landlocked

I grew up on farm. I grew up on a Island, surrounded by the ocean. I grew up where everyone knows everyone, & the most trouble that usually happens is at the local hockey rink. Seeing as that is where every teenager hangs out on on Friday night, as there is nothing. else. to. do. The total population is 141,000. That's it. The whole entire province. It's one of the most beautiful places in Canada. People travel from all over the world to come see where Anne with an e, lived. The East Coast vibe is the best damn vibe around, just ask any maritimer & they will agree. PEI, is probably one of the best places in the country to raise a family. And yet, here I am, trapped in a city. I want to go home....

But. This is where the money is. In this landlocked province. Damnit. I don't know what we were thinking. Well, not true, I do what we were thinking. Money. That is why we moved here. Our jobs. We could never make as good an income back home as we do here. Silly. Really, to think money was more important. I don't like my city. I have tried. Honest. I do see the beauty here. The mountains. There is no doubt that beauty lives here. I figure I must have salt water running thru my veins. I would give up the mountains in a second, to be by my ocean again. There is over a million people in my city. Over a freakin million! It takes at least 2 hours to get a typical errand done. The city is  very spread out. My sister n law lives in the SW part of the city & we live in NE part. Opposite ends. It takes almost 45 minutes to an hour to get to her place, not in rush hour. In rush hour, well I don't even know. We wouldn't dare try. At least 2 hours. Stuck, in traffic. It really sucks.

sunshine mountain. Z@ 3 weeks. Poppa @56 years

I use to think of myself as city girl stuck in the country. Now, I am a country girl stuck in a city. I can't win. I have so much worry raising my boys here. D(who is a farm boy) & I really have no idea how to raise city kids. When do you let your kids start riding there bike on their own?? What age can they walk home from school by themselves?? How do you keep your teenagers in school all day when their school is in the same parking lot as a mall?? We are in way over our heads. We know it. We both grasp on to our city friends. Bombarding them with questions. They usually smile at us. A little pathetic like. I'm sure they consider us deprived in some way. But I'm okay with that. I usually just smile back. A little pathetic like, cuz they don't know what they are missing. How laid back life can be. Or maybe they do, they just consider it a form of vacation, instead of everyday life.

So, I don't know. This is where we are. Working our butts off, to save our money to take our boys back home as often as possible. There are advantages for sure; my boys get the best of both worlds. I mean, they get the mountains & the ocean. You can only pull that one off in this country if you live in Vancouver. They take both skiing & swimming lessons. They know the west coast & the east coast & they are still just toddlers. Z was at the top of a mountain when he was 3 weeks old. We went with my dad. He was 56 & it was his first time at the top of a mountain. I might not enjoy the city. But I will exhaust myself exploring it for my boys. And secretly, I can't wait to buy them lil cowboy boots. I mean we live here, so we have to Stampede, right?!