Francophone

After a refreshingly uneventful travel day, I arrived in Montreal shortly after 4 pm eastern. And my chief observation flying in and driving to the city center? Spring has not yet arrived in the north. All the grass is brown. The trees are bare. The river is littered with sheets of ice. Every building has a dirty pile of snow next to it.

Yet after dinner tonight, walking back in the still-warm evening with the city lights a-glitter, I became filled with excitement. This is a beautiful place, and I can't wait to come here in November for the annual meeting.

Tomorrow starts the round of all-day confabs with my colleagues: agendas, motions, discussions, plans, conflict, resolution. I have very little free time built into my schedule. But if I step outside on a clear night and look at the figures of the twelve apostles lining the facade of the cathedral right next door, silhouetted against the illuminated windows of the high-rises all around, I'm sure I will be rejuvenated.