In Canada, they use dollars, right?

Not sure if I was comforted by the sight of the pilot washing
the window to our plane or disconcerted.

We flew into Boston without any real struggles other than having to sit through Oliver Stone's "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." (I really don't understand how you could make such a boring film about something as interesting as the financial crisis.)

Our luggage came through without a hitch, there was no problem in picking up the car and driving. The only complication we experienced was one I could never have anticipated not being an attorney specializing in US immigration law. It turns out that if you were born in America but have a Canadian passport, you cannot travel to America because they do not recognize your Canadianess. Our three older children were non-compliant with present immigration laws, and, as the immigration officer was giving them a stern warning, I couldn't help but be a little disappointed in my children. I've worked hard to raise them to be responsible, law abiding citizens, but here they were flouting international law as if they were somehow special. I promised the immigration officer that they would comply, but my kids didn't seem too concerned. What's a father to do? Would it be fair to threaten them with the prospect of American immigration prison? I want them to comply. I really do.

Our mini-van was waiting at Budget just like it was supposed to. It turns out that the Kia Sedona makes for a pretty smooth ride. I did make a wrong turn just out of Boston which took us through New Hampshire, a nice state and I was glad to visit, but as soon as we saw a Target I was off to buy a GPS unit to get me back on track. We had to do a little more shopping, of course, but we were soon on the road to Augusta where we had booked a hotel for the night.

It's the simple things that bring the greatest joys.

The next day was for driving, we did a little more shopping before really getting on the road, although I'm sure we could have found lots of great deals and much needed items, no one wanted to delay getting to Grandpa and Grandma's any more than they had to.

Living in a country where I have access to virtually anything money can buy has, surprisingly, made me a little less materialistic. Although I enjoyed our time in Target and the 4th of July sales at Old Navy were a bargain hunter's dream, the experiences didn't bring the same level of comfort that I remember experiencing a year ago. What I wanted was to get in and get out so that we could get back on the road. Even our time in Costco the following day felt a little underwhelming. Perhaps we had built it up so much that there was no way we could be anything but disappointed in it; however, our disappointment did little to discourage us from spending more than I wanted.

Yeah Canada! (We're much more tired than we look)

After a full day of driving, we pulled into Cole Harbour around ten o'clock. There was soup waiting for us, of course, and it really felt like no time had passed at all. Thanks to the miracle of Skype there was none of that awkward reacquainting stage that comes with long absences. Even Miley welcomed us without reservation.

James with his new best friend!

On Wednesday we got down to the business of tying up some loose ends. There were papers to review, a driver's license to renew and a Costco to visit.

Destined for the shredder.

It's a very difficult thing to sever oneself from a place completely. You can sell everything you own, close down all of your accounts and still you leave a presence long after you left. You leave trails wherever you go. I was incredibly blessed to have a man I trusted manage the unfinished business we left behind. Apart from selling our home and our vehicle, he sifted through mounds of mail, helped to resolve tax returns and numerous other issues. It really didn't hit me how much he had done until I saw the pile of paper he had been dutifully filing away for me over the past year. The fact that he wasn't all that excited about me taking the family to the other side of the world, made his help and support all the more meaningful. Knowing that my father was here managing so much on our behalf spared me more worry than I can express and really permitted us to throw ourselves into our new lives in Abu Dhabi without constantly looking over our shoulders to all the things in Nova Scotia we had left unresolved.

Some recovery required.

Lucy was able to reconnect with her friend Amelia and James was quite insistent that we visit Chaim as soon as possible. In both cases, it was as if no time passed at all. I believe that the best test of friendship is geography. It's not until you've spent some time away from those closest to you, do you come to understand that a relationship is built upon more than the convenience of proximity.