A Quiet Weekend in Oaxaca

I arrived back in Oaxaca after a week of working in Austin, Texas and meeting friends in Las Vegas. It was a great trip, but quickly back to work on Tuesday and Ralph and I's realization that we will soon be heading back to Canada brought on a bit of a quiet weekend. We head back to Canada on April 1st, stopping in Austin to work for a few days on our way back, our estimated arrival date back in Toronto being April 10th. I feel as if we are at a bit of a loss for the next four weeks. We have some research to finish, but we have no visitors arriving, no extended trips out of Oaxaca, no fiestas that need our attention, no place left unvisited that we feel we must see urgently before we go. We went and sat and ate and drank our way through town on Friday, Saturday we went to Central de Abbastos, a huge market here in Oaxaca that we had been avoiding, and then yesterday out to Tlacolula to the huge market there. I am buying things I have been looking at for 5 months: wooden spatulas, a mexican smock for the kitchen, a white shawl, a final purchase from our weaver lady. We have brought the map in from the car and started to plan our drive back, we will go a different way this time, to compare with our trip down and decide which route we prefer. I find the thought of leaving Oaxaca very difficult. So many friends here are shocked that we are leaving, that 5 months has already passed. Family in Canada are anxious for our return to what they think is "safe". Friends in Canada happy to have us around socially again. What Ralph and I came to figure out has been done: we know Oaxaca is the place for us, we know how much money we need to make Oaxaca become our permanent home, we have an idea for a side business to make money while we wait for our vines to grow and our inn to become popular. We need to go back to Canada to execute on the plan. It's time.
And yet I sit and look out at my mountains as I read my novel on the patio and am crushed by the thought of leaving. Ojalá, I will return quickly to my Oaxaca.