Just a thought… In every conceivable manner, the family is a link to our past, bridge to our future. [Alex Haley]

First off, a bit of business: if you can or if this is of any interest to you, please do join me tonight as I talk with Yvonne from Home Equity Bank about reverse mortgages. It’s something Rob and I are considering: freeing up equity to have cash on hand for our own personal use. It’s not for everyone, but as I like to say, it could be perfect for us. And maybe you.

So join me at 8 pm ET tonight through my Facebook page and wish me luck! It’s a first – and those always cause butterflies.

I hope that you caught yesterday’s “Let’s Talk” journal. A nationwide effort helmed by Bell Media, it’s a chance for people to raise an often quivering hand to say “me too” or “I need help.” If you missed that journal (in which I focused on addiction) – please check it out HERE.

I said goodbye to our sweet Ottawa family yesterday: Phil took me to the airport for my 11 am flight to Toronto and it reminded me of the old Rodney Dangerfield joke that goes something like, “I went on a pleasure trip yesterday – I took my wife to the airport.” Of course, mothers-in-law are usually the target of those jokes, and maybe his was, but luckily I don’t think that’s the case with Phil.

His wife Brooke, whom we call our daughter-in-law, is settling in with baby Jane, who today turns four months old. She’s gorgeous and sweet, happy and pretty chill. Colin just adores her: he will lean over if she’s fussing in the car and say “Hey, sweet girl,” and put her soother back in. Or he just hangs over her bassinet and smiles at her until she smiles back, which is often.

Coming to help out even a little bit felt like the right thing to do, just doing whatever needed to be done, taking my cues or jumping in. There were long talks in the evening, plenty of baby and grandson giggles, and memories that I’ve caught on photo and video that I’ll cherish forever.

I don’t share those here at their parents’ request; I respect their choice to live their lives out of the public eye like most people do. Yes, our family was different and I loved the connection that helped to make with listeners who were able to feel they knew our family. Being a part of yours, and you being part of mine, always meant a lot to Rob and me. And look how it’s all worked out: all these years later, here we are together, you and I.

So here I am back in the city that gave me so much, just for one more night. Tomorrow, I’ll hop on a plane in the morning and be home by 11 am to Rob, who was busy with various chores he found around the house, until he was felled by a rotten cold. (I made sure to stock up on Cold FX before heading back to the US; they don’t sell it there and we are believers in it. After all, I haven’t had a cold in well over a year, despite all of our flights and changes in climate.)

Of course, travelers today are worried about much more than the common cold and I’ll expect to see plenty of masks on the 5-hour flight back to Palm Springs tomorrow. My three sisters are investing in medical-grade masks for their trip to see us next month; one lives with a disease that compromises her immune system, another works with the sick and elderly (thus access to higher grade masks).

Memories of the SARS outbreak in the 2000s are fresh in everyone’s minds and they’re doing what they feel is right. In fact, USA Today published an interesting perspective just last week.

Me? I’ll endeavour to sanitize everything on the plane that I touch, wash my hands with more frequency than I already do and exercise caution, all the while hoping – but not obsessing – that others around me do the same. Very little makes me anxious anymore, except perhaps my lack of technical knowledge that could get in the way of a good performance (see that first paragraph). But we’ll be good because we have to.

Take care of yourself and I hope you’ll tune in tonight at 8 pm ET for our first Facebook Live chat. And wish me luck. I don’t have my tech guy with me (the aforementioned Rob) but I’m in very good hands.

Stay well. Have a good weekend and we’ll talk to you Monday.