Vancouver was really great. Christina was finally there and I got to spend time with her and Shaun like I used to growing up. The only difference was that Jamie was missing and Shaun was still big on Jesus. I can't help that it bothers me.

Okay, I can support what makes people happy but I have a hard time when people think that what makes them happy should and will make everyone happy. I am not a religous person. I have a spiritual life and I have a faith in God but I see pretty well any belief system as a path to God.

Like, any belief in a power, a force, a system, anything that is greater than yourself, to me, is a belief in God because I see God as one god, many gods, no god in any gender, no gender being or non-being possible. In short, Jesus is one path to god, as is buddism and enlightenment or Hindu beliefs or Islam or Jewish or Wiccan or nature-based religions.

I go by the belief that all religions are true. They all just fundamentally say to be a good person and I think that as a diverse population we need different ways to express faith in something we can't see but feel. I think God has revealed himself in many ways to many people to give us all something that we can find to understand or learn from. When you get right down to it, they're all the same because they all promote kindness towards others and faith.

And that's where Shaun and I differ and he has such a rigid belief system where Jesus is the only way, for everyone. I refuse to passively submit to unsolicited preaching. I will wait for him to pray before we eat, I will listen to his christian rock in the car, I will listen to him express his love for Jesus and I won't tell him I think his church is scary and gives me the no feeling. But I can't pretend to believe in something.

But I won't dwell on that any further. The trip really was excellent. I saw the Aquarium with Christina and picked up a present for Ross- a big stuffed sea turtle, which is a private joke of ours.

Shaun and I went to a classical Chinese garden, which was stunning. All five of us went on a dinner cruise and I had a massage and facial at Aunt Debbie and Mike's spa.

Christina and I slept on a matress in the living room and had some really great talks before going to bed, the kind that you can have with someone you're really close to where you just pick up where you left off.

I probably won't see them until Easter next year, which is a long way away. But I do feel lucky to have been able to go twice this year.

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