Friends, Family, and a Visit Home.

Friends, Family, and a visit home - an all encompassing title.
But all revolve around the concept of being "settled", wherever that may be.
Uprooting oneself to a new location is never easy, but often necessary for a variety of reasons. For us despite the difficulties and stress of a late career move, it was to have a later in life living adventure & travel opportunities, experience some new career challenges, and to better prepare for semi retirement.
Friends can be made in many locations, but "old" good friends are always special. Distance from family, and a sense of being settled, however are challenges that can be hard to face in distant locales. Although the concept of "home" can at times be hard to define clearly it involves all of these features to some degree. It is not just the physical house and neighborhood one resides in.
It was now April, time for my visit "home", back to Canada for early Spring.

But before that journey took place we took an early morning stroll along the Corniche in Jeddah to catch the local and expat images of friends, family, and home. The sense of community wherever that might be.

After the last weekend morning stroll by the Red Sea, with its sunny clime, it was time to hop my Lufthansa flight for Toronto, connecting from Jeddah through Frankfurt, to Eastern Canadian early Spring weather!
My time was to be split between Toronto and London, Ontario.
Unfortunately Joy was unable to make this trip instead with a plan to visit her family in the US in June.

Of course part of my annual stopover was to visit LHSC & Cancer Centre, to visit with old colleagues & friends, and on this visit to also lay the seeds for my now planned "re entry" home and semi retirement. Unfortunately most of the trip greeted me with rain - however welcomed not having seen rain in Jeddah for two years! However seeing valued friends was clearly a higher priority than the weather. The "annual reunion" organized by Mary Liz was clearly a valued event.

During the visit to London, a busy schedule ensued including visits to valued old friends, a visit to Ed who has continued to look after "Walden" (on the hard) during our absence, and of course Bayfield - although sad to see the low levels of water in Lake Huron.

A reunion with our boat gang was clearly a valued event - thanks to all.

Poor "Walden" (green hull), although she was assured of being in her home waters the summer of 2014.

Last but not least a trip to Toronto was valued being able to spend some time with my son Mike. One of the hardships of being overseas is clearly the separation with family. Toronto continues to boom while London remains much the same - all in all not necessarily a bad thing, as the visiting distances are short to the big city, but the day to day congestion avoided by the older skipper.

A valued treat to be invited to Mike's "local" for a bite & brew.

All in all a hurried but important visit, realizing that the decison felt "right" to plan on going "home" later this year. It is "time".

Although it was sad to leave, to board my Lufthansa flight back, it was also the mixed emotion at this point of getting back to the usual routine, and starting the process of completing my professional responsibilities and starting the process of "packing" again - images of 2010 again in reverse.

 

On return it was also time to bottle my next batch of tea, having been sitting & waiting for my arrival.

Early morning sunrise from our balcony in Jeddah, the start of the next phase of this life adventure. Of course the start of another sunny day - no rain.

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