Been there, done that

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to just leave everything behind and hit the open road? Pack up your belongings, say goodbye to your job and everything else and just leave with no idea of what lies ahead? I think its safe to say that a large portion of the western world has flirted with the idea, even if only a little. Personally, Ive thought about it on many occasions and have in fact done just that. It wasn't as romantic as the movies or my daydreams would make it out to be and even now I look back on it as just another part of my life. But it was an adventure and it was fun.

I was a new mom and faced with raising my son alone in the town where I grew up or heading off with my crazy family for a province we had never even seen. Obviously I chose to follow them blindly, but with every intention to move back if things didn't work out. So we sent all of our belongings with a mover and an agreement that he would store everything until we decided on a new town. We had no idea at the time but it took about two months to find one and for those two months I was living out of a suitcase with an infant.

At the time I really thought we were crazy and I occasionally regretted the decision. Here we are though coming up on 7 years in October and Im still living here. My parents settled in a smaller town about an hour or so outside of the capital city and I tried that for awhile, but it just wasn't for me. I relocated in a much more urban environment and Ive lived in the same neighborhood ever since.

What brought about this walk down memory lane today was my mother's mention of her applying for a job in the wilderness of the NWT. And Im talking WILD-ER-NESS, like north of the arctic circle. She recently finished a masters degree in counselling psych so she is now on the job hunt and our current province, just doesn't seem to cut it. My dad as well is just finishing up a BA in anthropology and his options are also limited as he wants to pursue a higher degree; hence the drastic move, AGAIN. This is all still early, as they are just applying for jobs so really there is about a 50% chance that it will actually happen. But still. It just seems crazy to completely uproot yourself twice in a lifetime without a clear path. This time I guess is a little different than the last because they would at least have jobs to be going to. Sigh, what a big thumper to get smacked with.