An Honest Day's Work

I will be going home in a few days ... not home to Calgary (which is where I was born and lived for 18 years). Not "home" in Toronto (which is slowly starting to feel that way) but home to Vancouver, where my family is.

Last year, my mom, brother, dad, step mother, two sisters, an aunt and my grandparents all lived in Vancouver. Now, with my dad on Vancouver Island, my sisters and step-mom living in Calgary and my brother and his girlfriend making their own move to Calgary, I'm not sure if I can define Vancouver as my home anymore. I feel stuck between 4 or 5 possible worlds and don't know how to reconcile them.

Either way, it's off to Victoria on Sunday, and then taking the ferry across to the mainland on Monday. I am genuinely excited to be going back; Vancouver is literally a breath of fresh air, and far and away my favorite city in the world (although I've probably only been to 20 or 30 of them). I love the way it smells in the morning - like earth and worms and water. I love driving on the hilly little roads that wind along the coast. I love the ferrys. I love feeding the ducks in Stanley Park and kayaking in Deep Cove. I love that the pavement is black and smooth - no frost to crack it and fade it. I love driving in the rain and the plants and moss that grow everywhere. Every place I've ever lived has a little bit of a 'home' feeling for me, but I've never felt attached to a city like the way I do with Vancouver.

And then when I get back (to the real world, I suppose), I'll be starting a new job working at the Canadian National Exhibition, doing all of the hiring and HR work for the 600 employees that they hire for the charity casino. It's like being Head Gael, but with card dealers instead of Gaels and poker chips instead of frosh! I can't wait; if there's one thing I want to do this summer, it's make money to prove I'm still the successful one in my family, rather than the dud I've been written of as :)