Homeward Bound

I am headed home today, from Regina to Calgary. This summer I have traveled from coast to coast across Canada, staying in our borders the whole way, a distance of some 15,000 kilometers. I had my truck serviced in Vancouver before I left, then in Charlottetown, and now it is past due for service again, something that will have to be done in Calgary next week. I've visited every province as well as Labrador. Oh, and for a side trip I also went to Yellowknife. So, to steal a line from a song, I've been everywhere.

Yesterday was definitely a road day, covering three provinces, two time zones and one amazing prairie sunset, filled with hues of red and gold and magenta and vermilion, bathing clouds and land alike in richness of colour followed by dusky mystery. I drove from Thunder Bay right through to Regina, leaving there at around 9:00 AM Eastern time and arriving here at around 9:00 PM Mountain Time. That's 14 hours on the road, covering 1,300 kilometers for an average speed of 93 KPH, roughly 55 MPH. That includes stopping for Timmies, gas and Subway!

I felt good yesterday, starting my day early and getting underway early. It was the best I have felt in a while. The road called to me. It was the magnet and I the iron bolt, drawn ever westward, every passing kilometer the pull taking me homeward. I get like this at the end of a road trip, willing to make the long push as the call of my own bed, my own chair, my own place rises to encourage me onward. I am looking forward to getting home.

I am still not sure what or where home will be this fall. I love my apartment, rented though it is. I love the location and the access to the mall across the street. My neighbours are good and the apartment is roomy, at least for me. Yet moving is most likely in my future. My apartment is not all that wheelchair friendly and I will soon need more than standard kitchen and bathroom access; I already do. It is unfortunate, as I would just as soon stay where I am.

I have looked at some of the wheelchair apartments in Calgary. They exist. They are almost all smaller places than mine, built in the more recent days where square footage is at a premium. You might wonder why space like that is important to a single person like me, but it is. I've spent a lot of years in a house with real rooms; a tiny box-like apartment does not hold a lot of appeal for me.

Still, it's not where you live; it's how you live. I plan on living well no matter where I am forced, by health or finances, to be. I will do well simply because I know how to live well. You live well by loving life, by having good friends and family nearby. You live well by doing what fulfills and enjoying what you can. I can do this.