Meeting baby for the first time

Kathryn and granddaughter #2 - Did you notice Murphy?

We picked the worst possible time to travel to Edmonton with the historic cold snap that took over the city.  When we arrived on Thursday, the temperature was a balmy -31° C.  That was warm compared to the conditions the next day, where -40° C felt like -55° with the wind chill factor.  We brought our dog, Murphy, with us; he has never experienced cold like that.  He couldn't walk on the snowy ground for more than 30 seconds before trying to hover.  The freezing his poor little feet felt must have been insufferable.  

Fortunately, it was much warmer inside, especially with a baby to hold.  My son and daughter-in-law's second child was less than a month old and their first was about to celebrate her third birthday.  So, here we are, bundled in layers and walking around stiff-jointed while enjoying the company of the newest member of our family.  Even Murphy seems to have acclimated a bit; after holding his business in for almost two days he finally managed to be outside long enough to take care of it.

We are staying at a motel in Leduc, about a 15 minute drive from my son's house.  He is letting us use his van so that we can ferry ourselves back and forth.  The room we booked was in an outdoor section of the establishment.  It was so cold outside the room couldn't warm up past 15° C, even though the thermostat was set to its maximum value.  The desk clerk let us try a neighbouring unit, but the result was the same.  All of the spare heater units were spoken for, so we opted to book an inside room.  It's nice to get up in the morning and not see your breath.

We are here to both visit and help.  Kathryn has been holding baby (Emma) and playing with Nora.  The parents are both very tired because the little one is not sleeping well.  The extra help is a relief to them and greatly appreciated.  I am cooking, buying groceries, and working on my Cell phone photography course book, 2nd edition.  I have got about 10 pages reworked so far and have another 30 to go.  I will be teaching a class shortly after we get back to Kelowna next week.

This certainly will be a visit to remember.  Icy motel room, hovering dog, and a warm baby to cuddle.  Life is certainly full of surprises and blessings.  

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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