With this in mind, I offer some images from the past 2 weeks.  Click images to enlarge.

Grace’s birthday party:

(Have you read No Ordinary Boy?  Grace is Sallyanne’s 2 year old daughter.  Sallyanne was one of Owen’s really awesome caregivers…)

Riverdale Farm with Angus, on anniversary day:

(Yes, there are many pictures of the goats.  Angus loved the goats.)

Canada’s Wonderland, on the last day of the season:

I arrived to pick him up and the kids hadn’t yet returned from their outing, so I joined the other adults (friends? family?), who were enjoying some wine and conversation.  They had been at it for a while and I don’t drink, so I mostly just sat back, listened, enjoyed the atmosphere and the anticipation of hearing the boys’ excited tales of the evening.  They finally came back, immediately dumped out their sacks and started to compare who got what.  (Brief aside:  someone got 5 cans of pop?!)

Lots of laughter, photos, stolen Coffee Crisps from the loot. . .  then, a question from behind me:  “Is he your only child?”

I turned to look at the woman who asked–she was, as they say, half in the bag.  In a friendly, amusing way.  Just making conversation.

I stalled for a moment, said “One is plenty!”

She was still looking at me.  Knew my thought was only half finished. Waited patiently for me to finish.

It was on the tip of my tongue. I almost said, No, no he’s not.  He had a brother.  He died a year ago.  He was 12.

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But I just couldn’t do it.  Not here.  Not now.

I nodded and mumbled, looking away towards the boys, “Yes, he is.”  And felt a little bit sick for saying it.

A year. Such a long time. And no time at all.

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We visited Mount Pleasant cemetery yesterday, in mid-town Toronto. We purchased a niche – a box space made of granite, located in a free-standing wall constructed in the Garden of Remembrance. It will be many months before the engraving is completed to mark the space, and we haven’t decided yet when Owen’s ashes will be placed in the box. But it’s now ours, for placement when we’re ready.

We’re in London UK and sadly, leave tomorrow…  What a fantastic city this is!  We did everything and yet barely scratched the surface.  Highlights:  London Eye, Victoria and Albert Museum, Spitalfields and Brick Lane markets, dinner at Ottolenghi, dinner at Wahaca, dinner in Chinatown, quick sandwiches at Pret and EAT (notice a theme…?).

Our South Kensington mews townhouse is steps away from the tube station – getting around has been so easy, especially with the Oyster card week-long pass.  Highly recommend VRBO.com – 5 of us in a 3 bedroom townhouse for much less than a couple of London hotel rooms.

Interestingly, this city seems to be so inaccessible for wheelchair users and yet I see people with disabilities everywhere, especially children with severe disabilities in custom wheelchairs.  Is my radar up, or do people here just get out more…?

On Owen’s birthday itself (August 18 – he would have been 13), we did indeed do the London Eye and visit the Aquarium to see the penguins (although it was hard to overlook the disturbingly haggard appearance of the penguins in their very small enclosure).  You’ll notice in the gallery below some artwork Angus made for Owen, as well as the little Domo creature he bought for Owen the night before (which matches his own, at home). I bought a small gift for Angus to commemorate Owen’s birthday:  a Lonely Planet travel book with a page for every country of the world.  Could we become world travelers?  Why not.  I like to think Owen is cheering us on…

To see the full images, click on a photo for the slideshow.  (People in the photos:  me, Angus, Carsten, my mom – we all traveled together – plus my brother Ben who was visiting his girlfriend in Kendal but joined us for a few days, my brother John who lives in London, and John’s girlfriend Zofia, who lives with John.)