This past week is the first time that I felt seriously homesick since moving out to Kelowna. For the first few months, I was overwhelmed with the excitement of living in a new city. All I wanted to do was explore, eat delicious food, go to the beach and eat MORE delicious food! My head was clear, my heart felt happy and home? I was hardly thinking about it! Well over the last little while, did that homesick ever sneak up on me and hit me like a ton of bricks. I've spoken to a few people who have moved away from home and have gone through a similar experience that I had - where your emotions travel in stages. So basically, you move away, you're super excited about everything you're experiencing and then finally, you start feeling like, "oh my god, what am I doing? I'm so far away - I need to go home, I need to visit my family, I miss my friends, etc." But eventually, you start feeling comfortable, developing your routine and pretty soon, you're happy with your new home.
Recently, I'll admit that I felt like I would never feel comfortable again. I just wanted to be in Thunder Bay. But today, I woke up and I felt a whole lot better. I woke with acceptance of the fact that I'm now living on the other side of the country. I woke with acceptance that the next time I'd be home is at Christmas - and hey, that's okay. I woke up okay and I'm so thankful.
Kelowna is gorgeous - it's filled with beaches, the shopping is pretty great, the culinary options are substantial and it's close to so many other beautiful cities. So right now, I'm happy with Kelowna and I'm grateful for the experience of being lucky enough to live in another city. It means that I was able to take a huge step, leave all of my familiarity behind and start up a new life. And if you ask me, that's pretty flippin' cool.
