"My Highland Dream" with thanks to JP Cormier

 It has been awhile since I last had the urge or focus to write. I just read over two half hearted attempts that I made awhile back but never had the motivation to complete. I was in a very bad place mentally, physically and emotionally from November 2019 until December 2020 when we moved out of the rat race called Calgary to the quieter, smaller town of Cochrane in the foothills of the Rockies. I was still grieving the loss of my Panamanian dream and, then, having to move out of NS due to the dearth of doctors. As it turned out, doctors became even  more of an issue than I had thought as Cancer invaded a lymph node in my groin in August 2020. Quick detection and surgery just before the worst of Covid hit got it out before things escalated, and I am now clean, but on a 5 year surveillance program. Nonetheless, realizing how lucky I was to have been able to access the care I needed in a timely fashion was the first step in my mental rehabilitation. 

I was still suffering ill effects from all the falls I had in Panama, though, and in a lot of pain. As it turned out, on top of the broken wrist in my last wipe out, I had a concussion and had a twisted sacrum. I found a wonderful Osteopath here, an acquaintance from home from long ago, now working in Cochrane. She worked her magic on me and by the summer, I was pain free. I still am. 

But pain in the body is easier to fix than pain in the soul. I was still lost. Without purpose. Covid and bad luck had taken all of my retirement plans from me: Panama, travel, subbing, working for Go Ahead tours, separated me from all of my friends, and I was unable to afford or access my lifelong passion: horses. Oh...this province is crawling with horses - everywhere you look. But I did not have the bank account to access any of them. I tried 2 separate stables, but neither were a fit for me. I did the odd trail ride, but that is costly as well, and not really where my skills were suited. So I made the conscious decision to give up. Reliving the grief of leaving Ali was just too much so I decided to put a lifelong, innate passion behind me. And....I almost convinced myself. Until Monday, October 11, 2021.

For the last 80+ weeks, I have had a standing date with JP Cormier - on You Tube..lol. For those of you who do not know his work, he is a Maritime singer, songwriter and multi-talented musician whom I have followed since the mid 90s. When Covid shut public performing down, he put his creative talents to several ventures on YouTube, one of which was his oral memoirs entitled"A Life in Music". He is a gifted story teller who has some incredible stories to tell. I looked forward to my Monday night "dates"; I still do! Some of his stories were difficult to listen to as they resonated deeply with me: Acadian culture; difficult relationship with his mother, living in my home town of Bridgewater, NS plus many more. But on October 11, 2021, he summed up his philosophy with words that brought me back to life and gave me the courage to try one more time.

He said that he was going to "Fill all the time (he had) left with the things he loved." "What good is all the money in the world if you do not have a purpose?" I felt those words as if he were speaking them directly to me. I can not live without purpose; without passion; without joy. I can survive, yes, but not truly live. A decision was made that night. On Oct.12 I found a site on FB; Horses for Lease in Alberta. My plea went out to the Universe. 

"Hello. I am fairly new to Alberta, now living in Cochrane. Horses have been my life since a very young age; I am very experienced (English and Western) and have the resume to back it up. As I am now retired, I do not have the bank account balance necessary in order to own and board a horse here. I would love to find a situation where someone needs horses exercised or maybe a part lease at a quiet facility. My background is in English: I came up through Pony Club. I was a professional show groom for 2 top Canadian Jumper riders in Ontario in the late 70s and have been involved with the equestrian world in some way ever since. I have also schooled Western. References are not a problem. I am willing to travel within an hour of Cochrane. If you have a horse that needs TLC and a competent ( slightly out of shape), rider, please feel free to msg me. Breed is not an issue; height - 15+ hands. Fingers crossed that I can hug a horse soon! Thank you.

By October 15, I had received so many responses to my post that I could not possibly go try them all. I figured that out of all of them, I would find something, but was not holding out very high expectations as to finding anything special. I thought I had found a suitable situation at a gorgeous facility not far from my house where a mother and daughter needed help with six jumpers. Then, I found "my" Highland Dream! 

JP has a poignant song called Highland Dream. This is the link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cAHrq8dDcM. 

Fourteen minutes from my door is a beautiful facility called....Highland Stables. In the chorus, JP sings, "In my highland dream, I am once again home.".  In "my" highland dream I found friends and ...Harley.

JP, you say many times how you find it so amazing that your songs and stories touch people in so many ways. If you ever read this, I thank you for our many Monday night dates; I thank you for your music and your words from the heart and soul of your life, but most of all, I thank you for those two beautiful sentences that brought me back to life and gave me the inspiration to try once again. Alberta may never be NS, but in "my" Highland Dream, I, too, have found a piece of my home. I am so very grateful.

      

                                          

Harlequin