Home Again

Returning home: the familiar, the strange

My husband and I have been home now for almost two weeks after spending four months of the winter in Arizona. There are many good things about being back in Manitoba, even though spring is slow in coming this year. There is a familiar feel as we settle back into our house and life here. And, surprisingly, at the same time things that feel odd and unusual.

Getting around no longer involves freeways and huge distances. The dusty roads and potholes that come with spring are familiar but the sea of Manitoba license plates was initially disconcerting. The Manitoba plates we spotted in Arizona stood out among those from the northern States and Canada and the many variations of Arizona plates. And I am learning to watch the kilometre section of my speedometer again instead of the smaller miles section on the inside of the circle.

I am delighted to find there is still daylight left at eight o’clock in the evening. I look forward to the next two months as days continue to lengthen. Hopefully the weather will warm up soon so we can enjoy those long evenings outdoors.

There is a settled feeling being back in my own house. Ironically though we find ourselves sometimes confused about where things are. We became used to the order of things in our rental kitchen and now must re-adjust to our own home. And we are discovering things about our home we want to change.

I’d forgotten that most businesses here have a chip machine for credit and debit cards. None of the places we went to in Arizona used the chip technology.

The city, our neighbourhood and our house look the same. But there have been some subtle changes, some we’ve already encountered, a few more I suspect we’ve yet to discover. My husband was dismayed to find out everything was re-arranged at the grocery store he shops at. I did a double take at the new $20 bills from the ATM.

Travelling and spending time in other places often leads you to learn more about your own home, see it with different eyes and appreciate it more.

Have you returned home with a different appreciation for your home and life? What do you most appreciate when you return?