Addiction Guy – Back from Nova Scotia

After a refreshing week in Nova Scotia with my wife I have returned ‘locked & loaded’ for the fall semester of teaching.

I love Nova Scotia and I cannot believe the number of years that I let slip by before returning there for a vacation. There was no excuse really. My wife and her older brother own the home that was their parents.

Maybe it was the fact that the last time I went “Down East” was to bury my father-in-law whom I loved deeply. Or, maybe it was my thinking it was just too far to go. I don’t know.

What I do know however it that I truly love it there. It is the kind of environment that automatically ‘slams’ on the brakes for a person (yes, even me, lol).

Some friends are amazed that I do not go out of my mind from boredom with so little to actually do there; reading a couple of good books, going for walks on country roads, going out to enjoy such dishes as lobster Nova Scotia (which is lobster stuffed with lobster in a thick lobster bisque).

Bored? I think not. This is a place where I can charge the batteries and get some deep restorative peace and tranquility.

To start the day I would head to the local YMCA (Yarmouth) to work out. After that, anything we decided to do; which could include doing nothing.

Cousins are numerous and close by to where we stay. People down there just walk into each other’s homes as they are announcing their entrance. Some might find this practice a bit un-nerving. We don’t. They have a sense of community; something that back home can be missing when our pace of life gets steam-rolling along at a higher and higher level (if we allow it to).

It reminded me of growing up in the sixties when people in the neighborhood knew everyone in the neighborhood and would get together on a daily or at least a weekend basis.

I have a friend from college that lives outside of Quebec City. I love seeing her photos on her Facebook page; beautiful shots from around the rural area where she lives. Wonderful photos of sunsets and nature shots of all types and kind, of her friends and family. I can feel her joy of being alive.

I mention her because I love her attitude that life is about living, not just about working. It is revealed through her photos.

Yes, this fall will be busy. I will stay cognizant of the true need for ‘down time’ throughout the semester and schedule such time with my wife.

We both have the same need to get to the ocean from time to time…Life, Living…