Home and Native Land

I'm at the cottage and all is good. My flight was great because my lovely wife upgraded me at the last minute and I was very comfortable. My brother and his wife were kind enough to lend me one of their vehicles so I could drive up here.

I've been away from Canada for extended periods of time before so I wasn't expecting any sort of culture shock when I came back, but things were weird at first. When I was in the Navy and we'd go away for six months at a time, I was always with people who spoke English and we always ate familiar food. The first thing that struck me was that I could understand every conversation I passed as I walked through the airport. It felt a little like sensory overload at first. I have grown accustomed to tuning everything out in France so I could focus on only what I needed to hear or say.

Once I got to the cottage, things felt more normal for me. There were a couple of challenges when I got here though. There is considerably more snow in the driveway than I had anticipated. I spent most of yesterday clearing the driveway. I have an intimate relationship with my snowblower now. Getting the water back on wasn't an easy task either. I was trying to figure out how I was going to heat enough lake water to take a bath when the plumber gave me the thumbs up.

I'm a little stiff and sore this morning but now that I've adjusted to the time zone, I feel good. It is Saturday morning and to me that means bacon and eggs. That made me feel good as well. Tonight I will be enjoying another Canadian tradition, I get to watch the Bruins destroy the Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada. I was out of the country before the NHL starting playing again so this is the first time I can watch a hockey game on something other than my iPad.