This year has been a very momentous year so far. Momentous is a big word and I don't use it lightly. I think it's been life altering for so many people. I'd like to think that I'm a trendsetter...but who am I kidding...I'm a mere sheep. Totally ok with that. In terms of decades, I've reached mid-life...if I were to live to 100 that is. So maybe a bit of mid-life crisis comes in to play here. But I didn't buy an expensive car or cheat on my spouse as is the prevailing joke about mid-life crisis. Combine this with the COVID pandemic, living in Ontario, being an Essential Worker in the Veterinary Profession. And the fact that the Veterinary Profession has the highest rate of suicide of any other profession. And that Vet Hospitals are super busy and short staffed. And that I would get up in the morning dreading the day and thinking of all the other things that I'd rather be doing. Anti-anxiety meds and unhealthy habits followed. My goal was to just get through the day. Soul sucking. Life is already too short as it is. This is no way to live.
Add in an already retired husband, a super crazy stupid hot housing market, a wonderful and persistent sister and brother-in-law living in Cape Breton. Mix in an acceptance letter to awesome Dog Training School and some new fun hobbies. Fold in a once in a life time opportunity. A chance to reflect on life and what matters most. Sounds a bit like a recipe for happiness to me. So me, being the sheep that I am, did what so many people are doing lately....I quit my job, leaving behind a pension and benefits and pretty ok pay for my profession (yikes!) I sold our house at what seems to maybe be the peak of the housing market. And we up and moved to Cape Breton/Nova Scotia...which so many other like minded sheep are doing. A lot of my friends and co-workers told me that they thought I was brave and they wished they could do what I was doing. But honestly it's not about bravery, there was no other alternative at this point.
Now it's all about finding our permanent home, most likely along the ocean which the sous chef and I have always dreamed about. I have a hard time saying that I'm "retired." I think I'm just searching for another role that I can fit in to. I can't stop being an "animal professional." It's just going to take a different form now.
This all brings me back to 6 or 7 years ago when I first made the trip to Cheticamp. It was another life-altering time for me: a break-up of a marriage, trying to figure out who I was, who I wanted to become, and where was I going to let life take me. It was sad to be leaving my former life behind. It was for sure scary. But it was also exciting wondering what was next. So we've come back to Cheticamp, Cape Breton full circle. With my sous chef, our 2 dogs, 3 cats, 6 birds after 23 hours of non-stop driving. We've landed along the ocean and we can't wait to see what happens next in this adventure. And just like the deer in my original Cheticamp Crab Cake post, sometimes you just need to take the leap no matter how big and scary and endless it seems out there...
Cheers from the former Bistro 164, temporarily Bistro 172...but maybe soon to be Bistro 415???? ;-)
Cheticamp Crab Cakes
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, mayo, lemon juice, pepper flakes and green onion. Stir in crabmeat gently so as to not break up the meat. Mix in the panko crumbs until desired consistency is reached. Form into patties. Dust with Chili pepper. Bake on a parchment paper lined sheet on BBQ for 30 minutes or so, until egg has set.
No comments:
Post a Comment