I’m exhausted! Truly…there are no words for the degree of fatigue that I’m feeling right now! I went to bed at 8:30pm last night and still felt like crying when the alarm clock went off this morning! My lack of shut-eye was all for good reason though as we just got back from an amazing weekend in Tilbury, Chatham and London for a variety of different visits but mainly, for Dawn and Josh’s wedding.
As I mentioned late last week, I was quiet nervous about the prospect of returning to London as it’s been nearly a decade since I’ve really spent any time in my old neighborhood. When I left London to move to Ottawa, I was very ready to leave and it was important for me to leave various parts of my life behind in order to become a better version of myself (which I wasn’t doing a very good job of in London).
I had just turned nineteen when I moved. My cousins were all much younger back then, our family was going through a variety of different changes and just as the seasons were changing…so were we. In fact, a lot of us were moving on around that time. Change is good. Actually, as the saying goes, sometimes change is as good as a break but, with that it also means that things were seldom ever the same again…at least for me.
So anyways, needless to say that this past weekend was much anticipated. As we drove to the church where the ceremony was being held, memories of my childhood flooded over me with an impact that even I wasn’t quite prepared for. What was interesting was that the everything looked exactly the same…and yet, every single one of us were different. We were all grown up…some of us were married…some of us with children of our own…some of us still enduring change and others finally settling into life. It was heart warming actually.
After the ceremony, Steve and I had some time before heading off to the reception so, we parked the car and I took him on a walking tour of my old stomping grounds. There was something nearly divine about walking past my old house and by the old cemetery because those very spots are where the early pages of my book takes place. I’m sure that most of you know this already but for those of you who do not; with lots of encouragement and gentle nudging, I have indeed started my book. The first words found their way on paper last fall and while the beginning of 2008 proved to be a bit too busy for me to commit much time to it, I have settled into writing mode once again and the pages are slowly accumulating. The first chapter (so far) happens in that very home and on the grounds of Woodland Cemetery. So walking through this part of my life, while living in my present life, added an element of intensity to what I am experiencing at the moment while writing. It all seems too oddly appropriate!
So, we are home now and having spent a weekend in my old home makes coming back to my current home have a whole new meaning. It’s as though we were literally driving through the time and space that changed everything. That eight hour stretch of highway 401 changed my life forever and has continued to do so every time I make the trip. I’ve always been a home body for as long as I can remember and this weekend I realized just how much I love home…both of my homes.
As I mentioned late last week, I was quiet nervous about the prospect of returning to London as it’s been nearly a decade since I’ve really spent any time in my old neighborhood. When I left London to move to Ottawa, I was very ready to leave and it was important for me to leave various parts of my life behind in order to become a better version of myself (which I wasn’t doing a very good job of in London).
I had just turned nineteen when I moved. My cousins were all much younger back then, our family was going through a variety of different changes and just as the seasons were changing…so were we. In fact, a lot of us were moving on around that time. Change is good. Actually, as the saying goes, sometimes change is as good as a break but, with that it also means that things were seldom ever the same again…at least for me.
So anyways, needless to say that this past weekend was much anticipated. As we drove to the church where the ceremony was being held, memories of my childhood flooded over me with an impact that even I wasn’t quite prepared for. What was interesting was that the everything looked exactly the same…and yet, every single one of us were different. We were all grown up…some of us were married…some of us with children of our own…some of us still enduring change and others finally settling into life. It was heart warming actually.
After the ceremony, Steve and I had some time before heading off to the reception so, we parked the car and I took him on a walking tour of my old stomping grounds. There was something nearly divine about walking past my old house and by the old cemetery because those very spots are where the early pages of my book takes place. I’m sure that most of you know this already but for those of you who do not; with lots of encouragement and gentle nudging, I have indeed started my book. The first words found their way on paper last fall and while the beginning of 2008 proved to be a bit too busy for me to commit much time to it, I have settled into writing mode once again and the pages are slowly accumulating. The first chapter (so far) happens in that very home and on the grounds of Woodland Cemetery. So walking through this part of my life, while living in my present life, added an element of intensity to what I am experiencing at the moment while writing. It all seems too oddly appropriate!
So, we are home now and having spent a weekend in my old home makes coming back to my current home have a whole new meaning. It’s as though we were literally driving through the time and space that changed everything. That eight hour stretch of highway 401 changed my life forever and has continued to do so every time I make the trip. I’ve always been a home body for as long as I can remember and this weekend I realized just how much I love home…both of my homes.
I didn't take a whole lot of pictures of Dawn and Josh's wedding because I was too busy getting my groove on but, to see the remainder of the pictures that I did take, click here.
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