Summer 2014

 beautiful sunset on Galiano Island

Funny how a life can change in a very short time.  Sometimes, we can live a life time in a matter of a day.  This July marked our two years on this beautiful island.  This July also marked a closure, an end of a chapter. (no, we are not moving)  With mixed emotions, we packed our car and headed out of town.  We realized then, that this was the first time in two years we have got off the island as a family.  No work agenda.  No other people.  No missing family members.

Just us.

Strange.

These last two years have been a whirlwind of life.  Leaving everything we knew behind to embrace a new life.  Putting roots down to build a community.  Building an authentic community around us for a brighter future and to put meaning in today.  We have left good employment, a home, a vibrant arts community and a community of good friends.  I left all of that for countless rejections while trying to make ends meet with creative financing and numerous part-time jobs.  I left all of that for loneliness and uncertainty.  It has been a challenging time.   But we kept pressing on.  Keeping the dreams alive.  Hope is a real motivator.  

 Sunset on Hornby Island

I wanted to go see some places I've never been.  Some unknown places and become invisible for a while.  So, we mapped out our route on 4 of the small Gulf Islands off the east coast of Vancouver Island and we were off.  I left my phone at home and recharged the camera battery.  I used to take lots of decent pictures.  I used to love that.  I was just starting to learn all the photography lingo and figure out how to use all the dials and buttons.  When my life gets overwhelming, those things take the backseat.  I packed a novel I had picked up years ago at a thrift store for a dollar--"The Power of One".  Aside from some audio books while I worked in the evenings, this is the first book I read in two years.

Mona and Penny showing us how it's done at Mayne Island Dog Show

We were by the sea every day.  We were surrounded by so much beauty.  I was with the 4 people who mattered to me the most.  Friends will come and go, but family is forever.  But they can really irritate you too.  We learned some new games.  We jumped off a pier.  We stopped and breathed in the salty sea air and watched the sunset every day.  I felt alive again.  Life is waiting for me.  I am trying to shed the two years of autopilot and blah to embrace this beautiful life.  As I was eating a veggie panini in an orchard on Hornby Island, I realized how such a small thing can awaken my senses.  This panini had some of the most fresh vegetables and spices I've tasted.  I used to love cooking like that.  So much flavours and so much fresh goodness.  I felt motivated to start cooking good food again.  Something I love and consider sacred.

Penny wasn't a big fan of camping and sitting in the dirt.  A warm tea towel in the sunbeam on the table surely is meant for her. 

The last two years have been nothing like we have experienced.  We had some of the best moments of our lives and some of the hardest.  I've met some amazing people here and have made some amazing connections (like my job at Bamboletta Dolls).  In all the goodness and challenges, I felt as though I have seen the best and the worst of myself.  I've seem myself shine and really lose it.  Our time away was great.  I am ready to move forward now.  I am ready for this new chapter of unknown and new.  I am hoping for a balance in the coming months.  I don't want my camera to collect dust.  I don't want to eat tasteless, blah food on the same rotation.  I don't want to miss my moments with my family.  I don't want to wait 2 years to read another book.