Monday Morning Musing #67 – Home, and not just for the holidays

The house is now trimmed with the usual Christmas decorations and a few new ones have made their debut. True to my word of my last musing, I’ve been happily creating.

On the front porch, fresh cedar boughs are gathered and topped with bows. My Kitchen wreath of old has been spruced up – a Christmas market find in Germany now nestled amongst its cooking-baking theme. Gleaming balls have been cajoled into glass cloche bell jars and my wreaths have been freshened with bespoke ribbon.

I’ve even managed to surprise myself and craft a number of felt decorations. Yesterday morning found me at our local Knitty Gritty, working with felt for the first time – wrapping, poking, cajoling, and more poking of delicate wool into festive shapes. The experience was creative and therapeutic, a real joy to learn a new type of medium.

So yes, I’ve been revelling in the creativity of the season with a passion that has bewildered even me. And then I realised why. As mentioned in my last musing, we will all be under one roof for the first time in two years – to say we’re anticipating the season is an understatement. Our youngest son Andrew is in his final year of university at UBC and is very much in need of a break. He and Ayla will be home for the entire season – a blessing once couples begin sharing their Christmas and New Year’s with each other’s families.

Matt moved here to Kimberley at the beginning of the autumn and is now working in the trades. His move to a town of 8000 is suiting him much better than a large city. And after two years away, Luke arrived home a month ago. In a complete and welcoming turn-of-events, he and his girlfriend Trixie are taking the leap of first time home-owners. Really, a small condo further up the ski hill that will be their base to come and go from.

So it rather hit me very profoundly this past week. For the first time in ten years – in ten years! – we all actually live in the same country. Since owning this home and leaving Houston in 2009, we’ve lived in Norway, Kazakhstan and India. Luke was in graduate school in Sweden, then lived in Singapore, India, Slovenia and recently Portugal. Matt spent a spell with us in India as well, but it’s Andrew who has held-down-the-fort continuously in Canada since graduating from high school in Norway in 2013.

For the first time in ten years, there are no overseas flights booked, no presents stuffed into suitcases, no expected farewells of ‘see you in another six months…’

As I’ve gone about my decorating and seasonal forays, I seem to be musing constantly to myself, ‘Gosh, this is really special,’ ‘So this is what it feels like for a family to live more closely together.’

Oh I’m so thankful and appreciative that we’ve lived an interesting overseas life for the past thirty years. Yet right now, home is not just ‘home for the holidays’… for the wonderful time being, home is here.