Relocation

I'm moving, with my family, in July, to a beautiful city called Kelowna. Most people know, but it will be news to some.

Kelowna is a city of lakes and dry hills, highways and nature walks, orchards and malls, beaches and ski hills. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. The memories I have of the city make it more beautiful, in my mind.

My relationship with Kelowna is complicated.. All my life we've made the trip there and back at least once a year, since we've always had family there. I also spent my last two years of high school in Kelowna. I know the city moderately well, but my opinion of it is constantly changing.

I love Kelowna because it's beautiful. I love the lakes, the orchards, the back roads, the local non-touristy beaches. I dislike Kelowna because it's a desert disguised as an oasis, and with that comes the summer days above 35 degrees, the snowless brown and grey winters, and the excessive wasteful watering of lawns.

I love Kelowna because of the family we have there. My cousins are my age, and we spent a lot of time together in the few years that we lived there. I dislike Kelowna because I haven't always felt welcomed there. Can a city itself be hostile? I think so. For some reason I never felt cool enough to live in Kelowna. Its citizens have style. They hang out in coffee shops and see live bands and know how to waterski. I feel as though you can't be homely and live in Kelowna. I'm half-expecting to be blacklisted for lacking style.

It's a big change. I don't have a plan. I really can't say with any certainty what I'll be doing once we've settled in the new house. I'll miss Lethbridge, but it's time for a change.

If this sounds somber, it's because that is exactly my feeling toward the move. I'm not devastated at leaving Lethbridge, the city where I've spent most of the last five years, nor am I overwhelmed with excitement about leaving the wind behind. I'm not terrified about being in a new place and having to find a new grocery store, but I'm also not itching to spend every day tanning on the beach.

I am moving, and I have accepted it with cautious anticipation. Here we go - further up and further in.