Empty Nest,  Family Legacy,  Temporary Life/Travel

This is It!

Gone to Fort McMurray!

Winter 2011

There I was sitting at my administrative desk job on the edge of downtown Calgary; my husband working in Fort McMurray, 21 year-old son at university down in Florida, and a 19 year-old daughter in second year at Mount Royal University, and I was asking myself , “Is this the way life is supposed to be?” This right-brained girl, living a left-brained life, started to squirm in her chair. Life was feeling out of whack.

Acknowledging the thought started the flow of nervous excitement and anxiousness that I recognized to mean only one thing…. change was imminent! I was craving adventure – something more.

I realized I would soon become an empty nester and I had to decide how life would be for me. The natural progression of life would be to spend more time reconnecting with my spouse. But he was in Fort McMurray.

So, what if I quit my job, embark  on a new adventure and reconnect with my husband up north?

That was it! I took the leap. After all, what is the worst thing that could happen?

As a mother of two grown children, I am transitioning through the empty nest and embracing my writing life. My desire is to connect family by sharing legacy stories and my hope is that I inspire you to do the same. Together with my children, we venture into new lives, full of optimism and excitement!

4 Comments

  • lesleycarter

    It was the same “Is this the way life is supposed to be?” that encouraged my husband and I to move to California from eastern Canada.

    Are you living in Fort McMurray now? I was born there, but too young to remember much. Growing up in eastern Canada meant that I knew Fort McMurray all too well; my family and my friends have all either worked there or considered working there in the past. It is the land of opportunity after all.

    I hope that you are enjoying your life and new experiences regardless of where you are.

    Lesley
    lesleycarter.wordpress.com

    • My Life After Kids

      Hi Lesley,
      Last night I checked out your blog and thoroughly enjoyed it. What a whirlwind of adventure you have had lately! Congratulations on taking the leap and making your move to southern California and on your “new adventure” with your pregnancy. I was thinking about you and I and what different places we are in life-wise. Children are one of life’s biggest adventures.

      I am in Fort McMurray now and I have to say that after all the negative rumours and stories I have heard, I am pleasantly surprised. We are not out in the oil camps, however. We are downtown as my husband’s work is construction-related and he works on contract so we don’t know how often or how long we will be here. We have both connected with residents who are from the maritimes, many seem to be from Newfoundland. I should have made that connection while reading your blog.

      I have a background in travel and have never made it out to New Brunswick and the rest of the maritimes so it is on my bucket list. I hear it is beautiful in the fall. Are you missing it at all?
      Thanks for the contact, Lesley. I will be following you.
      Kathi
      kathiostrom.com

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