I'm about to go home in a few days. To visit the familiar faces, places and all the good things that comes with home.

It got me thinking about this flag that I have carried with me the past few years. My friend Jacinda and I traveled to Europe together a few summers ago, and we each brought the infamous maple leaf with us to help celebrate Canada Day while we were away. Since then, I've brought it with me to all the places I've been and lived. Just carrying it with me in my backpack.

I have found a certain comfort in keeping this with me. I feel like living away teaches you things about your own country. Like everything you have taken for granted, you begin to love. No country is perfect, but there are parts of Canada that I deeply miss - like the fresh mountain air, the heart on your sleeve mentality, freedom in all shapes and forms, going to church without having to show a passport, and deep shades of red in fall and bright whites in winter. While I am in-love with travel and seeing new places and encountering new things, my home is my compass.

My yearly visit home always bring with it so many emotions. Mostly, I constantly feel a sense of being in two places at once. I can't really put it into words. It's so strange to be planted in more than one place. Both experiences of being a home and living abroad seem to be intensified. Every interaction and every moment is sometimes hard to be taken lightly - because I feel these come to an end more quickly.

I was just thinking about his tonight and wanted to share this with you. I am so excited to be going home. I need to re-fuel.