...the future Prime Minister of Canada

So today was my Wednesday coffee date with my my old BFF (aka blogger Maria Pace-Wynters).  I used to love hanging out with her.  She is funny & charming, soulful & authentic, talented & beautiful.  And she used to make me feel super cool just to be around her.  But that was until I met my new BFF, Justin Trudeau. 

Lola and I were just hanging out in Spinelli's (aka The Italian Centre Shop - a coffee shop attached to a great Italian market) with Maria and Scarlett like we do most Wednesdays.  We were having a lively discussion about dog poop and dental anesthesia over coffee and calzones.  It's the highlight of my week, if I'm honest.  Nothing can keep me from it and I mean nothing.  Like the fact that I hadn't showered or washed my hair in a few days. Or the fact that moments before I had to leave Lola had just fallen asleep and I had to wake her to get her coat on.  These days I don't always get it together before I leave the house.  Getting the two kids up, clothed, fed and out the door to walk Meg to school before 8:30 is usually about all I can muster.  I put on a hat and a smile and hope nobody stands close enough to smell me.  If I am lucky, when I get home from our walk to school Lola will have a nap and I will have a shower.  This morning I wasn't so lucky.  But as I told you that will not keep me away from my soul nourishing time spent with Maria..... So where was I?  Oh yah, dog poop and dental anesthesia.... and enter Justin Trudeau. 

Thanks to the excited and sweet Spinelli's employee we got the heads up that Justin Trudeau was on his way over for a cup of joe between speaking engagements.   We had pretty much finished our coffee by this time and Scarlett (3 years old) was finding every way possible to smear strawberry gelato all over her face and the table (she is a dynamic eater, that one). They had begun to move tables around.  Important looking people were filtering into the building.  We probably should have given up our table and cleared off but I was lingering, making excuses, nursing Lola a little more... And then suddenly he was there.  And we were completely starstruck.  After all the man is like Canada's JFK Jr. And there he was standing next to our table asking Lola what her name was.... Ok the man is not an idiot.  He knew she wouldn't answer but I think his words were, "and what is your name?"  He asked her age and talked about his daughter, Ella-Grace, who is 13 months old.  And then Lola began to wail.  And I mean full out, siren-decibel, ugly-faced crying. Did I mention that I had jarringly roused her from her morning nap in order to make my coffee date?  Thank god the man is a father of two small children.  He was so kind about it, chatted a little longer and then shook our hands and moved on.  Maria and I just looked at each other, grinned and pulled out our IPhones to send a few excited texts and try to take covert photos. 

After the initial excitement died down I went to the bathroom to change Lola and came back to gather up my things.  I popped Lola into the sling and was making a few adjustments when "he" walked past our table again.  He stopped to see if Lola had settled down from her previous wailing episode and noticed the sling.  At which point he became very animated about how great he and his wife thought baby wearing was and that babies in Africa don't have colic because they are carried all the time.  He even gave me a few tips on the hip carry for when she is a little bigger.  Was he for real? Smart, handsome and a bit of a hippie?  By now I figure we have a bit of rapport so I decide I might as well put it all on the line and ask to do something I have never done before.  "Would you mind terribly if we could have our photos taken with you?" 

After we left him we were like giggling teenagers.  In our fantasy world we had just had coffee with Justin Trudeau.  We wondered through the grocery aisles putting random things in our baskets.  We went to the check out in a daze and I put my roasted fava beans and spelt pasta on the conveyer.  It wasn't until I got to my car that I snapped out of it a bit and remembered that I was disguising unwashed hair under my funky corduroy hat.... that I had failed to apply deodorant before I left the house this morning... *sniff, sniff*... oh boy... had I even brushed my teeth?  Nope. 

I drove home to return to my glamourous life.  Dirty dishes piled high on the counter, diapers to rinse in my bathtub, papers piled up on the coffee table, something sticky on the floor in the kitchen.... 

Mr. Trudeau, if you are reading this please don't think any less of me.