Oh Canada. Forever our absolute spirit boosting, balancing, perspective gaining landscape filled with resounding love, wide-open spaces, peaceful silence and breath-taking vistas. Biased as we are, Canada rocks.
After landing in Toronto and receiving lovely pickup service from one of my nearest and dearest Sarah, our first stop was a greasy spoon; Poutine, grilled cheese with a side of bacon and a large chocolate milk was the first order up, and damn it was good to be back! From there we made our way to my brother and sister-in-law, Aaron and Michelle's house where my Mom was babysitting nephew Lyndon. After some tight squeezes and nephew cuddles we finally accepted that the sun was setting on the 40 hour day we had just endured (even if it was only 7pm). Being annexed to the basement worked perfectly for us, as we were both wide awake by 3am and seriously hungry. Settling for left over airplane peanuts as to not to wake a sleeping baby (Now we know what's the deal with airplane peanuts ;) we managed to get back to sleep, and there ended the dreaded jetjag. Yay!
 |
| Two guesses where I'm eating...but I bet you'll only need one. |
We awoke the next morning and I vaguely remembered it was my birthday! It was really great to actually see all of my family on my actual birthday...which hasn't happened since I was like 14. Birthday hugs and kisses were all round, but I was still missing a hug from my Dad. To remedy this, Mom fired up her car and we drove home. There are very few feelings that compare to coming home. I mean actually dropping your bags and flopping down on your childhood bed. It's pretty magical. We celebrated with a Mom-cooked meal, perused souvenirs and chatted, chatted, chatted. It was one of the best birthdays I have had!
The next day I was so lucky to spend the afternoon with some of the most quality ladies out there. Not only were most of my oldest and dearest friends assembled in one place, so were their Moms! It was a real blessing to wine, dine and share in each others' company. Many, many thanks to these girls for making time and taking the day off work <3
 |
| Ty totally rocks the Uncle gig. |
Next we spent a few days at brother Aaron's playing, cuddling and running after Lyndon. Always valued family time, but man, tots are tiring! Not to mention, we were in awe of our eight month pregnant sister-in-law Michelle who kept up with little Lyndon!
After making the rounds with the Harwoods, it was time to head East! Since our families live 13 hours apart, we usually enjoy making a mini-vaca out of the trip...but as time was somewhat of the essence this time around, we did it in one shot. After jamming to some serious Canadian content radio (Quebec radio loves them some Celine Dion..but who doesn't?), a too close for comfort moose encounter, roadside poutines and way too many Red Bulls, we pulled into Harford Lane! The week we spent there went entirely too quickly; Between visiting Grandmas, bbqing, hitting the Farmer's Market, laughing it up with Cousin Kyle&Marcey, visits from honeymooners Leigh&Emily and Korean newlyweds Doug&Goun, and hanging out way too much at Dooly's, we left New Brunswick dragging our heels. I absolutely
love visiting St. Stephen. Everyone is so friendly and always ready for a chat :) Like I said, one week was not enough!
Luckily our time with Tyler's family wasn't over. Ty's parents made the trek back to Ontario with us, meeting brother Micah, and spending a week at the cottage together. This launched our three week stay at the cottage; No T.V, no internet and no cell reception made for ultimate relaxation and break from our everyday life. Coupled with a solid week of rain and cool weather (a shocking 10 degrees!) we were loving life filled with sweaters, wood-stove fires, reading, wine, boardgames and non-stop laughs. Throw in visits with great family, good friends, an anniversary celebration (Kudos to Jen&Dave for being amazing role models!), and a ribfest, I can say the simple life is good!
Now, living in Asia for 4 years, we've missed a lot of family milestones. We are very fortunate to have traveled and to have experienced diverse cultures but with that we have missed both happy and grievous family moments . When chatting with friends about traveling abroad extensively and signing lengthy contracts in far away places, the biggest hesitation is often some variation of, "What if my Grandmother passes away?" There is no easy way around it, you can't have it both ways. Unfortunately (believe it or not) life goes on without you while you are away. If you are lucky, you have a supportive family at home. We are
so lucky. No matter the circumstances, our families include us from afar, and make efforts to be together when we can.
With that being said, this past year my Great Uncle Boyd, so near and dear to my heart passed away. Yes, we grieved him while in Malaysia, but it wasn't until we spent time as a family at his farm that I truly grieved. The hugs, "I love you"s, and laughter that day meant so much. It was the time spent together that served as a true reminder to me that we are part of a family unit that supports and sees each other through. For that, I am so grateful!
With one week left in Canada, we headed home to Brighton to await the arrival of the newest Harwood, (unbeknownst at the time) sweet baby Andrew. Although we were SO excited with the prospect of meeting Andrew upon his debut to the world...he decided he wasn't quite ready (arriving a week later, and not wanting it any other way!) While we all waited for the baby-phone call, we enjoyed a super relaxed week at home, visiting our lovely townies, doing laundry and packing suitcases. A perfect end to a perfect holiday!
ACTUALLY the most perfect way to end a holiday was having our flights delayed, complimentary airline lounges, spending a night in S. Korea and missing the first day of work. Yup,50+ hours later, Toronto --> Kuala Lumpur is not an easy trip. Was it worth it? Hell Yes.
