Hearts unmapped.

It’s official- we are moving back to Canada.  To those of you who have journeyed closely with us, this is no surprise.  We have always known that our time here in NZ would be temporary.  Despite many attempts by friends and co-workers to get us to stay, we are keeping our promises to return to our families and friends in Edmonton.  Do we love NZ?  Yes.  We have absolutely loved and cherished our time here.  Although we are sad to see this chapter of our lives come to an end, we can look back with no regrets.  Having visited almost all regions of NZ, we feel very blessed and satisfied with what we have been able to accomplish here, and how we have lived our lives.  There are people who have etched their way into our hearts, and whom we will be very sad to leave. This place will always be special to us, and we will probably always reminisce about the days shared in this land of beaches, flat whites, and Pohutukawa trees.

As we begin to wrap up our time here in New Zealand, we look forward to things to come.  Our hearts are overjoyed to once again be in close proximity to our family and friends in Alberta, and we are delighted to reacquaint ourselves with the fine city of Edmonton.

Upon our return in early summer 2013, Brendon will continue his thesis writing from there, and Mel hopes to find some sort of summer employment, and hopefully secure a teaching job come September.  We’d love to find a cute, little apartment (hopefully in a somewhat central location) to call home, and we look forward to exploring our home city with new eyes- more thoroughly this time.

It all feels a little strange at the moment- the thought of leaving, and the thought of being back in Canada.  Perhaps this whole experience will seem like some crazy sort of dream once we return…

So the journey is not ending; it is continuing.  Hence, the new name: hearts unmapped.  Although we will no longer be living “abroad,” we hope to continue to live with the same mindset of taking full advantage of the moments we find ourselves in and opportunities that are put in front of us, regardless of what continent we find ourselves on.