Cold Nose, Warm Heart

Asha and I returned safely from our whirlwind trip to Winnipeg. A lot happened in our 66 hour holiday.

On Thursday night, Rhonda dropped me off at the airport. I flew out of Fresno at 8:30 in the evening to fly through the night. My luck, I got to sit next to a drunk Shriner on the first segment of my flight. Thankfully, he was a very happy and pleasant drunk. Asha slept for the entire time on the plane. And when I was on lay overs, she was happy and was quite entertaining for me. On Friday I arrived, though my plane was delayed, and Carl's parents met me and Asha at 1 o'clock. We stopped to see my chiropractor before we headed to Steinbach. The weather wasn't as bitterly cold as it had been the day before, though it was still -25. Praise God for that! Before we went to their place, I picked up a few essentials, like creamed Manitoba honey for Carl and the kids. We got to their place, I hopped in the shower and Asha spent some time with her grandparents. Asha bonded with Grandma and Grandpa as if she had just seen them yesterday. My friend Jenny popped by for an hour visit. It was really nice to see her.

At 6:00 I headed out with Asha to my aunt and uncle's place. We were having a Plett birthday party. Macy was turning 5 and her brother Braden turned 9. Asha had a great time bonding with my aunts and uncles and grandparents. I was pretty tired since I hadn't really slept a lot the night before on the plane. But I decided to stay and play a round of Guillotine. I was glad I did because I have missed playing games with my family.
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Asha and I headed home at 10 o'clock and we headed to bed shortly after that. I was concerned that Asha wouldn't be interesting in sleeping, and that once she got to sleep would have trouble since she still had a stuffy nose. But she slept pretty well and soon it was 8:30 and time to get up. My friend Andrea came to pick me up for breakfast at 8:50. Asha was still sleeping and I decided it would be nice for her to stay with Grandma and Grandpa. I had such a good time with Roxie, Matilda, and Andrea. It was like old times, we just chatted as if there hadn't been 4 months and 2000 miles between us. The girls came by to see Asha and then it was time to pack up and head to Winnipeg.

At 1:00 I drove Mom and Dad Heppner's van to Winnipeg. They let me borrow it for the weekend, which was great. I was glad that I didn't have to rely in people to give me rides (though I knew people wouldn't have minded). Asha and I arrived at Judy's around 2:00 and she was so happy to see us. Asha was thrilled with the dogs, even though she hasn't had any exposure to any puppies. It was great to see her connect with Judy.

I stopped by church to drop off Christmas cards and I had a nice visit with Frieda and Annabelle. But then I had to quickly zip back to Judy's to get ready for the wedding. Once I got back, I realized I was cutting it pretty close, and so Judy helped get Asha ready while I tried to find my earrings! I was a bit frustrated with myself; here I was coming all this way for Sandi's wedding and I end up being late and missing half of it! But I made it there just in time (because the wedding was a bit late starting, Thanks San). The wedding was beautiful and I think I did a pretty decent job with my speech.

I was pretty pooped by Sat. evening and got home close to midnight since the roads were a bit slippery. I decided to take Portage Ave. instead of the perimeter. I miss seeing all the lights on Portage and Main. It was very beautiful. And I even drove by our old house and dropped a few Christmas cards in the mail to the neighbours. But I couldn't drop off a card at 106; it was weird dropping off a Christmas card at your own place....and Mike and Rebecca were setting up their Christmas tree and would have totally seen me. I sat in the car and watched them for a few minutes, and I didn't get teary eyed. It was special to see that someone was having their first Christmas, making their special memories in a place that held so many for me.
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It was getting close to midnight and I headed back to Judy's for the night. The next morning, Asha and I headed off to church. I walked in and was greeted with hugs and there were a few tears shed. I hadn't realized until then how much I missed that place and all the people that are so dear to me. Our Mom's Sunday School class was so wonderful. It was great to share with each other and pray for one another. After the service there were more warm embraces and then we girls headed for lunch to Boston Pizza. Asha slept the entire time and it was only after Danae and Corrina were bringing me back to the van at church did I realize that I didn't take a picture of all of us girls at the restaurant. So we three posed in the freezing cold in the parking lot; I think the picture turned out great and captured a special moment. I kept looking at the camera screen on my way to Steinbach, seeing the picture filled my eyes with tears....
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Sunday afternoon was Heppner Christmas. Once I arrived in Steinbach, Asha was smothered in kisses and we headed out to Dad Heppner's cabin. I didn't have proper boots, but it was fantastic to see all the things that he's done on his land. It's going to be a great family place. After we headed back home and and had supper. The meal was awesome and I had extra helpings of Mom's stuffing...I may as well eat Carl, Joel and Kezia's portions too! Once the dishes were done, we sat down and each shared about our year. That's been a tradition for a number of Christmas's. Dad prayed for us and then we headed for the presents. Asha watched her cousin Sam rip into the paper, and then tried herself. It was special to watch her participate in her first Christmas. The evening was spent visiting, but soon it was time to say goodbye. Even though I knew we'd see Byron and Kristal later that week in CA, and Mom and Dad at the end of February, it was still hard. It was hard because for a small snipit of time I could launch back into our life in Winnipeg, but then get snapped back to Fresno. I knew that I was okay with it all, despite the tears, because I told them I was looking forward to going home and seeing Carl and the kids. I was going home.
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On our way back, I stopped at Wendell and Shana's to see their renovations before they dropped me off at Judy's. I spent almost 90 minutes trying to repack my bag to fit all the presents in. I got maybe 3.5 hours of sleep that night. Oh it was so hard to wake up that morning. Wendell and Shana picked me up and I and Asha said our goodbyes to Judy. I told her, see you in about 19 Saturdays. That makes it a bit easier.

Wendell and Shana helped me get checked in, and then they gave Asha extra kisses before I headed into customs. The plane ride back was very good. Asha again slept during every segment of the flight (and I didn't sit next to anyone who was drunk). I was so glad to meet Carl and the kids at the airport. I was exhausted and thrilled to be back home.

It was a very special weekend, all 66 hours of it. I wouldn't have traded the time spent reconnecting for anything, not even sleep. And I think it was enlightening for me. I was reminded of a few things:

-that people missed us and feel our absence on a regular basis
-that people are glad that we are in Fresno studying
-that time really does go fast when you are having a good time (both this weekend and the last four months)

And I realized that home is where you make it, and Fresno is home for now.