Thinking Allowed: CAPITALIZATION

We have been in Ottawa but not long enough to call it a relationship. She (yes I think Ottawa must surely be a girl) has been good to us and cared for us during the long shutdown. We have roamed her streets and cycled her paths and seen our reflections in her numerous waterways. Some of it was a new experience but mostly it was more like watching a well loved movie with a tub of popcorn. Ottawa is a bit like living in Canberra but with snow. and Canadians. and different trees. Maybe we like to live our life with capital letters. We got to experience three seasons in a week (from snow to shorts). When we arrived a few months ago we were ice skating and sledding and now we spend hours bicycling, swimming in lakes, and boating. It's been an odd time these past few months but we were lucky to wait out the storm with family. In reality it isn't quite what we expected of our year but good things have come out of our time in Ottawa - Aurora completed a book covering the entire middle school math curriculum, Sophia read up to four Hardy Boys books a day, Tova discovered a love of bicycling fast and skate parks, Zadie learned how to jump off high things, Sophia and Tova discovered that they actually enjoy each other's company and have become inseparable, Aurora played Ticket to Ride enough times that she can now beat her parents and does so regularly, the girls discovered they don't care much for black flies, Jakob developed a passion for Chess and has traveled the world with openings, Zadie and I have done more puzzles than we can count, we have cooked lots of food together and made desserts we had never made before, we created our first walking escape room, and we have enjoyed getting to have family close by. Montreal - we will have to catch you next time because this year is all about the capitals.