It’s not that we lack experiences to blog about—we have plenty! We’ve just been too busy living, making up for lost time. We hit the ground running from the day we arrived in Nova Scotia. We have explored most nooks and crannies of Pictou County, become regulars at all the beaches, and know where to find the best rocks, food, and vistas. We escaped the worst of winter and wandered the warmer parts of North America for two and a half months. During our escape, we visited art centres, met up with friends and family, did a deep dive into civil rights history in the US, and spent a couple of weeks swimming in salt water. We’ve also lured and hosted many friends and family to our new home province, a few in the less hospitable months of December and January. Home improvements have also figured prominently throughout our first ten months in New Glasgow. 

Perhaps the pace we had adopted then was a factor in my (Julie’s) accident. On the morning of July 25th, we were preparing to take my brother to Cape Breton to camp for a couple of nights during his week-long visit from Toronto. Christian was in the shower, and Rusty was still in bed, so I began loading the bedding into the van before starting breakfast. The night before, we had lowered the screen in the sliding side door to keep bugs out and neglected to roll it back up. So, with my arms full of pillows, I unlocked the van, opened the sliding door and attempted to squeeze through the triangular opening of the screen. I, unfortunately, stumbled backward, and because our gravel driveway is unlevel AND elevated, gravity contributed to my falling over the wooden barrier and onto the grass four feet below. I landed on my left wrist and back and twisted my leg while losing a shoe under the van. I immediately thought I had broken my wrist. I got up, collected the pillows strewn all over the lawn, and hobbled up to the van, still in packing mode, repeating the task that landed me in the grass below, found my shoe and made my way into the house to let Christian know I’d fallen. Aside from being extremely concerned, he lovingly admonished me for not waiting for him to begin loading the campervan. Patience is a trait that I continue to struggle with. I will, however, remember Christian’s wise counsel in the future, ‘We are better as a team. Next time, wait for me.’

I acknowledged my poor judgement, grabbed some ice packs from the freezer, and began icing my left wrist and right leg. I knew a trip to the ER would be necessary, so I went upstairs to let my brother know we were heading to the hospital. We returned home six or seven hours later to a worried brother and cancelled our camping trip to Cape Breton. I have a badly sprained left wrist and a fibular head fracture in my right leg, which is a terrible combination for remaining ambulatory! In case you were wondering, a couch is not my natural habitat. I haven’t ever remained indoors for a solid week and wouldn’t say I liked it. Eight days later, we were back at the hospital to meet with an orthopedic surgeon who delivered the great news that I wouldn’t need surgery and that by the end of August, I should be back to my old tricks. We’ve been camping out on our van mattress on the main floor of our house since the accident because I still cannot successfully use crutches due to my left wrist or stairs because of my non-weight-bearing right leg. I am slowly beginning to put weight on my left leg. I add a few more steps daily, but the progress is slower than I’d like. The worst thing about this accident is the halting of a month-long streak of daily ocean swims. That the accident happened during the shortest and best season here in Canada’s Ocean Playground is a pretty big bummer. Now that I have determined that the water temperature in September and early October are favourable for swimming, my spirits are significantly buoyed! I can’t wait! And maybe, while less mobile, we’ll catch up on some blog posts.