On News Years’ Day my family arrived in Australia: a 6-month stay down under and far from my adopted country of Canada. This was only one segment, albeit a big one, of what was a full circumnavigation around the globe including stops in Fiji, Oz, Germany, France, and finally, Ontario, Canada before returning home. Fast forward: 8 months and we’re already into the routine of what was. But, before we resettled into Vancouver and the comfort of the beds we left, we pulled into the penultimate port of call: Grandma’s home for Canada’s Birthday. This was cottage country, a settlement of sorts, three hours north of Toronto and just few steps from the 45th parallel. It was familiar ground and with plenty to be thankful for after lugging around an unwieldy stack of mismatch luggage, a double-wide stroller and a pair of three year old identical twin girls that are anything but the same. There, on The Bruce, we have a big dog and an even bigger family. And even though this lake, nearly the size of West Virginia, is too cold for this native Detroit-boy a few days shy of his 40th, it’s good be home in the north and just in time for our second summer within the same calendar year. How thankful we are for the little things in life and, now, we’re right back where we belong: Happy Canada Day.
