For the past month, I’ve been treated to a rerun of Pokemon, thanks to the youngsters temporarily living in my house. Their father knows just about as much about Pokemon as I do, so we smile and shake our heads as the tales pour out – character names, adventures and evolutions.
It’s been a sweet return to the days of young affectionate boys. Mine are long past the age of snuggling and hugging in thanks for simple everyday things, so I’m enjoying the affection. I had the privilege of taking the younger of the two to his first day of school in early September while his elder brother was taken by their father to his first day of high school. I hadn’t been on the tarmac of our local elementary school since my youngest left it at the end of kindergarten a decade ago to head to French Immersion. I managed a quick conversation with a couple of mums who’s eldest children had gone to school with my younger ones and who now had younger ones of their own.
Every day is a new adventure. We’ve made chocolate chip cookies (declared “heavenly”, much to my amusement), visited farmers markets and shared the wonders of the natural ravines near our house. Tonight we’re planning birthday celebrations for their father – soon after I post this, I’ll be making birthday cake with the assistance of at least one – if not two – young chefs. They like licking the beaters as much as my own two boys (and daughter) did! It makes me smile to see their pleasure at making sure they get the last little bit of butter and sugar mixture.
As my daughter and I are teaching them about Canadian life, so too is she getting a lesson in diversity. We are treated every day to a “proper” Turkish breakfast, which includes a few things we’re not used to having in the morning. Hurried morning meals of cereal or toast have been replaced with sit-down meals including tomatoes, peppers, plain yogurt and feta cheese. Trust me – as strange as it sounds, it’s delicious.
A mix of Turkish and English fills the air (what would the equivalent of Franglais be??) as we pluralize Turkish words with English endings (cocuks) and toss English words into Turkish sentences (Raincoat’in nerede?). I smile when I hear about opening and closing things we turn on and off. And they smile when I make a mess of Turkish vowels. Somehow, it works.
The kids’ mother arrives on Wednesday. She has finally had her last working days in Istanbul and I imagine these next few days will be bittersweet for her as she gets ready to leave that life behind and permanently rejoin her husband and children. They are certainly very excited for her to arrive – as am I. They’ll spend another couple of months with me until they close on their house and start their Canadian life for real.
In the meantime, I’m going to take advantage of every last sweet thank you and hug I’m offered. These years are precious and go by so quickly. Having a second chance with them is worth every Pokemon story I hear.
