Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This year marks a milestone for me that I want to share with you….

As many of you know I was born and raised in England and came to Canada with my husband for work.  I had never been to Canada before, but like most people here I did, and still do, have distant relatives, that I had never met, scattered around the country here and there.  The most I knew about the country I was about to call home was that it was cold in the winter, it snowed a lot, it was a big country, the people seemed friendly (I had worked with a few Canadians and spoken to others who had lived here), summers were pretty nice and there was less political unrest than there was in England.

I have traveled around the world a lot, but had only ever flown over Canada, so this was the start of an adventure into the “sort of” unknown.

We landed in Toronto a day late, the weather was hot and humid with the smell of smoke in the air from forest fires in the north.  The company my husband was to work for collected us and took us to the apartment we were to be billeted at, in the heart of Toronto. We were quick to make friends with other couples and families that were also brought to Canada by various companies, banks etc, to work permanently and temporarily, as well as residents of  the 2 or 3 condos around us.

Of all the cities I’ve ever been to Toronto is one of the friendliest and most accepting I have had the pleasure to be in.  It was like being in a mini-world, people from every nationality were there and the more I got to know it the less homesick and more content I felt.  We eventually bought a house and lived north of the city for years, where I re-discovered my love for art, and started working as a full-time Mum and a part-time artist (something I don’t think I would have done by staying in the life I had in the UK).

We eventually left Toronto, but I still go back when I can and I still have friends in the area that I’ve known since those first few days.

We eventually moved to Ottawa, settled and raised a family in the woods a short drive from the capital.  In 20 years I’ve seen Ottawa change and grow, and had the wonderful pleasure of being not far from 2 of Canada’s greatest cities: Montreal and Toronto.  My kids started their life journey here, have been to University here and made great friends here.  I have so much to be grateful for (even if I do moan about the winters, the bugs and the humidity).

Coming to Canada was one of the biggest decisions of my life which I do not regret and this year marks 26 years in this country, half my life.  I have officially been here as long as I was in my country of origin (for those of you who are good at math you are now privy to my age).  I now have 2 home countries and am proud of what I have achieved here.  I am also grateful for the support of the friends I have now and all the clients I have known along the way….A very big, heartfelt thank you to you all.

I am not different to any of you, I do not possess a super-human inner strength, I have had some challenges along the way some I thought I would never get past.  Change will and does happen throughout life and it is up to you how you meet the challenges you encounter and who you seek out to help you on your journey.  Every opportunity, every person you meet, every chance conversation you have will shape your world now and in the future.  The fun and the joy of the journey is acceptance and acknowledgement, as long as you strive to do the best you can with what you are given, life will offer you great gifts, it is up to you to decide what to do with those gifts.

If I have learned anything from the last 26 years, it is to grab every opportunity, take some chances and accept that some things won’t work out, but keep going, because the good things that happen in life far outweigh the bad.  I know it’s hard to believe that when nothing seems to be going right, but trust me it will pass if you want it to,  just have an open heart and you will see the opportunities and gifts you are being given then follow the path, it may lead to the best place you have ever been.

TTFN

Amanda