A New Beginning...

Mike and I, back in 2008  - before the twins!

Michael and I made the final decision today...we're moving to Nova Scotia and there's no turning back on the decision.
I will be handing in my 2 weeks notice to work tomorrow on Monday, and we will give our Landlord our 2 months notice. That will leave us with a total of 6 weeks to prepare for this move. We realize that this move has to happen regardless of what because we have no other options of making things better for our family if we stay where we are and other small towns within our province or along the GO transit line are not much cheaper to live, especially if you don't have a car.

Michael is down with a migraine right now from all the stress of trying to meet his quote for selling records, so that we can afford to buy a house in Nova Scotia. We're both like machines right now and just so focused on getting out of the city.

We're leaving our options open at this point to anywhere in Nova Scotia, providing that it's a decent town that we will be moving to, however my heart is set on Bridgetown, so I'm hoping that the right house opens up for us to buy in the market in the next 2 months.

I can only hope and pray that this all works out for us in the end, and that we're doing the right thing for Ben and Ollie. We've looked at every option possible and this seems to be the best one as we can both get our Driver's licenses very quickly and afford to actually buy a home that will be suitable for the boys, and of course give the boys the upbringing of a small town life with small town values...

Bennie - Like Father, like son

...Not much to say about this Sunday, except that today I was supposed to go to my cousin's house to celebrate my Aunt's 60th birthday party. She passed away 2 years ago around this time from Ovarian Cancer. I was supposed to get a ride with my brother, but that fell through. I'm sorry I can't make it, but I will pay my respects to her silently at home. She was such an amazing presence in this world, and I greatly miss her...

Maya - Dog napping

For now, I'm just enjoying a quiet afternoon with the boys. This week that I've been home from work I've realized the vital importance of my presence at home and how important it is to balance our family life. I've been able to contribute more to my family this week than I have in almost the whole year that I've been back at work.

Oliver is was playing with the blanket a few minutes ago and Ben was just goofing around with his popper toys...They're both just so much happier to have both parents around, and they're always coming up to us whenever they have a chance to give us a hug.

I guess over all, today is a pivotal day of change for us. We've just made a major decision that we know will impact and change our lives, and all we can do, is do our very best, and hang on for the ride and trust in God that everything will work out fine in the end.

Bennie - all camera happy

Flight of the Blue Bird...

One of my earliest memories of my life with Michael...
I remember that we had only been dating for a about a month and he took me to go visit his mother at her beautiful heritage home in Brampton. Michael was eager with excitement as he held me by my hand and took me through the front door of his mother's house, but it wasn't the thrill of visiting his mother which had him so exhilarated, rather it was the arrival of some precious packages in the mail which he had ordered through his mother's eBay account.
"These are some Cajun records I ordered", he said like a 6th grader who was just about to get a new bike.
He opened up the packaging with eager but careful excitement and laid about 3 or 4 records on the pretty country duvet cover of the guest bed of his mother's house. I recall looking at the items with interest, but with less exhilaration than Michael as I knew nothing of records or record collecting at the time or that people as interesting and eclectic as Michael existed in the world.
I remember him filling me in on the history of the records, and explaining to me that they were old, from the 1920's and 30's, and not to confuse 78's with vinyl records because there was a huge difference between the two and that how each record can be worth more depending on the artist, or the records origin, or the rarity of the record etc. While Michael went on to give me a crash course on the history of records and record collecting, I remember looking at the record label on a couple of the records splayed out on the bed and found that feminine side of me being drawn to the pretty graphic of the blue bird flying across the old faded records labels. "I've never heard of this label before" I remember telling Michael, to which he responded with more background on the history on the Blue Bird record company and how they were a well known record label back in the day...
I had no idea that when I started dating Michael that my life would go through such a transition, and that the true journey of my life would actually begin...
Almost 4 years later, we're still happily engaged and we have 19 month old identical twin boys Benjamin and Oliver, and of course we somehow still have our dog Maya and somehow we've managed to survive all the hardships of life together without letting the bitterness of life turn our hearts...and of course Michael still has his records, LOTS of records; as a matter of fact he has a whole room of them and now I can't picture myself not being surrounded by records as it's become such a part of our everyday normal life...

But for those of you reading this blog and wondering, what does this all have to do with records?
Well it started with records you see. It all started with the Blue Bird staring back from me from the record label, and imprinting itself in my permanent and long term memory, and now it's the Blue Bird that will take us on flight on another journey as a family.
We are trying to get out of the city and start a new life, a better life for ourselves and our family. We want our kids to grow up in a close knit community, and to be able to catch frogs in the creek, go on picnics, and go canoeing.
We have a dream to go to Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, and Michael is making the biggest sacrifice of all for his family - he's selling all of his top blues records so we can put a down payment on a house and relocate and start a new life, the life we were meant to live - the life that suits our family best.

I can remember the sparkle in his eyes when he was holding those records and he's easily selling them without blinking because he loves his family that much...

I thought of the Blue Bird again today, because Michael had a Blue Bird record out, listing it for sale, and telling me how much he could possibly get on it, and I thought to myself...I'm very lucky and very blessed to have such a good man in my life.

I'm nervous about Nova Scotia, but yet I look forward to the journey and I look forward to the flight of adventure with Michael by my side....