Hancock family: the H stands for Holy Cow, Are We Ever Great!

Well ... so much has happened in the last six days that it all deserves a lifetime of blogging, but since I’m back in The Mont now and time is in short supply (hurrrmustmarkpapershurrr) I’d better reign myself in. Spent the last two days in Hancockland, the land of never-ending food and hugs, of baby smiles and spit-up, of forests and moms and cousins and aunts, the occasional uncle, the grandma, the animals, the farm and all of its columns of sunlight and dust… man, a lot of good things can and will happen to me, but there is nothing that could ever top a Hancock get-together. Anyone who marries/is born into our family hits the jackpot, in my frank opinion. Maybe Adam or Padma could attest to this? Anyway, I asked cousin Milan what he thought about my jackpot theory:



...and he expressed his opinion by performing an elaborate somersault! That's how we Hancocks express our love for each other: acrobatics.



There are so many brand new people to keep track of! It’s like our family has exploded into a whole new generation of cousins (even though, technically, we’re still on the same generation). We sort of hit a temporary dry spell after the last Thompson boy, who is now [unbelievably] in grade twelve (and whose brother Evan is carrying on my legacy at UWO this year). Then, incredibly, Juling joined us from China, the terrific twosome of Milan and Rishi (who I tried, unsuccessfully, to smuggle back to Montreal with me) showed up, and, most recently, Neeharika made her entrance, and most of us met her for the first time this weekend!

Here is a wee photo exposé of the last couple of days, featuring the newest Hancocks. Little dudes!








I only wish that we could all get together at these holiday moments… Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter usually draw the majority of us to the family farm, but we are most often missing our B.C. and Colorado chapters, since it’s a little more complicated for them to get out here. Hopefully someone will get married soon so that everyone can be together again for a giant celebration (I’ve got my money on one of the Thompson boys – all handsome, all charmers, all drifting dreamily into the marry-able age. Take note, single lady friends of mine! I have their phone numbers!!!).

So now I’m wrapped warmly in the left-over bliss of the whole weekend (and stuffed with the left-over turkey and cake). When I got to the train station in Toronto late this afternoon, there were two lines forming side-by-side: one for the train to London, and one for the train to Montreal. Gasp! The forking road!!! It was a rather difficult moment, biting the bullet and stepping into the Montreal line. I made a mini luggage island for myself and hunkered down in a troubled little cloud of nostalgia. On the train I kept the vibe going by listening to some decidedly “London” music. It was a brave move considering the possible emotional consequences and the growing cross-provincial gap between me and mine, but for the most part it was okay. I know for sure now which songs I can handle and which songs have to be reserved for later days!

There are thousands of pictures left to share (which will likely trickle in later) and an entire blog’s worth of storytelling from Bronwyn and Adam’s stay in Montreal last week (we saw penguins! we climbed a mountain! some of us bought new shoes!). Right now, though, I’m so tired from several nights of sleeping on various couches/window seats/train cars that I’d better give up for the day. I am so happy to see my little T-dot again! He's been following me around ever since I got home, and he keeps tapping my foot and chirping up at me, as if to say, "Is that really you?" This entry has taken a long time to finish because I keep leaving my desk to chase him around. Little dude! I would feel a lot worse right now if it wasn't for him!!!

Time now for sleep, and dreams about family....