Portage Avenue

Portage Avenue in Winnipeg is possibly one of the oldest and most important thoroughfares in the city. Originally carved out of wide open prairies by Red River ox carts, Portage Avenue is now the first picture that comes to mind when I think of downtown Winnipeg, especially during the holidays. I have spent many freezing nights waiting for buses along this avenue and at Christmas I love to take a drive downtown along Portage to check out the lights. I took this video last night on the way home from watching the Olympic Torch arrive in Winnipeg. The streets are uncharacteristically dry and free of snow for this time of year, but it was still freezing and beautiful.

The Start of a New Year

After two and a half years of being away from my Mom and my sister for the holidays, I decided to come back to Winnipeg to spend Christmas and New Years with them and our family. My visit was much overdue and I have enjoyed every minute of it, even the nights that it has been -30 C and my nose hairs have frozen (too much info? Too bad). Slowly, the three of us have fallen back into old habits and old routines, like drinking tea and watching movies curled up under blankets in the basement late at night. I feel like I am once again a part of a very special unit of three, something that I have missed very much since I began to live in Ensenada, in a way that is a bit difficult to explain but probably very familiar to many people who have found themselves in similar situations.

From time to time, it's tough to live so far away. Inevitably you miss out on a lot; events like family dinners, birthday get-togethers, small milestones and random stories that become inside jokes no longer include you. While living far away from family is not necessarily new to me, at this point in my life, it certainly means something different. That veil that all kids and adolescents swear doesn't cloud their vision of the world has certainly become thinner since I left Winnipeg to live in Ensenada. My perspective has shifted in a such subtle way that I barely noticed it was happening until it did. I suppose that is what happens as you get older. The categories that you once clung to: child, adolescent, young adult and adult stop existing in the same way. You get to a point and it becomes more fluid and the transitions between phases become less noticeable. In any case, I have felt a shift as of late and it has become that much more important to me to keep in touch with my family, my aunts, uncles, cousins and close friends. In part, that shift has made this trip very special to me.

And yet, right now my life is in Ensenada because for the past two and a half years I have been lucky enough to spend it with the most wonderful person. He challenges me to be better and yet he allows me to relax and be myself. We started off this year in different countries, which is a bit ironic to me and something that I hope never happens again, but we'll be back to sharing our little life together soon. And while I miss him so very much, I will continue to enjoy this special time with my family before things begin to shift yet again.