Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas! I am so fortunate to be close to my family again this year. Missing my sweet IMEC sisters, my German family,  and of course Mom in Ontario. Hopefully we’ll get to visit some of you in 2015. It’s on top of my list 🙂  Merry Christmas!!!

Last week I surprised my coworkers at Pooh Corner and SFU. It’s always strange to walk into familiar spaces after being gone for a while. At SFU, I was very fortunate to join the children, families, and educators for their Christmas party. The children put on a christmas concert for their parents and overall it was a very festive time to be there. I got lots of hugs from the children, had nice conversations with the families and my coworkers, and on the bus ride home I had some time to reflect on life.

It’s been 17 years since we moved to Canada. Who could have guessed that life would turn out so beautifully on that sad December morning at Hamburg airport? Now it’s been 17 years, half my life, and what was important then is no longer on my mind.

As we were getting ready for this big move, my friends compiled a book with farewell letters. There is so much love and heartache in that small book, so many memories of my life as a teenager. My first love, my best friend, my marching band, my classmates… a different life.

Jens Arne wrote about the close friends I was leaving behind, but that he was confident I would make new friends in Canada. He reminded me to think of my closest friends often and not to get distracted with those that weren’t important in my life, including him. Such good advice, even though it was harsh at the time. It turns out he knew my philosophy on life quite well, a few good friends are better than many acquaintances.