WELCOME HOME DAY FAMILY

We have just arrived back in Panama after a 3 week vacation in Canada. During those 3 weeks, we were able to visit almost our entire extended family. We had an incredible time catching up with both family and friends. I will blog some of the interesting events that occurred at a later date, like the blood that dripped on me while at an amusement park, and being stranded on Glenmore Trail, the day of Sydney's grade 6 graduation. Good times!!

Inevitably, I get the questions. One, how was it being back in Calgary, and two, how is it being back in Panama?

Quite simply, it was wonderful being in Calgary. It took me about a day to stop thinking "How do I say........ in Spanish?" I was struck by some interesting things; how clean the roads are in Calgary, how incredible the road signage is, how big the houses are, how clean the floors stay, how few bugs are present, how many beautiful and big new cars are on the roads, how long you spend waiting at red lights, how incredibly dry the air is and how expensive life has become there. I spoke with many people who have taken on more than 1 job to pay their bills in Calgary. I thought life was busy when we lived there, that speed has escalated in the last 8 months, or maybe it just felt that way to me. I felt incredibly grateful to visit all our dear friends and family, but also grateful for the change our family was able to make 8 months ago.

Our time in Montreal was mostly spent being with family. The time flew by, yet by the end, we were all ready to go home. Interesting how that happens at the end of a vacation, any vacation. Your simply ready to go home. I am not sure if it is like waking up just seconds before the alarm clock rings, but somehow, your heart, mind and body knows, it is time to go home. After a 19 hour travel day, filled with much coffee and ice cream and the occasional cat nap, we finally pulled up to our little A frame in the mountains and crawled into our own beds. It felt great.

The other day made me laugh and think, "Welcome back to Panama." The day started late, as I was simply not able to drag myself out of bed, so the entire house slept in. Next, as I was starring out the kitchen window nursing strong cup of Boquete coffee, I suddenly saw our gardener walk by. Both Paul and I jumped and ran down our little dirt road after him in our pyjamas. We have had a lot of rain here, so our grass was up to hip length in some areas and in need of some love. After a quick morning at home schooling, we piled into our car to head to Spanish school, except the car wouldn't start. I thought, maybe Josh had prayed for that to happen. He was not pleased about going back to school after 3 weeks off. Josh promised, he did not pray for that, then suppressed a little smile. Paul started making a few calls, I hauled the kids out of the car and started walking to the main road to grab a taxi. On the way, I turned to be sure Josh wasn't dragging too far behind. He was laughing, a nice change from being sad, because he had just passed a dead chicken, squished flat with the exception of his head, on the side of the road. Ah, the simple things in life that bring us pleasure. We grabbed a taxi, which happened to be waiting at the corner, and the kids got to school with 10 minutes to spare. On my taxi ride home,an extra 7 people piled into a 5 seater Toyota Tercel, making the grand total of people in the taxi 8. You see, here, taxis ride up and down the main road and keep piling people in. The more people, the better the cash. It is also a great way to get to know new people! The entire drop off and return home took 20 minutes and cost me $1.25.

After arriving back home, Bruce , a friend of ours, was already working on fixing our car and I had 2 girlfriends over for coffee. It felt like we had never been away, with the exception of having clothes without holes, a ton of incredible memories and photos, and real maple syrup from my sisters farm, which , by the way, we enjoyed this morning over french toast.


Welcome home Day Family, welcome home!
Until I blog again.
Linda