the last post

today is my last full day in my liverpool home. and it feels mighty weird. weird because there are so many people here i will miss and who have said they'll miss me too. weird because there are so many people back in canada overly excited about me coming back, and i'm overly excited too!

i haven't had too much time to fully reflect on my last four years here, but i have been thinking about the first six months a lot. how wonderful, accepting, lovely and beer-loving everyone was. it didn't take long before i was one of the crew...and i still am. i'll desperately miss a lot of people and things, but here's a list so far that i've compiled of things that i've learnt:

1. that people are precious, delicate individuals whose beings no one can fully know without complete openness. that no matter what tortoise shell exterior someone may have, we all need to draw our head inside sometimes.

2. it's okay to grow my hair long and not feel less like i did when i was 18

3. the telephone truly is the greatest CANADIAN invention (many disagreements over whether Alexander Graham Bell was scottish, but we can all agree he is canadian). no matter how great the internet is for keeping in touch there is nothing quite like hearing a loved one's voice. especially if they're a niece or nephew being coached to say 'i wuv you' and 'i miss you'

4. how much i appreciate each and every member of my family, how close i've grown to them over the years, and how much it hurts to lose one of them.

5. there is a song for every feeling and every occasion

6. as they said in high fidelity, sometimes it's what you like more than what you are like (and scousers love to say 'whaddar ya like?'

7. the value of patience, grace and principles. still working on those...

8. that the reason i was drawn here in the first place was my ancestry and that is also the reason that's drawing me back home.

9. how much i love camping and hillwalking (but really it was just a substitute for the cottage:)

10. how generous and loving people are.

11. that scousers truly are one of a kind.

12. you can pack a lot of people into a small country and even more people into a field of tents (a la glastonbury)

13. as much as i complain about british/mersey rail, i really do love it.

14. i can change career paths.

15. i can do my masters whilst working full-time, so maybe my phD too!

it's quite a random list and not nearly as exhaustive as i'd like, but the brain is a bit mushy and scattered what with all the packing and saying goodbyes. i will treasure the text on this blog forever and will probably use one of those nifty sites to make it into a little book for myself.

so thanks for the memories, laughter and lifelong friendships i've established in the last four years.

...and can't wait to get back home! one more sleep.