I remember the excitement as a kid on those early mornings where we got up to rush to the airport to fly somewhere. It was a hurried affair that I simultaneously loved and loathed. While most of me vowed to never deal with such mornings as I grew older, I think some small part of me always expected that one day, I would be guiding my children on similar mornings.
Today, that small part got its moment in the limelight. Alex and I had not gotten to bed until well after 1am, having to finish packing, take down our Christmas tree (didn’t want a trying piece of highly-flammable timber being left inside), and making sure all was well with the house. (Oh, and dealing with a sick Monkey. Choo Choo got more sleep than the rest of us, combined.)
And yet, we were off and running in under an hour. Not bad, eh?
We cabbed it. Although it’s usually cheaper to drive and leave the car in one of the lots, we found that our trusty Jetta has a severe aversion to the cold and doesn’t like to start when it’s below -15 C. The last thing we needed to deal with was a frozen car upon our return.
WestJet still remains one of the easiest airlines to fly, in my opinion. It was a simple check-in, few questions, no hassles, and a comfortable flight. Our last flight as a family, prior to Choo Choo’s birth, was arriving in Canada just over a year ago. It had been an arduous, fairly stressful event and it still rang loudly in my mind. Thankfully, this jaunt — a mere hour — was over almost as soon as it started.
It was good to be back in British Columbia again, some three years after my last visit. It was cold and wet, typical for the Lower Mainland in winter, but fresh and green — almost a much cooler version of Costa Rica, actually. Grandpa and Granny met us at the gate — Monkey raced to hug them — and we whisked off to the Aicken Homestead almost immediately. Well, with one sidetrip, where Granny had to pick up the World’s Largest Gift Basketâ„¢, which summarily buried me.
Some things had changed, but the house was warm and welcoming, and the massive trees that grow on the property still the whispering stalwarts. It’s comfortable, here, and while it’s no beach on Hawaii, it’s hard not to relax. Which should make for an interesting juxtaposition, since I have to try and work a bit. We’ll see how it goes.
Oh, speaking of which, there’s my email, now…
