Summer Vacation

I have blogged before about the family I have become a part of in Iqaluit. I work, live and play with the same people. I don't think my words have adequately described the depth of my love for these incredible people. I have made friends who have been there for me through the hardest of times and shared every ounce of joy through the best times.

Being back in Ontario for vacation, I find myself sitting in the car, or on a chair in the yard, or on freshly cut grass, just thinking about how lucky I really am.



Jenna, Brett and Melissa, walking Jersey



I have the most wonderful friends and family, both in the GTA and in Iqaluit. I suppose distance really does make the heart grow fonder because in the past year I have developed an appreciation for relationships that never saw depth like this before.



Myself with my mommy



 I counted down for months to the day when I would get to return home for my three week vacation. Now, that vacation is actually here, I landed in Toronto on the 17th. I have been on the go every second since landing and every single one of those seconds has brought me joy. Every single thing that I had missed, rushed into my life the night that I arrived, like an over flowing cocktail at happy hour.



Siblings

I have a friend who I have blogged about before. I actually met him in Iqaluit while we were opening our stores. Patrick was the greatest baking partner I could have asked for. He always had me laughing or on occasion, dancing at five in the morning and he kept me highly entertained while he was around. He was something special and I had wished at the time that we had lived in the same province because I knew if we did we would be great friends. Its an interesting thing to try and keep in touch with people you haven't known for long while you're so far apart, fortunately we managed.

When my plane landed in Toronto I had a surprise guest waiting to greet me. Pat had flown in from Alberta earlier in the day and waited for my flight to come in. I hadn't seen him in nearly seven months and I had missed him incredibly. When I turned around and saw Pat coming down the escalator with a huge smile, carrying all of his luggage, I dropped mine to run to him. It felt so good to hug someone with a familiar face. I wore a smile so big that it hurt my cheeks, I only stopped smiling long enough to kiss him. Being home and seeing the faces of people I love at the airport made me so overwhelmingly happy that I could feel my knees shake.

When I stepped out of Pat's car it hit me all at once. The smell of the trees and grass, the fresh floral scent of warm summer air. I closed my eyes and breathed in the wonder as deeply as I could. Home smelt just the way it should, just the way I had remembered it. I felt like I was floating, I hadn't been so happy in months. I was with the people I had been dying to see, basking in the air I had missed for so long.

I will never forget the night I came home and the way it made me feel. All 139 days of my countdown were well worth what I had waiting for me down here.



My beautiful Mother