Tuesday, August 18, 2009

going back to Canada

Recently, I took a trip back in time with my sister. Our family always went to Winnipeg and Minaki, Canada to visit my Mom's side of the family. We usually spent a month there, just enough time to feel like part of the family. As I grew older, got married and had kids, there were many reasons we couldn't do the same thing. Usually there was no money or the kids were busy with activities. They have never had the opportunity to experience what we did. I feel bad about that but still have hope that it will happen. My family has cabins in Minaki a small town, that are only accessible by boat. We used to stand at the dock at Holst Point and yell for someone to pick us up. It was a wonderful place for a kid to discover nature. My Mom and Grandma would help us gather bark and moss to make pictures on the back of potato chip boxes. I still have mine. My cousins were like siblings and we always had fun together. Going back brought all of us together if only for a short time. My sister and I slept in the same room at my Uncles house, just as we did as kids and listened to the loons at night. We were like kids when we jumped out of bed to look out the window to see anything and to hear them better. When a train went by we jumped out of bed again to watch it pass. Uncle Connie took us on a tour of the area by boat. We floated past the Minaki Lodge that burnt down a few years ago. All that is left are a few chimneys from the fireplaces and some statues that survived the heat. Our old family cabin has been replaced by a more modern version without the mice and lack of facilities. My Mom's, Aunt June, Uncle Gordy, Grandparents, and my cousin Lynelle's ashes are there under their stone tributes. We toasted to them with homemade wine my Uncle made. It was a wonderful trip.