Tuesday, October 5, 2010

. . and so it begins. . .

It went from clear skies to a small blizzard in 45 minutes . . .

We didn't really celebrate a "One Year Anniversary" in Iqaluit. I didn't blog about it and it sort of slipped by us. Time seems to fly up here and there's no shortage of people who will confirm that. This month we officially joined the very popular club of "I was only gonna stay a year but here I am (insert lengthy time here) later!" Iqaluit grows on ya'!

What really drove the "anniversary stake" through me today was the weather. It's coming up to our second winter here and I think by Iqaluit standards that qualifies us as people who can say they've been here "a year". I'm proud of us.

I can remember thinking how we may not last up here during the first few months,and I especially remember how hard the homesickness hit during the holidays. I've always said that it takes a certain kind of tolerance and personality to really last up here and I still stand by it. But now, when you've met the challenges head on and you're still happy, excited, and strong, I think that's when you know you can last up here. It's an overwhelming experience, it really is but, you'll always be better for having taken the journey.

A year later, we'd still do it all over again.