just plugging away...

back at work, trying to keep my eyes open.

after the trip to Saskatoon last week, i still feel that i'm catching up on sleep! probably the combined effects of air travel, 1 hour time difference, and getting very little sleep before and during the trip.

it was so good to see my family, though. Uncle Andrew, Aunt Diana, Uncle Kevin, Alexandra, Rebeka (of course, the Bride!), Anthony, Angela, Desmond, and of course my parents, Graham, Charlotte and Julia. Mor-Mor I had seen the most recently, at Christmas time, but it was good to spend some time with her as well. I love my family, and I have begun to appreciate our differences, no matter how frustrating it may be at times! I joke about looking like I'm adopted, but it also feels sometimes that I am emotionally and intellectually adopted as well. I have my dad's easygoing nature, but my mom's interest in travel, culture, and literature. But beyond that, I have realized as I get older, that so much of my personality and interests is *my own*. My experiences are different from the next person, and that includes my family, even if we share DNA, ancestry, or a common birthplace.

Seeing my mom's hometown was very hmm, what's the word, nostalgic comes to mind, but it was maybe more of a second-hand nostalgic. It is the same feeling I get when I come back to Portland after an absence, but this time I was seeing it through the eyes of my mother. I know that it really meant alot to her for us to see where she grew up and has so many good memories. At the same time, it was hard to understand what exactly she was feeling because it is *her* memory after all, not ours. But I now feel a certain understanding of where she came from, even though the town has changed drastically in the past 3 or 4 decades since she lived there.