Here Comes the Sun

When I was about 9 or 10, I was being driven home from somewhere and a song came on the radio. Now, given the ubiquity of the Beatles, I'm sure I'd heard this song before, but for whatever reason, I really HEARD it for the first time in our old Econoline van. It was "Here Comes the Sun." It was an almost mystical experience for me... I was a nerdy, introverted little kid, but hearing those words, "It's been a long, cold lonely winter" and then George Harrison's warm repetition, "It's all right, it's all right," just seemed like a reassuring hug (fromageuse, I know).

I immediatly ran out and bought my first tape with my very own money (kids, a cassette tape was like a box to hold itunes in, but it could only hold either 60 or 90 minutes of songs and it had to be flipped half way through. You could also record songs from the radio, which was sort of like illegal downloading, only you'd get DJ Terry Di Monti's introduction to the set, too). Anyway, so deeply did I love the song, that once I had bought Abbey Road, I would listen to all of the songs, and then fastforward through "Here Comes the Sun." That's right, I was such a nerdy little kid, that I already knew that if you played a song over and over again, you would get sick of it. My love for "Here Comes the Sun" was so pure that I never wanted to tire of it...

Anyway, all this to say that "Here Comes the Sun" has been running through my head these days. It's partly because, mother of pearl, we've had an amazing run of weather here in Belgica. It's been sunny almost everyday, trees are blooming with pretty flowers that I am incapable of identifying, gardens are bursting with other pretty flowers, everything is green. It truly is the best run of weather we've had since we came here.

This glorious weather has reminded me of how badly I'll miss Spring when we're back in Canada. Ottawa just doesn't spring. One minute you're shovelling out the driveway for the 8 billionth time, the next day you take your snow tires off, and then bam! it's 35 degrees with enough humidity to make your (well, mine) frizz up like the Bride of Frankenstein's.

The other reason that the song is running through my head, though, is because I am going home. While I've loved living in Belgium, and it definitely hasn't been a "long, cold, lonely winter" -- any place that serves hot chocolate this good can't be bad -- we knew we were only coming temporarily and so it never became "home." Now, we get to go home and as George would say, "it's all right."

What this means for my blog is that it's over, sweet dudes. While there are both beer and waffles in Canada, neither has quite the same meaning (although beer is pretty important). Maybe I'll start up another one, called "Black flies and Tuques" or ""Politeness and Sneakers with Business Attire," but I don't think so...

It's been a really fun experience sharing my Belgian bewilderment with you, and on this my 100th post -- coincidence! -- I want to thank everyone who ever left a comment. It's nice to know I've been read.