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<Home.> As I journey "home" I find again what thrills my soul.
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This picture is my charmingly beautiful hometown creek in Southern Saskatchewan. 
I snapped this shot when I was out for a run while visiting my parents this summer. (Happy 70th birthday Dad😘) I used to play here, exploring these cut banks after school.
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I love going back home to visit.  The slogan of this small city is "where life makes sense." Last year as I was dealing with post-cancer anxiety I particularly enjoyed going "home".  The slower pace of a small prairie city  was calming to my frantic soul; I was able to catch my breath and life did indeed make better sense here.
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I think we all need regular reminding to slow down.  To take time to make sense of life rather than press headstrong forward alongside a culture that forgets it's good to slow down, reflect, savour, and breathe.
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Though I now live by the mountains, I will always have a sweet spot in my heart for the prairies. I appreciate the lessons I've learned on the prairies: how to brave snowstorms, the delight of Saskatoon berry crisp, how to drive on ice, the spectacularly beautiful power unleashed in prairie storms and how not to lick metal in freezing temperatures (yet why did I still try?!).  Oh how the expansive quiet beauty of the prairies rivals the grandeous beauty of the mountains.
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Yes, this prairie town will always be in my heart, no matter where journeys take me. And yes I'm hopelessly nostalgic, but for me the cliche, "Home is where the heart is" holds true. 
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As a girl I sat in my room for countless hours journaling and writing poetry and stories.  Yes experience, choices, and education shape the woman I have become; but at my core I am still *that* girl.
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 I minimized her and pushed her aside as I pursued career and motherhood.  I realize now I did myself a great disservice. She surfaced again when cancer stripped so much away.  She reminds me of who I am without the guises I accepted from adulthood.  She keeps me "real".

I now believe that our greatest gifts and talents are apparent at a young age. This does not mean other gifts and talents cannot be learned, enjoyed and pursued.  But through personal experience I see that first passions are deep passions that breathe wholesome life when they are persistently stoked.

It is important for me to remember the girl I was in order to become the woman I truly want to be.  And home is a powerful reminder of this for me.

I invite you to take a journey "home" and find again what thrills your soul ♥️


XOXO
Cheryl



PS. (I acknowledge here that this is my story, based on my experience.  If your childhood was not healthy, home was likely not a safe place for you to explore who you truly are.  Your journey in remembering what thrills your soul will look much different than mine. Grace be to you. XOXO.)