Home sweet home

We just returned late Sunday night from our month long B.C. travelling extravaganza. Phew!

It was an awesome trip. So many family and friends who we got to see and catch up with. I think that we saw everyone we were hoping to see! So that is pretty special (plus a couple of bonus people along the way who we weren't expecting to see at all).

We have a lot of pictures, which I still need to sort through. That's always fun though, because it's a chance to relive all the fun vacation moments.

I was surprised at just how good it feels to be home. We stepped into our own house on Friday night and gave a collective sigh of relief. It is wonderful to travel and catch up with friends and family, many of whom very graciously allowed us to stay in their homes. But it's always nice to be home at the end of it all.

For at least my first year in St. John's, I was often pining for the west coast... at varying degrees of intensity. I had just moved there from an amazing year in Vancouver, from a year and a half in BC, and having never lived there before I was still in my 'honeymoon period' with the west coast, probably. I couldn't help but compare all the things I missed about Vancouver and Victoria with my new surroundings in St. John's. The friends I had left behind, the better weather and the mountains.. all of those things.

But now, almost 3 years after I moved here, I can really say that it feels like home. Sometimes I think it takes a good trip away to cement that in your mind. We have a great community here with good friends- many of whom have become like family, since our 'real' families are so far away. We have a cute little house and a gorgeous ocean to live beside (even though it can be very fierce!). We even have a garden and ate our first radishes this morning (they were quite small, but still!) We can do awesome hikes within a short drive, and there are cliffs instead of mountains. The bad weather makes you really appreciate the sun when it's out.. a sunny day in St. John's is so beautiful and the sky is so blue. I am thankful for this city.

Wherever you live there will always be quirks. We saw that on our trip as well. Some places are so gorgeous, but very isolated.. it's hard to get to family and friends. A city can be awesome, but it does take a long time to get anywhere. Living on an island means you have to deal with the ferry (well, we live on an island too, but we rarely drive off it). Produce might be cheaper and better, but gas and rent is more expensive. Little things like that.

What really matters is who you are with, and that you make where you are living home. To throw yourself into life there. Plug in and build relationships and get involved.  I needed to tell myself this a lot during the first while in St. John's. I still do.

Life is not easy no matter where you live. The wonderful thing about visiting those you love in person, after trying to catch up/ keep in touch over the phone, is that you really get to see how things are going for them. To chat over tea or supper or dessert and share struggles and joys and see where they are at. Thank you, friends, for sharing your hearts with us. It really means a lot. It makes the distance seem shorter.