It has taken us a month but we've made it--the last lap of this long journey. We are finally Home, feeling comfortable: an unexpected end to the great adventure and one that completely surprised us. How could it be, we kept asking each other, that coming home was more difficult than settling in a strange place? We thought we were so ready to come home, why did we then long for La Rochelle? My daughter, who has lived in four countries, commented that going away and being away was always exciting, even if frustrating and difficult. Coming home can be mundane and filled with boring tasks. Thus, the French visa procedures, while exasperating had an interesting aspect to them, shedding light on French law and bureaucracy. The Ontario Health Card procedure was so easy it was boring: make an appointment on the web site, show up, no waiting, have your photo taken and leave in 15 minutes, very impressive but not exciting. However, we did laugh over the following warning in the outline of the procedures: "Important: At the appointment, each person may be asked for additional documents." At least Ontarians let people know that they may have to return or that they should carry every possible document with them to the appointment! We are no longer complaining about the state of fresh fruit and veg but have begun to revel in eating Canadian steaks, so much more tender and tasty than French beef. Instead of complaining about the size of Toronto, we are consciously trying to walk more in our daily life. We have begun to say "Hello" to everyone we meet on the street and in shops. They most often look surprised but always respond pleasantly, sometimes even with a conversation. We have realized that we don't really need a plan right now and therefore, living in the moment and enjoying all that is here for us has become easier. And, as it was in La Rochelle, every day now becomes its own adventure.
What really convinced us that we're Home? A combination of events and people. First, there was the Welcome Home party, organized by our family. It was a total, complete surprise and our hearts were full, as
were our eyes, when we realized the time, effort and love that had gone into organizing this wonderful event. We had the opportunity to connect with around 20 friends and family, hear about their adventures and eat the delicious food that everyone had brought.
We then travelled to Ottawa for the second birthday of the third of three adorable granddaughters. While they had visited us in La Rochelle, we realized how quickly they are changing and how important it is for us to be involved in their lives on a regular and on-going basis.
And now there is Thanksgiving. Some of you will not know that the Canadian Thanksgiving tradition is a much older holiday than that of our U.S.neighbours. The first formal celebration of Thanksgiving in Canada was held in 1578. The explorer Martin Frobisher held a formal ceremony in Newfoundland to give thanks for surviving his long journey searching for the North West Passage to the Pacific Ocean. In the 17th century, nos cousins from La Rochelle, who came with Champlain to settle Quebec, held feasts of thanks at harvest time. They formed 'L'Order Du Bon Temps (The Order of Good Cheer)' and gladly shared their food with their First Nations neighbours. For Canadians, this is a special time of year as families gather to give thanks, eat turkey and pumpkin pie and celebrate our great good fortune to live in Canada. The weather
What really convinced us that we're Home? A combination of events and people. First, there was the Welcome Home party, organized by our family. It was a total, complete surprise and our hearts were full, as
were our eyes, when we realized the time, effort and love that had gone into organizing this wonderful event. We had the opportunity to connect with around 20 friends and family, hear about their adventures and eat the delicious food that everyone had brought.
We then travelled to Ottawa for the second birthday of the third of three adorable granddaughters. While they had visited us in La Rochelle, we realized how quickly they are changing and how important it is for us to be involved in their lives on a regular and on-going basis.
And now there is Thanksgiving. Some of you will not know that the Canadian Thanksgiving tradition is a much older holiday than that of our U.S.neighbours. The first formal celebration of Thanksgiving in Canada was held in 1578. The explorer Martin Frobisher held a formal ceremony in Newfoundland to give thanks for surviving his long journey searching for the North West Passage to the Pacific Ocean. In the 17th century, nos cousins from La Rochelle, who came with Champlain to settle Quebec, held feasts of thanks at harvest time. They formed 'L'Order Du Bon Temps (The Order of Good Cheer)' and gladly shared their food with their First Nations neighbours. For Canadians, this is a special time of year as families gather to give thanks, eat turkey and pumpkin pie and celebrate our great good fortune to live in Canada. The weather
is most often wonderful and this weekend outdid itself with clear, blue skies and lots of warm sunshine. The leaves are beginning to turn in the way that only Ontario leaves do. As we celebrated here in Toronto with our family, we remembered last year's Thanksgiving when we gathered our first French friends together to give thanks with us and eat our French turkey 'la dinde immense'. We talked with our family about all that has happened to us since we left, what we have learned and how lucky and grateful we are to have had this adventure. We are glad to be Home at last.
It is just over a year since the first post on this blog. Writing it helped us keep track of our adventures and reflect on what was happening in our lives during that time. You, the faithful readers, helped to spur us on and we have very much appreciated your encouragement and comments. Some of you are friends and some are strangers to us, mysterious readers from Mountain View, California to Chicago, from Wroclaw, Poland to Paris. We loved sharing our time with you. Somehow, we are not sure that a blog about life in Toronto would have the same 'cachet' so this is goodbye from us to all of you. As Dorothy said in the film "The Wizard of Oz": "There's no place like Home." We are really happy to be back.
