CHOOSE THE PATH THAT SCARES YOU THE MOST

A year ago, Peterborough, Ontario, was not in my radar.  I knew the City existed, but I had no intentions of visiting or living there. Fast-forward to April 4th, and I cannot think of a better place to live or for my husband and I to raise our daughter.  If you are surprised, trust me, I am blown away.

Looking back the decision to move was rather off the cuff.  There was a potential job offer, but we needed to live in the community of the company.  So I, yes it was me, not my husband who uttered those fateful words “Let’s strike while the iron is hot.  Let’s move.”  From that moment, we were swept up in the tornado that was “Moving to Peterborough.” I am sure that many of my friends thought we were crazy to move on the possibility of a job. (Possibly they still do).   We sold our house in Toronto, two weeks before the real estate market crashed; we bought our home in Peterborough for what we asked for it.  It was too easy something had to give.

It was a Wednesday evening when the avalanche hit.  The company, yes the one that was the main reason for moving, had laid off a significant number of their employees.  There was no chance of a position until possibly Spring/Summer 2009.   I did my best to remain positive.  “What’s done is done”, I would say.  But I was stressed, big time. I was leaving a job I loved, my friends and my home. I was born and raised in Toronto.  I spent my university years in Ottawa (another favourite place of mine), but I loved Toronto.

During my “Goodbye Giselle, Good Luck in Peterborough, you crazy fool” Party, the faces of my friends turned pale, ashen, sick, when I muttered that the job had fallen through for now.  I assured everyone that all would be fine.  Life would be great.  This decision was made by two sane adults.  I am pretty sure no one bought it.

We moved November 27^th, 2008.  It was snowing, it was cold and the move was not fun.  If I could think of a word that topped horrible, I would insert it here.  In another post, I will tantalize you with the exciting details of the move, but I better get to the point of this entry.  During the months that followed I wrestled with the decision that we made.   I was house bound, my friends were far and I did not have a job.  WHOO HAA!  This was a great move.

By early January I was starting to go a bit stir crazy, kind of like Jack Nickelson, in The Shining, minus the whole axe wielding need to take out my family.  More like, talking to myself, wandering from room to room, you know, that kind of stuff.  So what do you do when things get you down, go to Disney World, the fairy tale land of Mickey Mouse, Princesses, and the House of Blues.   We decided to drive to Florida. The details of that trip will one day end up as a two-part blog post.

Once I was infused with the Florida sun, my positive and clear thinking was able to return.   It was important for me to restore to my creative nature.  I needed to take time to write, scrapbook, and watch really bad movies.  I needed to make sure I was taking care of myself.  It’s funny, when you allow a tiny bit of affirmative thinking to enter your mindset, what great things are in store for you.  While on the trip we received an email about a job opportunity, but not for Michael, it was for me. I returned to work in early February.

I decided to give in to what I was feeling, to see where it would take me.  I enrolled in driving classes.  I started to make greeting cards.  I joined Twitter, and because I joined Twitter, I decided to start a blog.   Would I have done any of these things if I stayed in Toronto?  I most likely would of started to make greeting cards in the summer of 2009.  Everything else would be relegated to “One Day.”  Of course there are many things about Toronto that I missed and will continue to miss, my friends, shopping, easy access to Shoppers Drug Mart.  The decision to move to Peterborough, though wrought with hurdles and misgivings, has turned out to be the place where fear has confronted me head on, and so far..I am winning.