So, here I am in North Bay, Ontario. My home for 27 years of my life. Two of my children are downstairs right now playing while the other two are at school and will be here shortly. I can hear their voices as they interact with one another without trying to kill each other. I have had very little contact with my ex-wife so far. So, all should be right with the world.

But it's not.

I'm not here for a vacation. I'm here because of a crisis going on and I'm here to make sure my kids are okay, since it sort of involves them. I took a month off work to be here and I'm spending as much time with them as I can. I even went to church because they were there. That's how much I love my kids.

I won't go into detail about what the crisis is, since it is a bit of a personal matter, but it's not good. I heard about it on a Wednesday, booked my flight on a Thursday and was here on Friday. That's how serious i felt this was.

My wife couldn't come with me because of work obligations, so now she's alone for Christmas. I would normally miss her anyway, but the amount of support she is showing in regard to this situation makes me love her and miss her all that much more. I may not see her again until January, but I'm hoping it will be sooner than that.

It's great seeing the kids again and watching how much they've grown since I saw them last year. That's the one thing that sucks about living in Calgary. I don't get to see them nearly as much as I used to. But, unfortunately, there are no jobs in North Bay, so moving back here is not really an option at this point. I'm hoping one day the economic situation will improve enough that I will be able to.

But, anyway, I'm happy to home with my children. My being here is mostly because when I moved away I made a promise to them that if they ever needed me, I would be here for them no matter what. I am keeping that promise.

Until next time,

Cheers.

Joe