December 15th-20th

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The ride home was long and uneventful; my arrival was marvellous. We looped around Saskatoon before landing. With the snow on the ground, and the skies clear in the night sky, Saskatoon glowed like a jewel in our prairie landscape. The crisscross pattern of residential streets glowing amber and the white of the commercial main ways painted with bits of all colours from Christmas lights was truly beautiful.

I hadn't really been thinking and feeling Christmas until I arrived home. Snow covered trees, lighted houses, Christmas trees in windows, even my first Christmas carols made it all real. The best was sitting in front of the fire, drinking wine with Mom, Jacquie and Scott and sharing stories. Canadian Christmas is unrivalled for me.

Coming home means reconnecting with friends and family and all the places and people that feel familiar. There is no exaggerating how important the familiar is when one has been away for months. Butch and I laughed at Dim Sum. I have refused to eat anything but traditional/regional foods while away, so it was with relief that I got to have Chinese when home. I'm rediscovering what home really means. Staying with Mom brings everything close, really quickly. All of the traditions of my childhood, the closeness of our relationship and the dinner parties that bring all loved ones together. 5 days and I'm reattached. The habits of the last 6 months are holding though, to let me see home a little differently. I needed to walk, and the -25 wind chill wasn't going to stop me. Instead of the cold hitting like a wall, because I didn't get to ease into it, I loved the sharp clean clarity of our air and sun. I'll have to figure out a way to downplay the use of my car when I come home for good. Five days is all I get, next we drive to BC, to be with the rest of the family for Christmas.

Good Night and Sweet Dreams.

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