The welcome has been overwhelming. Friends and co-workers have gone out of their way to stop by and welcome me back. They all seemed to know I was due to return and that I had left a year and a half ago to sort out my thoughts at the southern-most place on Earth. Returning to my former department has made the whole polar experience seem like something that happened to someone else. Yet clearly (to me), I have been affected by my time at 90° south latitude.
The time away has allowed me to forget all the things that bothered me before. I am starting with a clean slate, and so is everyone else. I am getting the best of both worlds; the past and the present.
So tomorrow is the day before Thanksgiving; I have a lot to be thankful for. Although I own little, I find it hard to inventory the many great things both material and otherwise that I have before me. After work tomorrow, I will mount the mighty Triumph Rocket and head west into known bad weather to see my parents and sisters. I suspect the big surprise will be my nieces and nephews whom I have not seen in two years.
