When you read this, I’ll be miles away from home, exploring, hiking, fishing, canoeing, mingling with family, sitting around a campfire and enjoying my Canada Day in the only way I know how: by enjoying the great outdoors.
I’ll be going to my most favour place in the world, so close to the Atlantic Ocean I could throw a book from my deck chair and hit the water. I’ll be so close to family I’ll be able to look across the table and see them, walk to the next property and see more, and continue walking for half a kilometre and still see more.
Cousins abound due to Tibert fertility. My grandmother had 17 children; my father being the eleventh. He added eleven more to the clan. We love the old homestead so much, even when we don’t live there, we go there often in spite of the distance.
This place is in the middle of nowhere, where sometimes the only sounds you hear are the ripple of water and the cry of a gull. It’s a place where I’ve done a lot of reading and writing, a place where I can organise my thoughts. I find myself here each time I’m lost. It reminds me of who I am and what’s important in life.
It’s a place where I’ve walked miles along the shore, rowed for hours on the harbour, went days without wearing shoes, and beachcombed after storms. It’s where I found my lucky life rock. It’s a place so close to endless ocean beaches one could spend a week searching for rocks and shells, finding crabs and unique driftwood, and exploring until the sun goes down.
This is my sanctuary. I was delivered here shortly after birth, so I didn’t have to find it; I only needed to recognise it for what it was. It is where I connect with Mother Earth, release unwanted tension and feel the energy that surrounds me.
This place doesn’t have everything, and I am perfectly fine with that. Our little cottage has no running water, no Internet service and no Tim Horton’s within a two-hour drive. I don’t have a phone, so I won’t even be tempted to go online. I’m leaving my laptop home, opting instead for paper, pen and the new book that arrived last week.
I hope on this Canada, you too find time to spend in your sanctuary, do some writing, some reading, some relaxing and enjoy the outdoors. And if you haven’t found your sanctuary yet, journey on. It’s out there.
Diana Tibert 
I was in Barcelona on Canada Day. I was having a good time lapping up all the history and architecture when I spotted 2 young women, one wearing a Canadian flag. I had to run up to them and introduce myself. They were from BC. They said even though they were in Spain on a holiday, they were still celebrating Canada Day! I gave them hugs. I love your getaway place. Isn´t it wonderful to be part of a large loving family? I will be back in Canada in August and will continue the celebrations then.
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Isn’t it wonderful when you meet someone from ‘home’ while away? It’s a truly unique feeling I didn’t understand until I was away from home for three months. The one-week trips didn’t give me the same feelings.
I had spent three months in Banff, Alberta, and took the bus home to Nova Scotia. After four days, I climb onto the bus in Montreal. I was surrounded by everyone from the Maritimes and my ears enjoyed the many different dialects of Cape Breton, Newfoundland and mainland Nova Scotia, the ones I’d grown up with. It was like home before we even pulled out of the terminal.
It is amazing to have a huge family. I can’t imagine life any other way.
Thanks for visiting, Darlene. Enjoy your trip ‘home’ to Canada.
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Thanks for sharing your beautiful slice of heaven Diane. Hoping you had a wonderful holiday weekend. 🙂
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In spite of the rain, we did have a good weekend. We’ll be going again in a few weeks, and hopefully we will have only sunshine.
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Arg, it seems we all have been having much too much rain. Still awaiting the ‘real’ summer.
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Not yet, but we’re working on it. 🙂 … hope you had a wonderful time at yours. 😀
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We had a great time. And, yes, your celebration is tomorrow. I’m sure more than a million flags are ready to catch the wind. If it’s anything like here, there will be flags at every corner and many vehicles.
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Erm … ** waves from the other side of the country** … B.C.-er here. 😀
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Ah, I didn’t know. BC, you say. It’s the only province I’ve never visited, not because I don’t want to; I made it only to Banff and hung out in the mountains for three months. Some day, I’ll go, then I’ll have travelled from coast to coast.
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Congratulations on Canada Day! Visited the west, the plains some of the middle and the east. Last year the Yukon and Northwest. It’s all nice as are the people.
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Thank you, John. I’ve never been to the Yukon or Northwest. Some day. I’ll visit Alaska too. My nephew went on an Alaskan cruise and loved it. I think everyone in North American as generally nice. A few bad apples might try to spoil it, but the good certainly outweigh the bad. I’ve been as far west as Alberta and as far south as Memphis, and I found everyone to be good people.
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Thanks for sharing; those pictures are how I imagine Canadians getting away from it all – well done to really leave electronic life behind. HAPPY 150TH ANNIVERSARY.
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Thank you, Tidalscribe. It was a wonderful weekend in spite of all the rain. It was nice to be in my second home (future retirement home) and see family I haven’t seen for a while. During the heavy rain, I taught my son to play Rummy 500. Sadly, I haven’t taught my kids to play many card games. For the cost of a deck of cards, hours of fun can be had and memories made. We also went fishing, toured the shore and visited my father’s grave. The lupins were in full bloom. They were beautiful.
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