The Little Paper

Recently, I was starting to feel like a kind of satellite of love, orbiting my daughters with purse and pockets full of tissues, snacks, lip balm and sippys; delivering explanations, juice, stories, hugs, squabble mediation, undivided attention and under-doggies with an immediacy the patrons of a five star hotel would envy.

Frankly, it was becoming a bit of a thankless and exhausting mobius loop. I mean, wait a second. I’m supposed to be in charge here. So why was I doing everything but salaaming as I backed out of the living room with their babybel wrappers in my hand?

I never liked Valentine's Day much as a grown up but, now that there are littles in the mix, I actually like it a great deal. Baking sugar cookies, scattering pink and red jellybeans on the breakfast table, making and receiving valentines with my girls and, more recently, helping my elder daughter navigate grade school be-mine-etiquette all combine to make it a pretty lovely little mid-winter holiday.

Once again, this December, The Little Paper has offered local business owners the opportunity to tell you about their products and services in our regular Celebrate the Street feature. While this is in no way a comprehensive list, it is an excellent round up of neighbourhood businesses that deserve your support this season. And it’s a great place to get started exploring and supporting the little cities within our vast metropolis.

Among other things, great neighbourhoods need great people, parks, libraries, schools and green spaces. They also need great stores and services. And the only way to keep those stores and services in your neighbourhood is to use them. It can be very tempting to head out to the big box store off the highway (hey, we do it sometimes too) but this holiday season, consider hanging around a bit closer to home.

October is basically the opposite of February. It’s got lots of great celebrations – Thanksgiving, the Festival of Lights and Hallowe’en among them – great weather and beautiful changes to the season. There’s time to enjoy Fall Fetes, the last of the apple picking, Harvest festivals and trips to take in the colours of the changing leaves. There are pumpkins to carve, acorns and chestnuts to collect and leaves to press.

So, we’re sitting upstairs at a café across from Trinity Bellwoods, enjoying a latté (me) and a chocolate ice cream (the pip), when Piper says, “You know, it’s a lot like Balzac’s here, Mom. The one near Dad’s, not the other one.” And I nod and smile and then I realize, Holy Cow, I’ve so got a city kid. I mean I knew this, I’d had an aha! moment with her older sister several years before when she asked me what a driveway was, but still... this is a five year old who can seamlessly slip from “I’m a fairy puppy, a blue one.” to knowing the exact change for the streetcar; a girl who’s equally at home dancing at The Gladstone as she is navigating the woods in High Park.

First off, I’d like to thank all the families that came out to support The High Park Nature Centre at Totstock last month. Over 1000 talls and smalls showed up to listen to local musicians, hear stories and make nature-themed crafts. Thank you so much to our sponsors, over 30 volunteers and especially to our partners Chris Reed, Don Kerr and Gillian Anderson, who went all out to create a joyful family celebration. Thanks also to the staff and volunteers from The Nature Centre, Rebecca from Bunch Family, the Westend Co-op and the RMRA for their enthusiasm and support!

The June July Little Paper is out and, although the next issue won’t be printed again until August, we’ll be updating the website throughout the summer and will keep sending you Weekend Tipsheets all season long. If you haven’t signed up yet, please do. There’s something new all the time!

I am slowly accepting the fact that I am one opinionated little mother. This will come as no surprise to my friends and family. Even less of one to the women I work with. But for me, it’s been a slow enlightening. And one I’m just learning to embrace. As much as parenthood opens us up to spontaneity and to the fundamental unpredictability of the universe, it also tends to clarify and firm up our beliefs. So in honour of this Mothers’ Day, here’s my shortlist...

Choices – they’re complicated. From the moment your child is born, you’re making them… cloth versus disposable, time-out versus time-in, daycare, nanny, stay at home, breast, bottle, public or private, skiing or hockey. The stakes can seem pretty high and sometimes it’s really hard to know what the right decision is.