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Why I Am Grateful to Fort McMurray
Reflecting on the year 2012, I am most happy to have completed one full summer in Fort McMurray. This is the first chapter in, what I have chosen to call, “My Temporary Lifestyle.” With The Consultant bidding on and attaining contract work, we never know for sure where we’ll wind up or for how long. Summer 2012 was in Fort McMurray, the epitome of The Temporary Lifestyle. During our six months in town, I realized we were among the multitudes of others who are living it. I joined my husband in May, hesitant and resistant to the experience, but I had a plan. I would connect to the community and…
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The Empty Nest North
I am becoming a woman I can’t see. I am an empty nester and in, what experts would call, transition. You know, that period where one changes from one state or condition to another. I know, I am transitioning from dedicated, hands-on mother to… someone I am yet to know. My son and daughter are young adults who are embarking on their own lives. My husband took a contract eight hours north of Calgary. At this stage, any wise woman would recognize this natural course of life and make plans to leave the kids behind in the house. They need her less. She needs to stay connected with her husband…
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So Long, 2_05
The air’s fall scent, nature’s aromatic spice, is undeniable. The long shadows of the season protect the last hardy flowers. The refreshing chill that lingers into the afternoon tells me my time in Fort McMurray is coming to an end for this year. As I organize my belongs in preparation for my drive home, I realize I have become attached to 2_05, even with its little blemishes. I am getting used to a kitchen range with burners too hot and oven too cool. A person can adapt to a low-voltage microwave and I have learned that I can refilter chewable coffee. Mashing potatoes with a fork, roasting meat in aluminum foil…
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Like It or Not (What I Have Noticed About Fort McMurray)
I am coming up to the two-month mark on my life in Fort McMurray. Sometimes, I think that being new in town, and knowing no one, offers that anonymity that allows one to observe. I am an outsider looking in and noticing some pretty interesting contrasts to my life back home in Calgary. As it turns out, Fort Mac is quite different from what I anticipated. Having been warned of the bugs, drugs, bad service and general roughness of the lifestyle here, I would like to share my view. Most people I have met are not from here. This town is much more culturally diverse than I…
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Those are Some Mosquitoes!
“Mosquitoes,” they all warned. “You are going to Fort McMurray, you had better go prepared,” they said. At my office going away party, one of my clients gifted me a can of “Ben’s Wilderness Formula Insect Repellent,” wrapped delicately in brown paper. I could tell by the orange and black spray can that it was way better than the average “Deep Woods Off” and I was grateful. Having been a wet and cool spring in Calgary, I hadn’t been able to leave the house without experiencing a major mosquito attack. I am talking about the huge and hearty variety. The “You can run but can’t hide” type that you can’t…
