour to pass, which messed up our good timing and got us to Montreal a couple of hours later than expected. When we got to Maurice's, I did not expect anyone home, so when I unlocked the door and saw a man there I screamed and screamed until I realized it was Maurice getting the place ready for us. We had lunch together and after he left, I called Tara, who was in a great mood and came to visit with us after Maya played her violin (she performed for Tara too). After spending some time catching up, we all braved the cold and walked for half an hour to St Laurent and Indian food for the evening. Tara had to be at her play by 7, so we had to eat early and she rushed off early too. The food was good and we gobbled it up before our walk back to Maurice's. It was so very cold to walk the ten or twenty blocks to their house, which made me more determined than ever to get Tara outfitted for the weather. I survived the walk, and stopped in at the nearby boulangerie to buy a tart for Renee and Maurice, but we were all too tired to wait for Maurice to come home to share it. It will have to wait until tomorrow, when we will spend as much of the day with TARa as possible. She is happy and well adjusted and we are all happy for her.