Category: Life Up North

First Saturday. Finally a day to stay home, rearrange, do laundry, and feel human. There’s something about laundry that makes any place feel like yours. Whoever said “home is where the heart is” clearly also understood the grounding power of domesticity. The house is modest and clean — compact, functional, a bit like student housing…

Day two. Getting settled. The job is good — busy and interesting in the way that new work always is when everything is unfamiliar and you’re learning the landscape at the same time as the role. Thomas has been spending his days out in the community, meeting locals, and his evening reports have been the…

The eagles have landed. Fly day was an event. My father met us at the airport to help with eight pieces of luggage — bins, bags, and a general sense of controlled chaos — all of which needed to be weighed, taped, and fed through before any of us could breathe. By the time it…

Last day of work. Last weekend at home. Last box packed. My students left two gift bags on my desk this morning. I held it together — barely. Teaching has been one of the more quietly fulfilling things I’ve done, and watching people figure out who they are is a privilege I didn’t fully appreciate…

We have officially spent 110% of our budget on 98% of our supplies. Shopping for ten months of provisions is not something most people do before a move. It requires a willingness to stand in a grocery store aisle doing math about toilet paper consumption while strangers walk past looking concerned. Two 48-packs. Then one…

We had Christmas early this year. Sunday we gathered the boys, skipped the turkey in favour of tacos, and opened presents. Low-key and warm and exactly what it needed to be. Next weekend: my parents and the girls, the full turkey dinner, the decorations, all of it. My eldest in Ottawa will join by Skype.…

If our friends and family have caller ID, I imagine it’s been flashing “probably needs help” for two weeks straight. To everyone who showed up, drove things, hauled boxes, and didn’t complain: thank you. We mean it. The animals are ready. Thomas discovered something called the LitterKwitter — a device that claims to toilet-train cats…

The flights are booked. The moving company came for an estimate. The cats went to the vet. This is happening. Thomas has been calling this “the closest thing to living in space without actually leaving the planet,” which is accurate based on the landscape photos I’ve seen. He’s the optimistic one. I make the lists…

Departure: December 2nd. Weather and flights permitting — which I’m already learning is the standard caveat for everything north of 60. I’ve been talking to people who’ve done this before, and they’ve been genuinely helpful. The consensus: bring more than you think you need, and don’t assume you can pick things up when you run…

Fair question. I’ve been asked it a lot this week, in tones ranging from curious to genuinely concerned. Let me answer it properly. The honest answer is: it’s more about the experience than the paycheque. Yes, the money is better. Yes, that matters. But I’ve worked remotely before — away from family, off the grid…