The Front: Closer to Home.

Every week, and consequently every month, that passes, I feel more at home here in Saskatoon. Perhaps one of the things that makes "home" so precious is that it takes time to build (and feel) it. When you do possess that heart warming thing called home, it is never more delicious than when you return to it after some spending time away. This did not quite happen when we returned from Calgary, but I was more than content to return to my burrow, my bed. My quiet home.

The quiet that comes with living alone is something I am becoming comfortable with. At first (and still sometimes) I have podcasts on constantly to fill the air with voices. As I cook, putter and do dishes I feel like I am a part of their conversations. Thank goodness for Jian Ghomeshi (Q), am I right? Honorable mentions to Ira Glass (This American Life), and Stephen Levitt and Stephen Dubner (Freakonomics).

My parents gift of (their) old couches made my place feel much more like a home. Lounging is a lovely thing to be able to do at home and this is considerably harder to do sans furniture.

We had a wonderful time in Calgary, although in a sense it was bittersweet. It brought home the fact that my (living at) Atangard era is truly over. To see Beth and Mark's home in Calgary, unmistakably theirs, so far from Abbotsford was strange and exciting. It is exciting that we are making our way out into the world, pursuing careers and leaving home.

It sounds like we are leaving home for the first time. But Atangard really did become a second home, a second family to me. Since I am someone who gets VERY attached, I will mourn it just a little bit, even as I am thrilled for the marriages and house making and buying and all of those incredible stages we are entering into. La vie! It is always happening. I think it is possible to hold fast to things (friends, meaningful experiences/lessons) and still set them free as well. And that, my dear friends, is what I will try my very best to do.

Here are a few pictures from Calgary.