Guest Blogger Series - Sarah from Cure for Boredom

Welcome to my very first guest blogger series post!  Sarah writes the fabulous blog Cure for Boredom.   She lives in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, with her beautiful (and growing!) family.  Here is Sarah's experience with home sickness.

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{Sarah and Abby in Skagway, Alaska}

I’m a writer/wifey/mama living in the Yukon, and let me tell you, it’s about the furthest from home I could get (within Canada’s borders). I grew up in Ottawa’s east end, and that is still where my parents and siblings live. When I say I’m “going home,” I mean Ottawa, and I think I always will. I live a pretty transient existence, and Ottawa is my home plate. I read a cute saying once that, “home is where your mom is,” and I fully agree. Ottawa is my home.

I’ve lived away from home for over four years now, and have been back at least once a year. It’s important to me, that reconnection, that re-setting of my internal compass when I go home. I take all the experiences of the past year and contextualize them, organize them in my head, when I am back home in my comfort zone.

I have a built a home for my growing family in the Yukon house we pay a mortgage for and have filled with our stuff. It is our family’s home, and my daughter’s, because that is where her mom is. I take great efforts to make it our safe place to fall, our sanctuary from whatever lies outside the front red door. But we are a family because of our connection, not these four walls. I know we will live in many houses in numerous cities. My home will always be Ottawa.

I miss it less the further I’m away, I think as a coping mechanism. I know I can’t have a beaver tail or Quebec-style poutine any ol’ time, so I try not to pine for them. It makes me feel empty and lonesome when I think of the family time we’re missing out on, so I try not to think of it. That’s the only way I’ve found to deal with the unwavering pull I have to go home.

The reason we don’t pack up and head home is that we know we’re on our own adventure, and home is always there. We’re establishing our family on our own terms in our own geography. We’re getting to experience things we otherwise would not, like staying up to watch the northern lights, watching sled-dog races, and day trips to Alaska.

The older my daughter gets and the bigger our family grows, the more my maternal instincts kick in and nudge me to consider moving closer to their grandparents, who deserve to see them grow. I would love to attend family dinners every week or even month instead of once a year. In the meantime, I am thankful for services like Skype and Facebook, which allow us all to stay connected and keep faces fresh at the front of our minds.