Hello friends,

Can it be November already? When I stop and think about how much has changed in one short year, I’m floored. At this point last year we had no idea that we would have a child on our hands, and it might have been the furthest thing from our minds. And since then we’ve packed up a house, said goodbye to our friends and families, changed jobs and continents, lived out a pregnancy and had an Edie here in Australia. It’s crazy to think that when we get back to Canada in December that I’ll look pretty much the same as I did when I left back in February…But that I was almost 30 pounds heavier in between February and now. And just so much is different. Life has definitely been happening at a whirlwind pace for Tim and I, and Edie now. Actually, I had a thought the other day that I have no recollection of any events in September or October (other than Edie’s arrival). None whatsoever. What a weird and incredible time in our lives.

For those interested, Edie tipped the scales on Saturday at 5 Kg. That’s a whopping 11 lbs. She’s also 59 cm long. We’re so proud of her! Not that she’s had much choice in the matter, but she’s growing so well. She also had her 2 month immunization shots today. Ouch! She didn’t take to the needles very well but compared to my tumultuous history with needle getting (a few freakout sessions of my own), she handled it like a pro. She seems to be sleeping it off at the moment.

On Saturday we also participated in a community-wide shading initiative where the council arranged for volunteers to plant young trees along the streets in our neighborhood. The council already had holes dug and the trees ready to go in the ground, so we all went around with shovels to put the trees in during the early hours this morning. It was fun! And quick. There were a lot of people who showed up to plant so in the end it became a bit of a race to find trees that weren’t planted yet. We got a message notifying us about the event in the mail this week and we’re glad that we got out to it. The trees will be maintained by property owners and it seems that this type of event has been quite successful in the past. The people we spoke with told us that there is generally a 5-10% mortality rate. Given the heat here and the poor soil conditions generally, that’s a great success rate. We were surprised to find that as we made our way back to our house, some land owners had already removed some trees. I’ll admit that it angered me to see this, but I’m not a landowner, and don’t know the motives were for doing such a thing. Because it was an event planned by the Council, I’m sure that the by-laws are such that the Council can plant trees at the roadside (I’ve looked into the by-laws and I get the sense that the “frontage” on property here is 3 m, although that information is buried in heaps of legal mumbo-jumbo so I’m not completely certain…I also learned that no person shall expectorate OR emit any nasal discharge onto the footway of any street in the city). Either way. Taking the trees out seems…sad. The event was supposed to be a community building event, so the tree-removers would have missed out on that aspect, and more trees just seems like a good idea. Especially for shade here in hot, hot Australia.

Speaking of heat, summer is here. Full-on. Il fait chaud mes amis! Guns n’ Roses would find no cold November rain here in the Southern hemisphere. How are we handling it? Well, the AC has been on this week and there’s been lots of hanging out in the knickers (Aussie-speak for gitch). It’s a bit brutal for Edie and I because it means that walks are pretty much out of the question unless we go first thing or at the end of the day. This makes for a long day of sweating it out inside the house. Once we have a car on our hands I’m hoping we’ll have a bit more flexibility in that respect. I’m glad that we’ll be in Canada for December. Apparently that’s the hottest month here, but I’m sure that January and February will be up there as well. A common thing to do here is to celebrate Christmas in July so that people can roast their turkey and ham in their ovens and not die of heat-stroke. Right now the oven being on adds so much extra heat to an already too hot house. I’ll say that I’m very happy that I was pregnant during the winter here, summer would have been unbearable. But it’s nice to see the summer leaves, flowers and animals back out. Apparently Brisbane is known for the abundance of Jacaranda trees which bear a purple flower at this time of year. They are everywhere and are so pretty to look at. The gekos are back as well. Yay! We missed seeing them around. It also rains more frequently in this season, which is nice to break up the humidity. We’re having a cracker (Aussie-speak for a good thunder storm) right now.

I was asked this week what I do when I see someone on the street begging for change (money change, we do have friends that hit the street begging for social change, just to differentiate) and it got me thinking. The first thing I thought was that I usually either mentally or physically check my pockets to see if I do have change, and if I do I usually hand it over. I must say that I’m a bigger sucker for people that are playing music (especially the harmonica, particularly old men). It made me think though, of how many conversations I’ve had about this topic with people, and how many different ways that people respond to begging or panhandling in general. I think that it’s safe to say that the big reason for being hesitant to give money to people who are asking for it on the street is how that person will spend it. I guess there is also the feeling that if I’ve earned my money, I shouldn’t be asked to give it to others, but I’ll leave that one alone for the moment. Tim and I have had a number of heated discussions about what responsibility lies with giving a panhandler money. I think that my feelings lean more towards the idea that if I give money to someone, it’s not up to me as to how that money is spent as the small amount of change won’t greatly change their situation (assuming that the person earning a living this way due to battling addictions or not being able to hold a stable job for other reasons). Tim has argued that it is. The classic argument for this one is “I won’t give it to this guy/girl because they’re just going to go spend it on alcohol or drugs, etc. instead of food”. I understand this to a point, but by not giving the money and simply passing by, I’m not solving any problems for that person either. It’s not helping them to not get alcohol or drugs by some other means, or to kick their addictions. Then again, my giving them change doesn’t solve any problems either. I guess I feel like it just makes their day a little easier since I’m not addressing the larger problem…But that’s a guess on my part. I have a friend from undergrad who I witnessed take a beggar to McDonalds to purchase a meal instead of handing him change. It’s an interesting way to get around the way that people spend their money thing, but again, doesn’t get to helping out with the reasons that the person is panhandling anyway.

Getting to know the people who are asking for money is probably the best bet…But it takes time and not everyone is comfortable with this approach. It is definitely one of the most rewarding things that I’ve ever done though. Actually, getting to know people is generally always rewarding to me in some way, no matter who they are. But that’s me. I don’t have to look very far to see that we’re not all people people. While on the subject of poverty though, the Homeless World Cup is being held in Melbourne in December. Homeless World Cup, you ask? Yup. 56 countries have national representation at this tournament this year. Teams are made up of the homeless and unemployed and most countries have both a women and a mens team. These teams train throughout the year and for a lot of the players, this training is one of the only sources of stability in life. Since soccer is so easy to pick up, and requires minimal equipment, and is so well known worldwide, it makes getting players out easy as well. If Tim and I were here in December, we’d definitely be trying to figure out how to get there. The most recent spectator numbers for this tournament is over 50,000 fans, which is pretty remarkable given that the whole thing only started in 2003.

Well, to sign off on this one, in the spirit of a favorite movie of ours, I give you Edie’s top 10 tunes of the first 9 weeks of extrauterine existence.

10. Pop Goes the World – Men Without Hats
9. Burn Baby Burn – Bruce Cockburn
8. Grade 9 – Bare Naked Ladies (they called me Eddie!)
7. Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes – Paul Simon
6. Wondering Where the Lions Are – Bruce Cockburn
5. Louisiana Man – Charlie Pride
4. Cold Heartbreaker – Petunia and the Loons
3. Kiss an Angel Good Morning – Charlie Pride
2. Doggie Bounce - Crazy Dogggz
1. Just a Bum – Greg Brown

Edie has also learned how to vocalize this week, so she can actually communicate without crying, which is lovely. She has what we call CBA’s, which are code-name for cute baby alerts, and the scale ranges from code yellow (some smiling) to code red (smiles and full-on baby talk). It’s true, we really are “those parents”. The kind I used to make fun of.

We can’t wait to get home. Love to all until then!

Laura