Just wanted to say "thank you" to everyone for all of your support during this huge life transition of ours: moving to Calgary. We've had a lot of conversations over the past few weeks with friends and family--trying to come to terms with how this is going to work--living a few thousand miles away from most of our friends and families!!
So far things have gone really well--we've been thrilled by the number of visitors who have shared in our excitement of this place we now call "home". And we've been so lucky to have the wonders of modern technology allowing us to make phonecalls at all hours of the day (or night!), and to keep in touch by email, weblog, and webcam!
While this was definitely not an easy decision, in the long run, the opportunity to live and work somewhere totally new and to enjoy the lifestyle of living near the mountains in one of the most beautiful parts of the country was too exciting to turn down! We have really lucked out in our timing of finding jobs that we both love, and that will help to build our careers in the long term, as well as moving at a time when several of our friends from Ontario are also making Calgary their home.
We have been warmly welcomed by acquaintainces and friends of friends already living here, and have been able to set up a vast network of friends in a very short amount of time.
So far, this has been an amazing experience overall!
But that's not to say that it is without its' challenges...
Being "home" over the holidays served as a very real reminder of all that we have left behind in Ontario. Life there is going on without us, (whether we like it or not!) with new and exciting things happening all the time (including a major "baby boom"!).
While we can try to visit often, it's not the same as sharing in the day-to-day events, as we did the past few years living inToronto. At the same time, being in Ontario reminded us that there is no real "easy"alternative for us right now--we were long overdue to move out of the hustle and bustle of the GTA, and weren't really sure where to go that would provide the opportunities we were looking for... (Ottawa was second on our list--but Calgary had the first job offer!!).
The next few years will be full of uncertainty as we try to sort out how we can get "the best of both worlds". In the meantime, we continue to be grateful that so many of you have made such amazing efforts to be involved in our lives, and to keep us involved in yours.
Thanks again...and hopefully we'll see you (again!) soon!
