Honourable senators, early December is always an interesting time of year. We have our work legs likely in two places, one pushing hard to do the important Senate work well and the other leg processing many things on our family seasonal to-do lists.

Today I ask each of you to take a moment to pause and reflect on your home team — those individuals and collectives that support you. We each know the village that assists us; our home teams are very important to acknowledge and thank.

For immediate family who support us — for me, my husband, Bruce, and daughters, Kailee and Kristine — being here in Ottawa, we choose to make a sacrifice every week. Events are missed or covered for us, and it is likely that we present ourselves as a little tired when we walk through the door at the end of the week. But our home team is there unconditionally.

These important people mean so many things. They make sure we get to and from Ottawa safely, including middle-of-the-night pickups or even finding us arriving at a different airport. They welcome us and give us a much-needed sense of balance. They make us laugh, help us set aside this work and share their worlds with us.

I have listened to many different senators’ stories. I was also inspired by Senator Manning and his words about Mr. and Mrs. Petten last week. Here, some senators have their best friend, their dog that needs be looked after; some have folks keeping their homes clean, shovelling the driveway or even checking to see if they left their hair straightener or coffee maker turned on.

We have colleagues here who are parents of young children. They are dearly needed and want to be there for their kids, and having backups at home is essential. There are friends who bring so much joy and balance into your life; they don’t need to talk about the Senate but just enjoy time spent together. Often when we get home, we strategically separate our Ottawa work from our time there.

This week, I have welcomed one of my special home teams to Ottawa to shadow our daily work, learn more about what we do and get a feel for what we are trying to do to make Canada the very best it can be.

I thank my girls’ group — Jennifer, Paula, Kathy, Deb, Barbie and Diane — for spending the past three days with me. It has been an honour to share the Senate, the House, Centre Block, East Block and committee with them. It has also been deeply special to watch through their eyes and respond to their questions. Truly, my friends are my family.

Another group at home we call “the usuals.” Each week, we get out and enjoy long beautiful trails on Fridays. You know already how I feel about the importance of physical activity to our health. I am thankful for people at home who challenge me, push me and constructively respond to my work and intent.

There are many little things that help make our Senate work happen. You know what they are. We value our home teams. We need our home teams. We thank our home teams.

Thank you, meegwetch.