Home Is Where The Heart Is

Photo credit: Yoshiko & Kasturo Kaji

We are home for a couple of weeks - and by home, I mean the place I come back to, time and time again to seek shelter from the storms and to escape from the hustle and bustle of "big city living".  Despite the growing popularity and booming population of this once sleepy town in the Okanagan valley, this place will always be a quiet, safe haven for me, a place where no matter how old I get, I will always be my parents daughter first, and whatever other identity I am out there, second.  

I suppose then that it's not so much the geographic location I call home, but home to me is truly where my heart is; 

with my family.

I've been experiencing an interesting bit of identity crisis since my arrival here - I've found myself on numerous occasions referring to my mother as "mama" to Leo..

then I catch myself and think, "wait a sec..that's your grand-mama..I'm your mama!" which even after 8 months is still a strange thought to me.  

When in random conversations I'm asked if I have any children, the knee-jerk reactive answer is usually no..

then a pause..and then the embarrassing, 

actually, um, yes, I have a son..

which you can imagine results in some very strange looks.  And because of all of this, I am forever paranoid that I might forget Leo somewhere..on a park bench, at the store..and have on more than one occasion had momentary panic attacks when I've had a sitter for the day and been out and about on my own, convinced that I've left him next to the back door, in his car seat, wondering where the heck his feather-brained mother's taken off to without him.  

Thankfully nothing of the sort has happened..yet.  And even if it had, I certainly wouldn't be admitting it on a blog!

And this trip has been an indulgent one with great food, great family, great friends.  

What more can a girl ask for?  And the scenery hasn't been bad either.

  Photo credit: Yoshiko & Katsuro Kaji

With fall just around the corner, I hope you're all getting outside and enjoying the last of the sun drenched days and crimson sunsets.  

If only I could bottle up a little of this Okanagan summer magic to take home with me..

xo Blue Gnome