Nice people

A non-exhaustive list of some of the people who have been kind to us, strangers in a strange land. Honestly so many people have been nice. I could include our entire branch and most of the people who have helped me out in various stores in spite of my mauvais français. Something about being new and unfamiliar with everything just makes me feel so raw and vulnerable all the time, so every time someone is especially nice I almost cry with gratitude. Thank heaven for good people all over the world!

1. The sweet owner at a children's clothing store where I was buying a dress for Clementine. She said she "loved to practice her English" and asked me all about life in Quebec, told me to visit the île d'Orléans, gave me some tiny macarons while we talked, and quickly steamed the little smocked dress because it had been folded and she didn't want it to have any wrinkles. She gave me her card and said, "Please call me if you have any questions or problems in the city. Not—you know—not just things about my store. But anything you might need. I would love to help you."

2. The man who came up to us excitedly after a meal at a restaurant and asked us in French, "you have eight children, yes? Four sons, four daughters? It is the same for me. My family—four boys, four girls. It is a beautiful way to grow up." He was so pleased about it, I saw him stop and tell the waitress too on his way out.😄 (Didn't have the heart to tell him we had a couple more boys at home…)

3. The lady who waved me down as I was driving along the street looking for parking in the van and told me about an open spot she'd seen one street over. "I see you often trying to park, and I think you are very brave to drive here in this vehicle." Ha ha. Thank you?

4. Our longsuffering downstairs neighbor, who has come up the balcony and leaned through the back door multiple times when only the children are home to tell them to please be a little quieter. "He's always so nice and apologetic," the kids told me. "He doesn't get mad, he just says, 'it's a little hard to concentrate, perhaps you could give a little less noise?'" Bless him for that. We have finally moved our magnatiles upstairs (they come crashing down, when they crash, with a terrific clatter and we finally figured out that it must reverberate magnificently through the floor) so we haven't heard from him for a few weeks now, and I hope it's been better! We have taken those neighbors a plate of cookies and two loaves of bread now, so I hope that will help keep relations smooth.😬

5. Frère Petryk at church, an older gentleman who is very short ("that tiny man," Clementine referred to him as, and then corrected herself to "he's a middle-sized man") and so, so friendly. He was the first person who came to meet us church, and he carries candies in his pockets for the children and jokes with them in the strongest, most twangy Quebecois French you could imagine. They all run up to him with saluts and bonjours now as soon as we get to church. 

6. The owner of the board game store who has made friends with Malachi and speaks enthusiastically in English with him about the latest games. He called Ky personally when he got a game in stock that they had talked about, and he lets Malachi rent games for a week to bring them home and try them out with the family. His store has been such a happy place for Malachi to go, and to bring Abe and Daisy to in a proprietary sort of way.

7. The lady at the English-language Morrin Library who sends me personal emails now that I'm a "member," to let me know about story time and local library-card discounts and other things I might not have discovered on my own.

8. The owner of the casse-croûte (a little restaurant or "snack bar") we visited near Montreal who sent an employee out to tell us that he thought we had a "beautiful family" and he would like to give us some free chocolate cake. This was after we had all trooped into the tiny dining area like a parade of monkeys, taken up three tables, spilled two cups of water, and failed to have a working debit card and so had had to run across the street to get cash at an ATM. It was surprising and humbling to suddenly have someone do such a nice thing for us. After we'd eaten the (amazingly delicious) cake (made fresh every day by the same lady for 20 years, the employee told us), the owner came out and told us again how "lovely" our family was and took a picture of us in front of his restaurant. We felt so special!

9. The firemen at the fire station on Rue Saint-Jean who let Teddy and Ziggy try on a helmet, sit in the fire truck, and even turn on the flashing lights! They spoke in their limited English to the little boys, and were very pleased with Ziggy's fireman costume (or "habit" as they called it😄). We see them out and about sometimes in their fire truck and they often give a little siren blast and wave to Ziggy.

10. Two men in Deschambault who became so invested in my getting out of a tight parking place that they wouldn't let me give up on it. I had parked for a farmer's market and been hemmed in by other cars while I was gone, and when I came back there were literally just inches between our van and the three cars all around me. I tried one angle and then another and finally decided there was no way to get out besides waiting for the other drivers to come back and move. As a curious crowd gathered (people gawk at our van here; I don't know why because there seem to be plenty of other biggish cars and trucks), two men positioned themselves at both ends of the car and started calling encouraging things and showing me how far I had to go with their hands. At that point I felt I had to keep trying, so with great embarrassment I inched back and forth, back and forth, back and forth about thirty times (I'm not kidding) to their encouraging shouts of "Allez-y!" When I finally cleared the other cars and swiveled over far enough that I could drive away, everyone clapped—for all three of us, I suppose!