The rest of Manitoba

Sometimes living in a mini school bus can get more than a little cramped. Not every minute is filled with smiling faces and stunning vistas. Real life happens here too and it can get pretty messy sometimes. Dirty laundry, tears over spilled milk (an entire drawer of clothes filled with a litre of milk to be precise) and voices which, quite honestly, could have been gentler, all had to be cleaned up before reaching Winnipeg.

The beauty of human relationships is that we CAN ask for forgiveness and we CAN choose forgiveness. There is no more powerful gift to ask for or receive, and I sure needed it that day.

It was fitting that our next stop was to visit the home of the Most Beloved Bear in the World. We had been reading "Winnie the Pooh" aloud in anticipation of this landmark, and for a bear of very little brain he offered some pretty sage advice: "You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes."

It's always humbling to take the first step toward reconciliation, but it is so worth it. If there's one thing I've learned as a parent it is this; our children learn best what forgiveness and reconciliation look like by what we are willing to model. It wasn't perfect, but dirty laundry found some soap and water, eyes were wiped dry of tears, apologies and forgiveness were both given.

We closed off the evening with a quick visit to the Museum of Manitoba, and hunkered down for the night thankful for shelter, family, forgiveness, and a wise little bear.

We awoke to snow and 4C inside the bus. We do have the "Mr. Heater - Little Buddy" propane heater and a CO2 detector in the bus, but still don't feel comfortable running the heater through the night. Instead, Victor got up first and braved the cold to get the heater going while the kids and I huddled in our winter sleeping bags until it was warm enough to roll out.

We headed west to the snowy and sleepy town of Souris, Manitoba. This little town boasts the longest swinging bridge in Canada, and an agate pit that you can go rock hounding in. Unfortunately, the pit was closed because of the snow but a quick call to the number on the door of "The Rock Shop" resulted in Frank driving down the street to open the door to the shop for us. I think Frank was happy for the company, and we were grateful for education on rocks from the area and a back stage tour of the shop.

One of the best features of this unique little town is the peacocks that roam the street. There's no logical explanation for this, just pure whimsy from the townsfolk. The birds are treated like first class citizens and are free to roam where they please. Strict fines are in effect for cars who fail to give them the right of way on the road. And why not let the peacocks roam free? It might just brighten someone's day to see that beautiful plumage strutting around. It sure made all of us smile.