A Perfect Fall Day

 

When your time in a place is quickly drawing to a close, those would have's, could have's, should have's start to rear up. Nova Scotia really is so packed with beautiful things to see that I would have needed a good few more years to get through all I would have liked to see, but with just over a month to go until we would be leaving her shores a few old favourites and a few must do's became the focus. One of which was Victoria Park in Truro, best admired in fall when the leaves are just so and the air calls for rugging up in your finest.

We had been to Truro quite a few times before. I had won a spot in a class making my home town Bedford sign there, we had visited the library and bought slate from it's old roof, visited the market and ate at their trendy cafe's. I'd walked the town antiquing when Mum and Dad visited and bought local hand died wool there with Jen after our night away at a cabin near by. But for some reason I hadn't known of Victoria Park until the last year we were there and we decided to wait til fall to enjoy it at it's most beautiful.

We all dressed up in warm clothes, suited for an old fashioned 'being seen' walk and made our way through the absolutely beautiful park. Quill was just a month old and I stopped to feed him along the way while the kids ran up Jacob's ladder and played stick boat races in the little stream with Levi. It really is a magical, beautiful place with waterfalls dotted along the journey and pagola's to sit in and marvel at the walls of the little valley you are walking through.

I loved it, I loved the leaves and being with my family. I loved the bridges and paths and peace that I felt there. We knew that Levi was to be released from his role as the Bishop the following day and I think this walk gave us the space to feel what that meant for a moment. Our time in Canada really was a big, huge, life changing 3 years. Levi being Bishop presented us with opportunities, to know and love the members of the ward more deeply and feel the blessings that come with service and Christ-like love. The challenges made us more resilient and dependent on God. And even though it wasn't always easy, I can honestly say I'm so grateful for the experience. I'm grateful for what it taught us, what it gave to us and who I saw my husband become as he loved and served. This moment of peace in the park was the prelude to a big, emotional day of saying goodbye to a calling that was a big part of our lives.What a setting.

Nova Scotia, you are full of so many gems. And I'm so glad I got to have a moment with this one.