BESTSELF™ ICEBREAKER | Beliefs 09

WHAT'S THE LAST THING YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT AND WHY?

Moving.

I was determined never to move again. After years of looking, buying, selling, packing, moving, unpacking, on top of the logistics and mountains of paperwork that accompanied all of it, I’d had enough. I settled into a lovely quiet life with a lovely (not so quiet) partner in a familiar town where I had a handful of lovely (bury-the-body) friends. I had created solid routines and knew exactly where to get virtually anything I needed. I was travelling and had wonderful care for my dogs. I was in full pre-grandmother preparation mode. Why in the world would I ever give that up?

The old Yiddish proverb: “We plan, god laughs” proved true.

Bill died and things changed. I felt like I was losing him over and over again, every day - in every room, every time I drove the Jeep, every breath I took.

All four of my kids had been long away at school and living their lives (though they did come home when the pandemic started). They had been strongly encouraging me to leave Oakville for years - like many teens/young adults, they were critical of everything about their home town.

A family friend invited us to visit at her home in Southampton. For years she and her husband had been strongly encouraging me to leave Oakville and move north. It had never appealed, after all, I was a city girl - raised in Toronto. I was too big, too loud, too something for a small town life. I had gone to boarding school in a small town, followed by University in an even smaller town. Zero about small town living appealed to me. Then after a few inexplicable events, I found myself signing on the dotted line and purchasing a home where I could watch the waves and sunset every day.

I’m still in pre-grandmother preparation mode, just in a different setting. I’m truly living my best life. Who knew?