Great Grandma Cruisin'

Originally written on 4/25/12 on My Nunavut Adventure

I'm back safely in the North. It is bitter sweet, the way I knew it would be. I've seen things that are so beautiful they've caused me to stop and to cry.

I have had a substantial amount on my mind of late. Before I left for my vacation, I felt as though I would burst at the seams with excitement. Leaving Iqaluit, I was a ball of anticipation.

I met my friend Ellen in Ottawa, she was a savior for me. She drove me all over the City so that I could shop for hiking gear I was missing and have injections. We got a two day chance to catch up on each others lives and for me to see her family. As much as I hated to leave her, I had a journey ahead of me that would change my life, and I knew it.

I had only come from Iqaluit and caught two more planes by the time I got to Miami, but already I felt the tiresome effects of delayed flights and layovers in uncomfortable airport gate chairs. I arrived late, it was the early hours of the morning and my luggage was the last to come through the hole in the wall. There were no airport shuttles left at that hour so I had a nice Jamaican custodian take me out and flag me a cab. It pulled quickly through the dozens of police cruisers in the underground parking. The loud music and the fact that the driver never started the metre left me feeling slightly uneasy. He asked for fifty dollars at the door of the hotel and I didn't complain, I was just anxious to be alone with my feet planted safely on the floor.

It was almost 2:30 am when I woke my dad and step mom up to tell them I arrived. I knocked quietly on my brothers door at first, but to no avail. It took a couple minutes of fairly solid banging to get him up to answer the door. He gave me the hug of a brother who hadn't seen his sister in months, which he hadn't. It felt so nice to be with my family. I couldn't see where I was but I was too exhausted to care, I climbed into his twin bed and pushed him out of the way. He really was wonderful to share with me. When the sun came up, I wasn't ready. I may have mentioned my need for sleep in the past. Adrenaline pulled me out of bed though, knowing that breakfast would be where I would surprise my Grams.

Brett in Miami

She didn't see me as I came around the corner, it wasn't until I kissed her and put my arm around her that she looked to see my face and screamed the scream that was clearly mistaken by the rest of the diners as horror, I could tell by the looks on their faces. She was thrilled by my presence, which made me feel much better about tricking her into believing I couldn't leave the North to be there.

The cruise was crowded with American spring breakers but was fun nonetheless. We ate like royalty and got to spend quality time together. I also got a chance to sit on Grams' balcony and have a chat with her that I had been meaning to have.

I told her that I was planning on adopting a baby in Iqaluit. On our birthday, March 13th, my friend Enoosiq went to the appointment for an ultrasound. Katie went with her and that evening I got the email that said I was having a baby boy! The email included three ultrasound pictures of my little guy.

Baby boy at 20 weeks

We visited Jamaica the day before our birthday and spent the day with family. We took Brett and one of our slightly younger cousins, Trevor, to Margarittaville where they ordered their first bar drinks, two Red Stripes. We met up with our cousins Andrew and Steph, who we haven't seen in awhile and we soaked up Jamaica the right way, enjoying every second of it.

Back to our roots. Brett, Trevor, Steph, me, Andrew and Jen

My sister Jenna and brother Brett

On the 13th we spent the day in the Grand Cayman Islands. We didn't get to go scuba diving, but we did a little snorkeling and watched a big fish chase a little fish right into Uncle Kevin's swim trunks.

Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Jenna in Grand Cayman

As always, good bye was hard. Especially this time, knowing I was venturing off alone into South America and that the next time I saw them I would be home with a little baby. I felt like I was going to be a different person the next time that we met. I think I was right.

Original Comments:

Sweetone said: I just wanted to say that I love your blog - we are a couple from Burlington that are moving to Baker Lake in a few weeks, and it's really helpful to read stories like yours to get a sense of what to expect.

Who knows, perhaps one day we can come to Iqaluit and share a double-double with you! :)

Please don't stop writing, I love your stories!

Melissa said: Wow, thank you so much! Have an incredible move and enjoy Baker. I hear good things.