#homesweethome I would never be able to afford a lovely home like this that has been well functioning for a family of five for decades. Now with the three kids grown and living in Courtnay, Nelson and Japan with their families, there are four bedrooms upstairs that are empty. Home sharing is such a smart move. Not only does it help single professionals like myself who are new to the community or foreign university students like my two sweet roomies Anju and Kanika, it also helps to service the expenses for the home owners. Why wouldn’t you rent out the empty rooms in your home? My new Mom and Dad hehe, landlords, are very methodical in their selection criteria. They have house rules established and a handout of expectations. The house is very secure, always being locked whether we are in or out. It’s locked down like Fort Knox!
I grew up in a sweet little community of 5000 people in Vanderhoof, B.C. We never locked our doors. We actually didn’t even have a key to our front door. I remember my mom and I went on one of our many horse-showing trips, or maybe it was an eventing Nick Holmes Smith camp in Chase Creek? We would ask the neighbours to keep an eye on things. Doors would be left open. And we never had a problem ever. Our vehicles would always be unlocked. So rather recently this summer when I forgot to lock my car doors after I came back from a trip to Enderby. I was very saddened with what I found, or didn’t find, when I woke up the next day. The night before I came back and was so tired. I took one load of stuff upstairs and once I sat down I just couldn’t go back down for another trip so I went to sleep. I had just planned to move to Enderby to stay with my amazing kindred spirit Glen. So, I had basically all of my favourite things I didn’t want to leave home without. Brand new $500 tent. Four different Henckles knives. My Filson computer briefcase with my MacBook pro charger in it. (Thank goodness I had the sense to bring my MacBook Pro in!). My leatherman. A Thule sling backpack. My Shawnigan rowing touring bags (when we went to nationals my first year in St. Catherine’s Ontario and then my second year when we competed in New Zealand). Gone. There were more things. But I came downstairs the next day and it was absolutely cleaned out. It was a real wake-up call, pun intended. Part of me was kind of thankful that I didn’t have to bring all that stuff back upstairs. Really, it’s just stuff. It’s all replaceable if it’s really important. It was actually a bit of a blessing in that it helped me part with the things I’ve become attached to. The things I couldn’t, or rather didn’t want to, do without. But I digress…
Going back to my current living situation in my very safe and secure home. There are multiple doors to every section of the home. It’s really cool. I absolutely don’t want to buy a home in Victoria ever. The expense of the type of home I would like in the neighbourhood I would want to live would be astronomical. That makes zero sense. And then I would be overworking just to get by. I learned my lesson with the way I chose to live my life in Kamloops. I got excited with my income but then I started overspending. I think this was also my way of coping with difficult feelings: I was numbing. But I don’t need to talk about that anymore. I’ve worked through those issues in therapy and I understand myself better now. I am no longer in that frame of mind. I am a work in progress of course, because aren’t we all? I am moving in the right direction of decreasing my living expenses so I can work less and do more of what I love: run, bike, swim, basically just get outside and just live. I have found the quality of life that I want and I haven’t even been here a week.
I also really like living with other people. I was really lonely in Kamloops. I was married for seven years and then divorced and 10 months later relocated my life to Kamloops. I met some really great people in Kamloops but as is understandable people have their own lives and routines and friends and I didn’t have any friends who would invite me out. Basically. I know I can take initiative and I tried to multiple times but they were busy or not interested or whatever. So, I just ran. A lot. I trained by myself. I overworked. I lived my life so fast and hard that I couldn’t feel my feelings; again numbing. I had some unhealthy relationships. But anyway, going forward…
Part of me wants to do travel nursing, and I can always do that eventually, but right now what feels right is to create some stability in my life, learn how to be more frugal and enjoy the gifts that every day has to offer. It feels surreal to be in Victoria. It is a mecca for a triathlete. I will compete in Ironman someday. Somebody pinch me. Am I dreaming? But no; this is real. It was not easy for me to make drastic changes like I just did but I know what I want in my life and I’m not afraid to do what it takes to go out and get it. #qualityoflife #getbusyliving but still #worklesslivemore practice #selfcare #followyourbliss #dowhatyoureallywanttodo #itsworthit #itwillallworkout #yougetonelife #yourlifeisyourmessagemakeitinspiring. Oh wait blogs don’t use hashtags #ohwell #livethelifeyoulove
MRIRUNS: Sherry Hill Farm 