Today (I can’t do time zones so I can’t say exactly when), a plane will touch down in Halifax in Canada, and my Dad and my son will disembark, at the start of a trip that they’ve been planning for months.
The two of them will spend the next two weeks travelling around Halifax, Montreal and Toronto, which are the three cities on Ned’s university shortlist. And then my Dad will come home, and Ned will spend another three weeks travelling around Canada on his own.
Can you tell how calm I am? Well, I am calm. (Did you see how calmly I typed that ‘on his own’ thing?) Partly because I know they will have an amazing time. Partly because Ned is 18 now, and perfectly entitled to make this trip, and perfectly capable of managing…
But I am mostly calm because of the cunning plan I have made to keep these two of my three dearest men safe, and happy, and sure to have a brilliant time.
First, I knitted these two hats, and I knitted all of my love and hope for these two special men into them.
(You’ll notice that I made them subtly different, so that if anyone should lose their hat, I will know who it was and be able to make them suffer appropriately knit them another one.)
The next stage is to publish pictures of them wearing the hats. Look. Take a good look.
Because the next stage, O Canadian friends, is down to you. If you see these men in these hats, be kind to them, please. Help them if they look lost. Point them at a restaurant if they look hungry. If you see them in an airport or hotel lobby, give them a thumbs up and tell them I’m looking out for them. (That’ll freak them right out.)
If you’re not Canadian, that’s OK, you can join in too – just let your Canadian friends know to look out for Michael and Ned in their almost-matching hand-knitted maple leaf hats.
I know Canada is quite big, and everything, but if we add up the people who read this blog with all of the people they know who they can pass this along to…. I’m sure we can pull this off.
Have a lovely time, Dad, Ned.
People of Canada, I’m relying on you. Keep me posted.