Anniversary

It's our anniversary today; Grassy and our family, that is. My how we have changed. Not on the outside. We both look almost exactly the same as we did when we got together last August. On the inside we are both different.

I can still feel the terror uncertainty of driving into a place that seemed completely foreign with no personal connections to ease the transition. If I close my eyes I can slip back into the emotions of that week. Excitement, nervousness, fear, disappointment, hopefulness. I remember lying in bed with LK those first few nights close to tears at what we had left behind and the mountain of newness we were facing here. There were nights that I slipped over the border into tearful questioning why we were here.

I still don't have a solid answer to why we are here. I do know that we have been changed. I am stronger and know that my family is stronger than before. I know that we have been changed by people we have met here. I am looking forward to exploring new relationships this year with students, colleagues and neighbours.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this small community in northern Ontario is building a little home in our hearts that will never disappear. I know for sure that this move was not in any way a mistake, and that we are the better for it.