Make a Life not a Living

Yesterday I went to the mall. I saw an old coworker there and asked her how she was doing. Her response was " Awful" Now this lady I have found is naturally a "glass is half empty" type of gal.

Knowing she just moved here in the summer I wanted to get to the bottom of awful. My response back was this " Let me guess, you work and go home and sit and stare at the walls at home"

I was 100% correct. After making some suggestions on how to get involved in the community and make friends (all suggestions and ideas were shot down) I left the store and pondered this.

Now this can be said for any place in the whole world Paris, Auckland, New York... not just Fort McMurray. If all you do is work and sit at home YOU WILL BE MISERABLE. I will say that living here does require some creativity and thought however dissing a community and saying it sucks is an unfair statement if you have not yet really experienced it.

I have moved a lot in my life. There are communities I prefer over others strictly based on layout, amenities, location in the province etc. However, more so I love a place because of the people. The feel of a place is determined by your sense of belonging to it and your feel of connection to other humans in friendship, hobbies, and interests.

Last weekend we went back to Red Deer for a much needed getaway. I was completely overwhelmed at the love we were shown by people we had not seen 5 months. People are what make life rich. It is common for people to come to Fort McMurray to work and make some big bucks. It is harder here to establish and maintain friendships because of shift work and peoples priorities to make money. It's not impossible make friends but can be a challenge.

At the end of your life it is not going to be said on anyone's deathbed, I wish I had made an extra $50,000 this year. I challenge you to make the time to invest in relationships... people....organizations.... hobbies.... faith.. Things that will bring a depth and richness that cannot be bought.

Back in Fort Mac

Wow.. it really happened. I moved to the last place in the whole world I thought I would ever end up. When I wrote last we were attempting to transition from Red Deer to a farm in Olds, AB and as the stomach turns and life gets stranger than fiction, we ended up back in our old stomping grounds.

This is not necessarily a bad thing either. After 5 years of painful commuting, our family is back together again full time. So that is a plus. The downside as is the lifecycle of Fort McMurray, 80% of my friends that resided here before are now gone and relocated down south. I am grateful however that I kept up on other relationships through Facebook and Christmas cards. Atleast there is a little bit of familiar.

We were able to move back into our place here that we had been renting out while we were away so that was a seemless transition although going from 2400 sq. feet to 1400 sq. feet is a bit of a shock to the system and we have spent a considerable amount of energy downsizing our life and belongings. Strangely, this process has been quite freeing. 

I will admit it is a struggle to make new friends and we dearly miss our rock start support system we had in Central Alberta.. but things take time and I am confident that we are exactly where we are supposed to be.

Love, Peace & Chicken Grease

Beth