A Final Reflection...

Our adventure comes to a close as we slide back into our daily life in rural Alberta. My thoughts roam around and I am thankful for all that we experienced as a foursome... Thank you Vancouver!

The final words that I will leave you with come from Brian Williams from NBC via Mel Davidson, coach of the Canadian Women's Hockey Team...

Thank you, Canada:

 For being such good hosts.

 For your unfailing courtesy.

 For your (mostly) beautiful weather.

 For scheduling no more than 60 percent of your float plane departures at the exact moment when I was trying to say something on television.

 For not seeming to mind the occasional (or constant) good-natured mimicry of your accents. For your unique TV commercials -- for companies like Tim Horton’s -- which made us laugh and cry.

 For securing this massive event without choking security, and without publicly displaying a single automatic weapon.

 For having the best garment design and logo-wear of the games -- you've made wearing your name a cool thing to do.

 For the sportsmanship we saw most of your athletes display.

 For not honking your horns. I didn't hear one car horn in 15 days -- which also means none of my fellow New Yorkers rented cars while visiting.

 For making us aware of how many of you have been watching NBC all these years.

 For having the good taste to have an anchorman named Brian Williams on your CTV network, who turns out to be such a nice guy.

 For the body scans at the airport which make pat-downs and cavity searches unnecessary.

 For designing those really cool LED Olympic rings in the harbor, which turned to gold when your athletes won one.

 For always saying nice things about the United States ...when you know we're listening.

 For sharing Joannie Rochette with us.

 For reminding some of us we used to be a more civil society.    

Mostly, for welcoming the world with such ease and making lasting friends with all of us.