My kids counted down the days for months. It had been two years since they had seen their cousins, which felt like eternity. It’s more than just a trip for them, it is a connection with their family, their home country, their roots. When we finally arrived they were beyond ready to engage.

The cousins joined forces and made a mass of memories. They jumped on the trampoline, swam, ran through their yard, and played the wii. Once they had exhausted themselves, they lined up sleeping bags in the basement and had one sleepover after another.

They rose early and, in fulfillment of one of Bamboo Shoots dreams, went fishing. For kids who have fished only once, my boys were overwhelmed with excitement to watch their poles bend as they struggled to pull catfish, thirty-five inches long, out of the Red River. This ranks in as their top memory and helps build their Canadian experience, their other fishing trip was off the coast of Malaysia where my eldest caught a stingray.

We had a birthday party for Bamboo Shoot, who just turned fourteen but had only his second birthday in Canada. I had my birthday too, and Brian’s family prepared an amazing spread of my favourite foods. What a treat to be with family for these special occasions. We don’t get to experience day to day life with them, living on another continent.

With grandparents on the scene, the group of aunts and uncles got to go on a triple date. One night the dads took the kids and us moms got to connect over some good food and the BBC movie North and South, a story that spoke directly to my heart. The struggle of the poor versus the ease of the rich reminded me why I wanted to venture beyond the borders of Canada in the first place, to understand the needs of the world, to show my kids firsthand, and to equip them to live a life that represents this reality, a reality that is often ignored. But that doesn’t make it easy to go, especially as we come to terms with our reality, that we have missed out on years with our family.

It was a full time, a fulfilling time, so you can understand when it came time to load back into our van and continue our drive west, we were dragging our heels. It is hard to say good-bye to family once again. They fill an essential role in our lives and we enjoy it even more since being together is the exception, not the norm. We are all full of appreciation for the amazing family time we had.

In less than two weeks we will be on our way back over the ocean and these experiences will gradually turn to distant memories. Then our kids will start to ask, “When can we go to our cousins’ again?”