By Maryanna Gabriel
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| Book Presentation |
The first thing I did upon returning to my home turf was visit the home where I grew up. It made me so happy to see it. It looked loved and cared for with even more fabulous decks.
I am fortunate to have good friends. It was tons of fun seeing everybody with two reunions that were back to back, one from our high school at West Vancouver Secondary, and one from our old Outdoor Club. The bonding from both is still intense and it is possible the intervening shut-down with the pandemic helped us enjoy ourselves even more. The weather was ideal and quite honestly, we were enormously blessed to have had what we had.
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| Banyen Books |
I also managed to visit my mother-in-law who is quietly losing weight and sleeping most of the time in extended care. She opened her eyes and gave me the biggest smiles as I told her little stories. I wish I was closer. She is one of the most comforting people I know. The trip into Vancouver also led me to Banyen Books, one of the greatest bookstores, and was it ever exciting to find my book on the "Travel, Pilgrimages, & Sacred Places" shelf.
The presentation for the book at the West Vancouver Memorial Libary went really well. It takes a lot of energy to get up in front of people and I worked hard at perfecting the slides beforehand. They were an appreciative audience and so it was a highly rewarding experience, especially the interesting discussions that were engendered.
And now coming home, my heart is warm with the memory and a little sad it is all over.