Movin on

Good morning from beautiful Jasper, Alberta!

Today marks day two of a two-day roadtrip to Kelowna with my Dad. Dad, of course, can't drive yet, so he's just enjoying the scenery from the passenger's seat. We're on the road taking their extra Cadillac, new computers, and a U-Haul full of Christmas decorations to their new home in the Okanagan.

I'll admit that it was a little bizarre emptying out an entire attic of stuff and loading it into a trailor, never for it to return to Fort McMurray. Moving is not a new concept for me, i've done it 7 times since 1999. But for my parents, this is their first move in a quarter-century.

Change is a funny thing that does different things to different people. I tend to be more of an embracer of change, but I was unsure how my folks would feel about their slow move to BC. Seems, though, that they're as excited about it as I am about my impending move to Vancouver Island.

Fort McMurray has been a great place for all of us to work, live, and play. But even then, now is the time for a change of scenery... for my folks to finally enjoy the fruits of their hard labour, and for me to finally get a piece of paper that will make me legitimately employable.

What makes the respective moves easier, I think, is that we won't be strangers in our new homes.

Mom and Dad came to Fort McMurray 30 years ago along with a number of other folks who I have collectively come to know as the "Manitouwadge Refugees" (Manitouwadge is a small town in the middle of nowhere in NW Ontario). The "refugees" are all getting ready to retire and, from the looks of it, they'll all be living within about 20 minutes of each other in the Kelowna area.

In my case, I fell in love with Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of BC several years ago and have made a point of going back quite frequently. On those trips (mostly of a political nature), I have made so many great friends that i'm confident in saying that i've got more friends in BC than I do in Fort McMurray (where my social circle consists almost exclusively of acquaintances).

There are plenty of reasons that i'm looking forward to the moves to BC and i'll be thrilled when we're finally out there full time.

For now, though, i'm just glad to have the trip started.