Second Time's the Charm

We returned home to Dartford on Wednesday afternoon after a fabulous 10 day tour of Scotland. As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, we found the country to be very similar to Canada, and looking at our video footage and photos makes us want to return again soon.

Camping proved to be a very economical way to travel and when it was all said and done we averaged 60 pounds per day for purchasing souvenirs, food, camping, and gas for the car. Not bad really when you figure that one night’s stay in a hotel could set you back at least that much.

After unloading all of our gear, airing out the tent (we had lots of rain and it was pretty damp when we packed it up last), and pulling something that smelt like really bad cheese out of our cooler (oh look it really is cheese), although I was tired, I realized that it felt good to be home. Hard to believe but it is exactly a year ago that Rick came over to find us a place to live. When we were downtown today getting our produce at the Thursday market, Rick said, “Hey a year ago this time I was wandering the streets of Dartford, looking for a place to stay, and wondering what the hell have I gotten myself into?”

I remember feeling so twisted around in those early weeks. It was as though we had been thrown into the deep end without life jackets. It truly was a sink or swim situation for us. And despite the confusion over how to bank here with all the bloody security measures, buy a ticket at the train station to the right terminal in London, or where to shop to get the best deals, an entire year has passed and we have managed just fine.

Now, Channing has returned safely back to Peterpatch and getting caught up with his pals, hanging with his dad’s side of the family, and hunting for a part-time job. He’ll be returning to TASSS in the fall for Grade 11. It was painful sending him off at the end of July, but I am so incredibly proud of his ability to come and go with such ease. I miss him immensely but this year without him will teach me to reach for things that interest me, like writing and fitness, and focus on Rick and our relationship to a depth that we couldn’t whilst we were raising the four kids in Douro. We have never just been a couple since we met in 2000 and this will be a new and exciting opportunity for us as well.

Rick returns to work next Tuesday and is looking forward to year 2 at the Leigh Academy. When he speaks about his plans for the upcoming school year, he is more at ease and confident. I can tell that the foundation he laid in his challenging first year will help him be even more successful and hopefully enable him to enjoy his job more fully too. Hey, life is too short to not enjoy what you do every day, right?

My contract at EY ended at the beginning of August and I had an awesome send off from the folks I worked with for 9 months. I did alright for myself considering that it was initially a 3 month assignment. They presented me with a lovely bouquet of flowers and a card signed by all of my co-workers wishing me well and thanking me for being the “Super Temp”. I am sure I will maintain the friendships I formed there as I was very fortunate to be working daily with some pretty terrific people.

The good news is that I have another temporary job lined up for September and I am particularly excited about this role. I will be working for KPMG at their brand new offices in Canary Wharf. I will be the Audit Support Staff Assistant Manager, which is a more HR generalist role, instead of entirely focused on recruitment, as I was at EY as a Recruiting Administrator. I will be covering for the tail end of a maternity leave as the incumbent was recently promoted. At this point, I could be there for just a month or two, depending on whether the gal returns as planned, but I am so pleased to be given this opportunity again with another one of the Big 4 international financial companies. I certainly feel that I earned my stripes at EY and as I have discovered, there is no shortage of temporary HR jobs in the nation’s capital when you are skilled, bright, eager, and motivated.

P.S. These are photos before Chan left, at the airport, and a little town just outside of Dartford, that Rick and I fell in love with called, Igtham. The town is so quaint and the pub there serves great antipasto. Oh yes, the beer is good too.

There but for the grace of God go I

We are enjoying a week and a few days here in Scotland doing some camping and really getting a good look at the country. We are amazed at how similar the country side is here to Canada in terms of the evergreen trees, lakes, and mountains. At times, it is very much like northern Ontario and then Alberta with the foothills and straight into B.C. with majestic misty countered mountains. The air is fresh, the people are super friendly, although we find it hard to follow what they are saying with their thick Scottish accents. Rick keeps saying, "Hey, say Haggis or Sporran" everytime we drive pass an elderly Scottish man. I smack him, of course, and remind him how inappropriate that is. But I laugh out loud afterwards. Tonight we are settled in a lovely caravan park just south of Dumfries in the south western part of the country. Compared to most of the campgrounds we have encountered, this one is immaculate. The grounds are nicely kept and it has modern showers and laundry facilities. I feel more at home in a place like this.

Tomorrow we head out of Scotland after being here since a week from Saturday and off to the lake district. What we have found incredibly odd about the trip so far is the number of B & B's that have no vacancy signs. Even the places in the remote parts of the Isle of Skye had no vacancy signs and we just couldn't imagine how all of these places could be full. We imagined that perhaps the owners were away on vacation or they didn't really want guests or they wanted to appear full for tax write off purposes and so on. But as we travelled and encountered so many of these signs we couldn't help but laugh at how odd this seemed.

Secondly, it didn't matter where we were, there would either be a bus stop or a phone booth. Even at the tip of the Isle of Skye, residents could catch a bus or make a call, if they had to. And there were times as we were travelling around the island and it felt like we were the only people on the face of God's earth, that a bus shelter or the famous red phone booth would appear to remind me that no, in fact, civilization did still exist.

Travelling through Scotland has made me realize how small I am and how big God is. I felt like a mere dot as we navigated through the windy roads flanky by massive mountains, the misty clouds surrounding their peeks and the river twisting at their feet. I wanted to say thank you to the Almighty for giving me the eyes to see such amazing things. Sometimes we have to witness his greatness to understand how tiny we are in this world and appreciate that being here, my friends, is not a mere accident but a blessing to be acknowledge every day.