It's been over two years since I last blogged and of course, life marches on. Another year in the bush, another child and even a year in the city (more on that later). It continues to amaze me how much we humans wrestle with change. Is that not the essence of life? There are many forms that change can take. Environmental change is one. Where you live, what you do, how you do it. Personal change is another. Now that one, that is a hard one for me. I strive to be open to change in my inmost being. To be receptive to the changes that other people believe I should make in myself. I don't know about all of you, but I certainly like to trick myself that everything is fine, that change is not required. "No, no, my little Life's Boat is not rushing down this river, it's completely still and peaceful!"Well, a year ago we decided to make a change. We decided to come to the city of Ottawa for a year, a completely urban adventure. Really, it couldn't have been more different than what we had been living for the past couple years. My husband found a job downtown, and without a place to live we packed up some of our belongings and headed east. After a short search we landed an amazing condo across the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec. And just like that our 2011 began! We went from heating with wood, watching for animals, driving in a van to living in a condo apartment, in the middle of a city with the bus system as our only form of transport.
And now our year is over and we are going north once more. It is with some trepidation that I pack my bags. Life in the city is pretty easy. Life in this city is really easy. You can walk to almost anywhere you want, it's safe (from both man and beast) there's not much upkeep involved with a condo, and most importantly in Ottawa there is a Starbucks on every corner. I don't want to change! I don't want to go back to the place that is sometimes a challenge for me! But maybe, just maybe being in that place will force me to look at myself and see the places that really need change. The places that will make me a better person for myself, my family, my friends and my world.
