Go West, old man

I guess it is an appropriate way to celebrate the New Year. We are packing up and getting ready for the final leg of our road trip to the West Coast. Being back in the Calgary area for the past week has given lots of time and opportunity for reflection on the past year. It has truly been a time of transformation and contrast. Two weeks ago we were at Koinonia - a relatively short drive from the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts - enjoying 70 degree (+20 degree for us Canucks) weather. Within the first 2 days we were trying to survive -30 degree temperatures and timing our progress between two major blizzards.

Today we are preparing for the final stage of the journey. First we track down our 3 children - which are all staying at different places scattered across two cities (I suppose this is foreshadowing of the near future) - then we point the truck West towards the Pacific Coast. We hope to arrive at our new house on Vancouver Island by Saturday, January 3.

There is a lot of uncertainty. First we have to cross the mountains in the middle of Winter. Never a fun proposition and to add to the entertainment value, the BC highway reports are virtually useless compared to the high quality of the Alberta information. We know that Vancouver and the Island are experiencing heavy snowfalls and extremely severe Winter conditions (which is highly unusual), but we have very little information of what lies between here and there. Our new house is empty and waiting for us, and the remaining contents of our household are stored in 2 bedrooms and storage sheds, but we really don't remember much about what we packed and shipped and what we gave away. O.U.R. ecovillage, one of the main reasons we chose to relocate to the Victoria area, is in financial crisis and may not be able continue past mid February. We have never spent any real time in the new house, or on the Island and Krista is facing an entirely new school system.

Yet, in spite of all this, we feel a growing hope and optimism.

Perhaps Uncertainty and the Unkown are Under-rated.

At least we are hopeful.