Today I was the latter.
I spent a large part of today outside, running, going for long walks down the laneways behind our house. It was great to get outside and soak up the green in the middle of the city.
I find it funny that I love the city so much sometimes. I grew up on a rural road just outside of a very small town. When you looked down our driveway, you saw fields on the other side of the road. When you looked out our back door, you saw fields and forest. My dad used to take us fishing in Algonquin Park, and we spent our summers at our family cottage swimming in the lake and waterskiing. We were outside. A lot.
Ottawa is nowhere near as big as Toronto or even Montreal, but it's a city nonetheless. It has big buildings, and lots of people, and oh so many cars. It was a shock to move here after living in such small towns (even through university). I remember feeling like I could never find a quiet space at first, like I was always surrounded by people. At first, it was overwhelming.
But what's great about people is how adaptable we are.
And I did adapt.
I started to relish the efficiency of a larger place. I started to enjoy the faster pace. I realized that I had a sense of anonymity here that I could never get in a small town, and I started to realize that I could sink into that and find a quiet place there.
My city beautiful. It's a perfect blend of green space and
city. There are pathways for me to run on and and ponds and lakes. The pace is
slower than other cities; there's less bustle here. For someone who grew up in
kind of a country setting, it's a relief to have those things.
Last weekend Derek and I went away with his family for a get together. We were camping (albeit luxuriously) by a lake, soaking up the sun and the outdoors. It was truly great. Even though I had the best time, when we drove back into the city my body breathed a big sigh of relief.
It was nice to get home to my city.
<3 S
P.S: my laneway tunes.
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