It’s 7 am on a Saturday. I’m up because I’ve been awake since 6:22 am. Which is late for me. No one else is up yet.
The new normal.
The house is quiet, it’s still a bit dark, snow falls softly outside my window.
It’s the three of us at home right now.
My boy will be leaving this morning to head back to his home in California. We were lucky he was able to visit with us for as long as he could, he spent alone time with my Mom, joined us for festivities with our extended families and met up with his closest friends. He left random drink glasses around the house, borrowed our car, used a number of towels, got a bad case of the flu (ugh-but Tamiflu is a miracle). He even got Mc’Donalds (delivery for him and two of his best childhood friends who hung out with him in the basement), and had a craving for a Tim Horton’s timbit on New Year’s Day (albeit sorely disappointed that they didn’t have any at the drive -thru).
Just like old times. Except not -it was unusual that all the boys were in town to meet up. When his closest buddy came over he gave me a huge hug-I hadn’t seen him in over a year. I’ve known him since the boys were 3 years old. Just like old times.
My son is excited to get back to his life in the new year. He’s got some new friends, work is changing in a good way. His relationship with his girlfriend is going strong. It’s been lovely seeing them establish a life together. Adulting.
So, seeing him fly away? The new normal.
My daughter is coming home later this afternoon. She spent the last few days of 2025 with her new boyfriend and his family. We had most of December with her, some wonderful “four of us” together time, laughs, hugs, their constant teasing of their parents. Binging TV series ( Emily in Paris for us girls , Stranger Things me and the kids – their Dad is not a fan) ..shopping ( just a little). Tonight, it will again be three in the house.
Until tomorrow, when she heads back to school.
Then there will be two. Like it was at the beginning of December. The new normal.
Normal is ok. We can elevate normal- it doesn’t have to be boring.
It’s what you make it. I’m looking forward to thriving in it.
At a time 
Country People – a book review
Country People by Daniel Mason
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A family of four travel from the comfort of liberal California to the country, Vermont when Kate, the mom, takes the opportunity to be the visiting English professor at a renowned college. Miles, the dad, is still working on his PhD on Russian folktales – it’s taken about a dozen years, he’s still struggling to finish it. With the advent of a couple of kids, he’s willingly taken on the bigger caregiver role, taking a back seat while Kate moves forward with her academic career. Their kids Olive and Wesley, and their dog Guiseppe round out the crew. So maybe this year in the country, will be the perfect time for Miles to finish up his thesis and live up to his potential to make his family (ie. his parents) and wife proud.
While Kate gets settled into work, Miles continues his stay-at-home Dad duties, including school drop offs, running errands, and exploring with his trusty Guiseppe at his side (the author had me at Guiseppe – gotta love a dog with that name!). But rather than focus on his writing, something always gets in his way and there are distractions galore, as he gets to know the neighbourhood, town, countryside, meeting the most interesting folks. Kate encourages him to get out, she knows her husband well enough to know he needs the social interaction. Miles also gets involved with the school, the parents, who are very different than their California equivalents, and even gets invited to secret meetings with locals who are in search of evidence of local legend.
I can’t do any of the characters justice, each one of them is so different and unexpected, and I often laughed out loud reading what was going through Miles’ mind as he made his own judgements and measured people up. It is so often hilarious, and yet very realistic in the day to day – having spent some of my own time as a stay-at-home parent, with my identity quite tied to work/career, I found the perspective of Miles’ Dad experience very refreshing. Also, the very clever use of the radio phone-in shows dialogue– so true to life, when you’re in and out of the car!
And finally, the way the marriage was portrayed, with basic insecurities even after a couple has been together for a very long time. The author weaves in some serious bits about health, scares with the kids, what love and dedication mean, but not in a dramatic way, just very realistically, as life is like that.
This was a solid 4 for me (I would have given 4.5 stars but not quite a 5 because some of the pacing I found a little slow.)
Thanks to the author, Random House and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published July 2026.
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