Buckles and boots

Back in God's country. The land of blue skies, wide-open spaces, affordable land, midnight daylight, potato guns, weiner roasts at the river, country hospitality, unlimited trash pickup, short commutes, grocery store "visits," cowboys, mosquitos...

Our move back to Alberta, though not without some complications in the acquisition of our moving arrangements went quite smoothly otherwise (note to reader: Do NOT ever rent from U-Haul). After about 16 hours on the road, we rolled into Grande Prairie in the wee morning hours of July 1. Our walkie-talkies ran out of juice when we needed them the most and by the time we hit Hinton, highway lanes were pretty much up to our own discretion. There was no stopping though because we didn't want to wake up in the "wrong" town. But we arrived at our destination safely and unscathed. The girls were awesome and the puppy was surprisingly and thankfully accommodating. By that evening we were sitting on the deck looking into the northern midnight sky as it exploded with Canada Day fireworks.

Everyone in Valleyview has been wondeful and for this whole week we've been here, I have only had to make one supper because we were invited over to someone's house all the time.

But it was a more difficult transition than I expected and was pretty much a wreck for most of the week - it all seemed too much - the packing, the leaving, the moving, the new surroundings, the new puppy... I was very easily agitated, stressed, irritated, pitiful, felt like a horrible mother and wife, and given to tears at the drop of a hat.

And on top of that, I felt badly that I felt so badly! By the end of this first week, I think I can say that things seem much more positive and I don't doubt that we are meant to be here.

There is land in our future, our kids have loved frolicking in the river, are meeting kids close to their ages, still seem to love me even if I don't deserve it, got to ride a horse tonight and want to go "tomorrow" to buy horses of their own. I'll have to pick up some boots!