five years ago today, i lost my mother.

i miss her. a lot. i was talking with some friends the other day about her, and one of them said 'i don't know what i would do if i lost my mom.'

i don't know what i would do either. you don't really think about it, you just move on, keep going, but with a heart that will never feel the same.

i love you, mom.

hope is believeing, in spite of all evidence, then watching the evidence change - jim wallis

back to the nomadic life. i had finally gotten settled, my blue bins neatly lined up and filled with my worldly possessions, my mattress on the floor and covered with a warm duvet when kingston, my new university town was hit by 13 cm of rain in less than 7 hours. i spent the day helping to lead the other teacher candidates in co-operative games in the gym while the rain sent drop after drop pummeling to the ground.

it led to a very damp day, and when i arrived home, i realized it also led to a very wet basement. thank god for those blue rubbermaid bins - kept all of my stuff safe and dry. :) i just need a matress-size one, now, too!

my room is in the basement. my room was very, uh, wet. matresses on the floor are great - as long as that floor stays dry. so, once again slighly 'homeless' my stuff made new piles in the laundry room, in the living room, in the sunroom and everything quickly began to seemingly disappear as my method of organization became scattered throughout the house.

but, that led me to the indigo bookstore downtown, complete with a coffeeshop (shh, it's starbucks...i wish we had a bookstore w. an independant coffeeshop! we do have a great co-op owner-owned restaurant, though. i went there for breakfast. phenominal!)...and free wireless internet access. can't beat that! so, i guess the cloud that had all those raindrops had a silver lining.

my program, outdoor and experiential education, is full of exciting, dynaminc, caring people. they listen to you. they look you in the eye when you talk to them. they are fabulous people who just become even more fabulous the more you talk to them. i cannot wait to spend the year with them. it is beyond wonderful.

my town also had a climbing gym and a fantastic yoga centre, complete with astanga classes almost every night. does it get any better? my run in the mornings is along the lake, my walk to school a refreshing 15 minutes, the walk to town the same.

so glad i follwed this crazy path, that in seeming to lead nowhere led me to just the right place.