Why are we moving to Smalltown, Ontario?
I could answer this by saying, “See photo above.”
But, in short, to live life. On our terms.
There’s something about having two kids with serious special needs that puts quality of life at the forefront. We know life is precious, and can be snatched at any moment. We also know the clock is ticking, and our time for a major lifestyle change is slowly drawing near. We will need Hoyer lifts, accessible washrooms, hospital beds, and wide hallways. And eventually nursing care, tube feeding, and ventilators. We know this is coming.
We know these things, so we focus on what’s important.
Our family. Our kids. Our life. And living it to the fullest.
Trying to squeeze watching bugs and sunsets into a busy schedule. Trying to find time to cuddle on the sofa and read stories together. Trying to carve Lego building time between therapist appointments. Trying to stop saying, hurry up, let’s go, we’re running late.
In planning this move we’re researched, knocked on doors, networked and chatted with random strangers. We’ve crunched numbers, lined up for services, schemed and planned. This is probably the most well thought out relocation in the history of moves – we have back up plans for our back up plans.
We’re taking a risk, but a cautious one.
In announcing our move, we’ve had one vocal naysayer. Or rather, you could say grumpy old coot; who prophesised doom and gloom and utter collapse of civilization as we know it if we left our stable jobs. Ironically this coot announced doom and gloom on the same day Hubby was offered and new and equally stable job. But, the old coot just wants things to be the same.
And they won’t. Things will never be the same. Ever. Our kids are changing, our lives our changing, and our area is changing.
And sticking your head in the sand (is that coots or ostriches?) won’t help anyone.
We are adapting to change.
I understand the old coot’s point of view. Economic stability and job for life and all that. But those are myths. And they were even myths in the old coot’s time too. Most people have many jobs (or careers!) over the course of a lifetime.
I could drag out some numbers to prove the old coot wrong, that our dollar will go so much further in a place with lower housing and transportation costs. Never mind all the costs associated with living a way-to-busy life style. Ultimately, money only goes so far – it cannot buy life. Or quality of life. Things that are truly important – friends, family, belonging, watching sunsets and bugs – those are what make up a life.
But I’ll leave it to Einstein to explain matters.
Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.
Albert Einstein