Well, as we were not too far from Canada and a whole wack of relatives, we decided to drive home for the holidays.
Our trip up was uneventful as the only snow we encountered was in California. The kids hopped out to throw it at each other and me and delight in the white fluffy stuff.
A couple days later we staggered into Nanaimo, tired and glad to see so many familiar and welcoming faces at Pacific Gardens Cohousing. The kids settled in at their Oma’s, went swimming and played with old and new friends. Yonas and I caught up on our work and completed our Christmas shopping. I went to a Greek themed community dinner, contributed to and attended the Christmas Dinner Potluck, waved sparklers at a birthday party and we all hopped the ferry to cross the Georgia Straight to visit more family in Vancouver. Another turkey dinner, games with the cousins and rain. The next day I flew off to visit my family in Prince George, leaving Yonas and the kids to ski, skate, and swim without me.
In PG, I attended another delightful Christmas dinner – three in a row! I was in the hot tub every night, catching up with my mom and step dad, skiing with my sister, brother in law, niece and nephew, crunching the snow under my boots and enjoying a few days in the cold. (I arrived during a snowfall warning and am leaving just as the -20 weather arrives.)
I head back to Vancouver in the morning, and Nanaimo by dinner time. I’ll be picking up my family and heading to Comox for a New Year’s Eve Party with some great friends before we hop over to Texada for some quiet island time with the kid’s Opa.
San Francisco is calling, and out boat is waiting. Though it will be a few more weeks before we are ready to return, it has been good to reconnect in person with our family.
Wishing you all the energy, inspiration and time to create another year of fantastic memories – Julia
sailingwith4kids 