My Way of Living + Time

Nearly our first year
Foggy Morning-0473

We are 10 months into our new life up here, nearly our first year of living in the Okanagan, and you would think that by now it would feel more like home. In some ways this area feels so familiar because we have spent so many holidays here, but there are times I find myself daydreaming about my favourite haunts down on the coast, forgetting that they are a 5 hour drive away, and not just out the door in a quick walk. The feeling is fleeting, it comes and goes, sometimes when I look out the window, or when we are driving down the hi way, I will get a flash of unfamiliarity, a sense of where are we. It’s not constant, it doesn’t last, and I am wondering when it’s going to go away.

Foggy Morning-0480

It could be the changing seasons, the promise of the leaves turning, and the spectacular glow in the sky during the setting sun. It could be that I miss my close friends down there, and the only familiar faces I see so far are my family up here. But one part of me is walking through memories of the urban forest in my mind, watching the squirrels chase the leaves, and hearing the barking of the off leash dogs running down the path to greet me. Or maybe I am at the beach, feeling the ocean spray on my cheeks as the wind howls in October.

Foggy Morning-0482

And then I shake my head, and look out at the fir trees that surround our new house, I watch the squirrel tossing down cones in a steady stream onto our lawn, I hear the ravens, and the eagles cawing it out over the fields, and I realize that unfamiliar scenes at times or not, I am home, for good. And it is good.

Foggy Morning-0488

I know that it’s a good feeling to consider this home, and that part of my heart was wrenched away from the ocean too soon, the familiar spots are still down there, and I can visit any time I want, but I don’t want to go, my life is here, and here is where I want to be.

Foggy Morning-0489

It’s a different climate, a different look to everything up here, there is less moisture, less green, the sky is bigger, better, this is my life, but I hope that feeling of unfamiliarity goes away soon. After all it’s been almost a year.

Foggy Morning-0531

Is this just me, or have you made a big change in scenery, and felt this way? I would love some feedback… tell me it will change, this isn’t homesickness, it’s fleeting, it comes only for a few minutes. And I definitely don’t want to go back. Not homesick…

Day, family, HOPE, RUN, running, and more:

Nearly our first year + Time