Just a thought… Good news is rare these days, and every glittering ounce of it should be cherished and hoarded and worshipped and fondled like a priceless diamond. [Hunter S. Thompson]

Four weeks tomorrow is Christmas. I know you think it’s six months away – and you’d be right – but in our case, July 24 is the day that our Ottawa family arrives, suitcases in hand, bleary-eyed and stressed after two long flights from Ottawa to Calgary and then on to Victoria. We’ll tuck them into their beds for what we hope will be a long night of rest and recuperation and then a whole new life begins: the banana bunch reunited.

Right now, as we spin in this dance of joyful realization that this is actually happening, it’s a Facebook frenzy: messaging, buying and arranging pickups for this and that. They’re with us for a week when they arrive, so we need some things that won’t be here until the movers bring their cargo from Ottawa. This puzzle box contains a lot of pieces and I’m sure a few are wedged between couch cushions right now, but we can do this!

Yesterday I wasn’t so sure: I left $165 in the mailbox of a woman from whom I was buying something, then remembered Brooke had offered her $150. So I shouted to Rob from the car, “Get $15 out of the mailbox!” and then when I messaged the woman that the money was there, Brooke messaged me telling me she’d already paid her via e-transfer! Of course, that was in an earlier message, but do you think I can keep all of these transactions straight?

My brain has gone from about 20 km/h to 200 and I’m having trouble keeping up, as you can plainly read. Yes, I keep lists and all, but when things are all happening on a social media platform I rarely use, it’s challenging.

Now, to some of your questions. And can I say first that I was just floored by the excitement and kindness that you sent through various messaging platforms? Please note that some of my emails are going into people’s spam folders (we know not why) and I don’t answer direct messages on Insta or FB because I just can’t keep up with them all. If you write to me through this website, I can virtually guarantee I’ll respond in as timely a manner as this Vitamix of a schedule we’ve jumped into allows.

You wondered where they’re moving to – and I think I said in the video that they’ve purchased in a neighbourhood that’s a six-minute drive from our house. There are beautiful parks, a large grocery store, a Shoppers, a branch of their bank and the best pizza we’ve found locally, all within 1000 steps (yes, I walked it, because, well, that’s me). Some asked about jobs and so on for Phil and Brooke; those are things that will be determined in good time. Right now it’s all about getting the little family of four here with sanity (mostly) intact for us all.

A few asked if we’d be spending winters in the US anymore – and the answer is a hard “ah, hell naw.” We weren’t expecting to go this year anyway, given the vicious upwards turn of COVID cases in our own Riverside County, CA; getting health insurance would probably be tougher than winning the Powerball. And with our commitment to Brooke and Phil to be there for them and the children, we are happy to sacrifice our little piece of paradise to make this dream a reality. Nothing will ever be more important to us than doing whatever we can for this family. Nothing.

So it’s going on the market – furnished right down to the cutlery and whatever is in the cupboards! Our agent down there will gather up the few personal items we had and ship them to us. (When I started doing the Canadian Real Estate Association podcasts this year, I couldn’t have imagined just how many house transactions 2020 would hold!)

As I keep telling Brooke, who’s busy packing up a house with two little ones, purging from Phil’s last move after a catastrophic house flood, and working with him to get 1000 things settled before they leave one province for another, this will ALL work out. We need to take a moment every few hours, sit down, plant our feet on the floor to ground ourselves and just breathe. Good thing we can remind each other of the importance of stilling our minds, even for a short while!

So that’s where we are for today. On Monday I’m heading to Kelowna; it’s a happy trip and I’ll fill you in more in our next journal, also Monday.

In the meantime, have a safe and happy weekend, please wear a mask when you’re out and thank you again for sharing our massively good news this week!