ADVENTURE AWAITS

As I finish up this school year and wrap up many things it also includes writing report cards. It's a busy time of year, especially when 2 weeks after school is done I will be moving. Yesterday I spent some time at my friend's house - we were both plowing away at eport cards and we drank her famous high cocoa - reminding us of the days we lived together. Ah, and then she gave it to me in this mug - ADVENTURE AWAITS.

BUT FIRST, get rid of stuff. Stuff. It can be so burdensome to have so many things. Over the last 6 years I have moved many times, twice a year usually. The house I live in now has been 'home' for the last 16 months, the longest home in years. When you move so frequently you just start holding on to less stuff. Still there are those knickknacks, the little gifts from students, mail you receive, things to keep. I think I kind of inherited the 'save it for a rainy day' mentality which is handy when you never move. Not when you always move, not when your life has to fit into 2 suitcases to take along and a couple of totes to put in storage. So purging it is. 

As ENGLISH student in university you can expect to collect books, a lot of books over the years. Even after university I kept collecting books. I love books! I didn't start enjoying reading until fourth grade or so; since then I have not stopped reading (except during the summer after graduating university!). When I moved to this house I had 3 apple boxes full. For about two years I haven't opened most of the books I already owned, so do I keep them? Toss them? Donate them?

If you're interested in a book, I may just have it on a shelf, on a stack, or in a box. Just ask!
My plan: limit my collection one small box.

I don't want a U-HAUL for my stuff. It's gonna be whatever I can manage and haul, after that no more. No U-HAUL with extra storage space in the granny's attic above the cab but I-HAUL with limited storage. And really, why not? I have been following this family on social media - they sold everything they owned and except for 2 suitcases total - and they now travel the world. They are an inspiration because of their minimalism lifestyle. I see that and think "why am I so attached to that piece of ribbon or that book, that t-shirt or that pencil?" I have been trying to apply Peter Walsh's saying "Love what you have. Have what you need. Be happier with less." It is amazing how freeing it is to get rid off things that are in your life, that sometimes go unnoticed, and sometimes are just in the way. Often I share my things with others around me. An item that once was a staple in my closet or cupboard becomes someone else's - for them to enjoy. An itchy tag in a shirt is annoying or always tugging a sweater this way or that, is it really worth keeping? A pair of jeans that has been on the bottom of the stack for months, why does it just sit there?

All this earthly stuff, I don't want to hold on to it. God recommends we "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.…"  (Matthew 6:19)

This whole DECLUTTER thing is an adventure in itself. A trip down memory lane each time... An item that brings you back to years gone by... A reminder of laughter and tears... An adventure as you decide what stays and what goes, what is important and what isn't...

Ah isn't every day in life an adventure? Just take it as it comes and dive in.
Take opportunities as they come. Go on adventures. Just don't take extra luggage. It weighs you down. 

"Put every hindrance aside and run..." (Hebrews 12:1)

Canada

My first - ever - patriotic photo. May 2017

Canada celebrates its 150th birthday this year. 150 years, that's a long time! Of those 150 years I have been here just over 12.5 years. My family moved to Alberta in November of 2004. Let's just say it was a rocky road when we started out, there in the western prairie province. Kind of like the gravel road we lived on, especially after weeks of rain, with washboards and massive potholes. Ah, looking back I see many people supporting us, patiently showing us what ground beef to buy on our first trip to the grocery store, or gently correcting us when we said learn instead of study, or missed some other technicality in our sentence structure. I know that still happens and it probably always will.
Those first weeks and months were awful. Filled with tears, MSN chats, and snail mail from the homeland.
We missed the bus on purpose, or would call home saying we were sick - just to avoid school. It was awful reading kindergarten level books when we were in middle school, and having to listen to audio stories on cassette at the back of the classroom while the class read The Outsiders...
Then I went to high school, and college, and worked for a year, and then I entered university. Studied English Lit and Psych and graduated after also doing my Bachelor of Education. Now I teach. It's lovely, it's rough, it's challenging and so very motivating.

All those years I thought about it, thought about moving back to the Netherlands. It's not that Canada isn't a good place to live. I love the opportunities Canada has given me, love the language I have learned, cherish the friendships I have, and am so very thankful for my life here. A while ago someone asked me "what did we do wrong, that we can't keep you here? Is it the language we speak, the clothes we wear, the weird things we say, or the people?" Ah, he was only kidding, I think...


Canada - it's nothing you have or haven't offered. People - it's nothing you have or haven't done. Friends - it's nothing you did or didn't do. Family - it's not the choices you have or haven't made. It's just me taking this step in faith, because I can and get to do this at this time.


You may wonder what this step is, if you haven't heard yet via some other form of social media, from me in person, or from someone else. I have been sorting through things, purging, selling, giving away, and donating so many items. Still there is much more to do, to pack , and to get rid of because I just can't store all the little things. I don't want to store half my life here in Ontario (with a fragment of stuff still left at my parents' place in Alberta - that has just been sitting there for some years...). I don't want to store stuff and I can't take very much when I go.
Mid July I will be taking 2 suitcases and a carry-on across the pond. I am going to the Netherlands for a year.


Mainly because I have always wanted to and I can do so relatively easily with my Dutch citizenship. Second, because I am fully bilingual and I am a teacher - so why not use teaching and English in Holland to help others become more bilingual. Or better yet, share what I know so that they can also cross borders, move mountains, and reach other people groups through connecting with them using English...
Third, I am hoping to take some grad courses there, while I can. Why not continue the love of learning a nation that celebrates professional development and offers ample opportunity for young and old to do learn?!
Fourth, I am going to where I am called next, following God's lead in this all.

It will be an adventure. It will be a learning curve. It will be exciting. And yes, it is also slightly terrifying!

So off I go - to the Netherlands...
I will keep you posted