The Day After

The day after the funeral was spent trying to regroup.  I didn't emerge from the third very comfortable bed I had slept in until about 1 pm.  I then had lunch (three scoops of gelato) with my friend Penny and 'the girls'.  These fine women all went to high school together and still meet for lunch once a month or so.  Just like Penny, they welcomed me into their group as an honorary member for the afternoon - so kind.  And the gelato was delicious, too.

After lunch I got to wander around my beloved Parliament Hill for a bit.  I remember being 16 when I first went to Ottawa and saw the iconic (for Canadians) green roof of Centre Block of the Parliament.  I had only seen the buildings on tv and there they were, larger than life.  You can see here that the majority of the building has had the copper roof replaced recently but the Peace Tower in the middle has the fully oxidised version.  When I moved to Ottawa when I was 27, it was a dream come true to work in these buildings, amongst parliamentarians and future prime ministers.  I've written about this before...

Later on I met an old friend who I haven't seen in years.  It never ceases to amaze me how old, strong friendships can be just picked up again as if 7 years haven't passed.  I now see I forged strong friendships in Ottawa and I've been blessed on this trip to see how strong these relationships remain.  

Despite the tragic loss, I'm grateful for the reminder of how much I love the people in this capital city.