An unexpected gift

There’s nothing like dropping a line to an old friend and ending up on national radio.

My intention was to send a quick e-mail to my friend and colleague, well-known radio host and provocative political commentator Charles Adler, to let him about our year-long sabbatical to Costa Rica. The unexpected result was him wanting to talk about it on his popular national radio show.

What a way to launch a blog about our adventure.

I had hoped to spend weeks crafting my first post, creating some insightful prose that might convince people our journey is worth following online. We writers are an incredibly insecure bunch, and it is a surprise to discover that the words just don’t come as easily when writing about myself. But here I am, forced to slap something together on a deadline, like always, so here it goes.

Aside from a few years in Victoria, B.C., where I went to university, Calgary has always been my home. But in recent years this vibrant city has begun to lose its lustre — at least in my eyes. House prices have skyrocketed. Traffic is a nightmare and people no longer wave a thank you in the rear view mirror when you let them cut in ahead during rush-hour traffic.

As oil prices spiked last week, the Calgary Herald reported that downtown restaurants were serving up more wine than usual as people in the industry toasted their ever-growing riches over lunch. This headline replaced the ones from the week before about a horrific murder-suicide in this wealthy, growing city. Joshua Lall, a promising local architect seemingly living the ultimate picture-perfect suburban life, killed his basement tenant before stabbing to death his wife and two of his three small children. By all accounts, their life was as ordinary as any; a typical family juggling the demands of a mortgage, work, family and social activities.

What a contrast.

I’m not suggesting that this killing was a direct result of Calgary’s economic boom. But I, for one, wonder whether life’s ordinary stresses contributed to what happened. Was Joshua Lall pushed over the edge striving to create an ideal life and achieve what so many of us seem to be working toward: a big house in a tony community, a shiny brand new car and designer labels?

Although our decision to leave the city in search of some perspective was already made, this tragedy reaffirmed that packing up for a year-long adventure is worthwhile, if not necessary.

In a few days, we are moving out of our suburban home, which we’ve rented out for the year we’ll be away. The stress is mounting and the place is a disaster. The multitude of toys for our two small children are scattered throughout, a sight that I use to remind myself of why this is important to not only us, but our kids, who will be forced to keep themselves busy with their imaginations, rather than the made-in-China plastic crap that we keep buying.

On July 31, we will board a plane and begin our adventure in a Central American country we’ve never visited that speaks a language we do not know. It’s terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

The self-discovery is already happening. I’ve learned that I don’t cope well with major change, that I am neurotic and that I really don’t even know who I am. When I sat down to write and define my objectives for this journey it became clear that the first one is to slow down, let this journey unfold, rather than trying to manage it like I do the daily schedule of kids, work and leisure.

If you dream about getting off the hamster wheel for a while, follow our journey to see how it unfolds and maybe you’ll find some inspiration.