There's No Place Like Home

December 05, 2011

It's December and normally I'd be looking out the window of my snug farmhouse watching the snow fall on my acreage in the Kootenay's. Instead, I'm sitting with my cat, watching birds flock around the feeder outside my cozy little apartment window in suburban Mission. There is no snow. The grass is green, albeit a bit crunchy underfoot with the morning frost.

times idyllic and at others nightmarish. If asked to do it again, knowing what I do now, I wouldn't hesitate to give up my Jimmy Choos for Wellies all over again.

And as much as our hearts were joined with our land, we finally faced the reality that living in an economically depressed village with no signs of recovery wasn't a tenable situation. I was working two and three jobs and still not covering just our basic needs. Every year we stayed out on the farm meant digging ourselves ever deeper into debt. We had only one choice, sell the farm and move in with our other sister living in the Fraser Valley.

As we said goodbye to our beloved farm and drove the ten hours to what would be our new home, I had ample time to reflect on my experience living in the Kootenay's. Hardship and struggle burns away all that is insubstantial and illuminates what is really important, what is valued.

I was starting over again with a much clearer vision of who I was and what I needed. One of the most important things to me was to be in a place that feels like home. But what does that mean to me now?  I thought living in the country, away from the fast-paced big city, was the answer. Now, I didn't know.

As we made the final leg of our trip into the Fraser Valley, I defined what home meant to me as five essential things.

1. Having my basic needs met and included in that list of food, shelter and clothing and, just as important, feeling safe.
2. Being connected to friends and family. Now I live with two of my sisters, and my beautiful nieces. My Aunts and Uncles are a ferry-ride away. Thanks to modern technology I'm still connected to my close-knit group of friends whether they live in Alberta or BC.
3. Living debt free even if that means I will no longer be able to own my own home. In ten years, I've downsized from 1300 sq.ft. to 923 sq.ft. and now my apartment is 700 sq.ft. Surprisingly everything I own fits.
4. Being in nature. While four acres is nice, even a small plot of land where I can stick my fingers into the soil and nurture plants is enough to feed my soul.

5. Being surrounded by things that hold meaning for me and are beautiful in both form and function. Books, pictures, my Heinkel knife, freshly ground, dark roast coffee, my heat pack, and a pair of fuzzy slippers.