I begin my personal blogging with a post logged a few days before I end a fulfilling chapter of my life and embark on a new and somewhat unknown chapter. After 4 years and 2 months of living in Banff, Erin, Grace, Norah and I are trekking over to the other side of Canada to Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia to set up shop. There, we will be closer to family, closer to the Atlantic ocean where we both grew up, and ultimately where we will pursue a dream. One that will allow us a rich environment of family, nature and education. It also affords Erin and I an expanded space for work… after year and years of operating our independent artistic and business pursuits out of our home space, our new homestead in Mahone Bay has a separate out building which will be our work studios.

Banff… There is so much we are moving away from: friends, community, environment (complete with bears and cougars), mountains, beauty. We found a comfortable place in this unique town. We found people who had similar values; People who had lovely families; People who liked what we liked. We had an amazing home for the last year and a half perched up on top of Harmony Lane with our mountain views and on board hot tub. Yes, we will miss Banff. You know, it’s leaving the people which makes me even question the decision Erin and I made for our family. Why would we do such a thing? Why would we leave such a beautiful place? Why would we choose to leave this lifestyle? These are questions that rattle around in my head every day. I guess what ends up distilling out of all that brain chatter is an instinctive feeling of hope for something better. Not better people, but a more rewarding life. Risky, eh?! When we land in Mahone Bay in August we won’t know a soul but we dearly hope to connect with those people and families that welcome us, converse with us about meaningful things, make us laugh, make music with us and give us and expanded sense of self.

Bye Banff. With all your quirks, with all your beauty, with your proximity to nature and outdoor fun, with your amazing view of Rundle, with your corporate predominance, with your convenience, with your over abundance of tourists, with your bears, cougars elk and dear, with your school cut backs, with your hot springs, with the amazing friends you’ve brought me together with. Bye Banff. See you later.

-John