The first time my husband and I drove around the Cabot Trail in the Highlands of Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia) might have been the last. At least, in my opinion at that inexperienced chapter in the story of my life. I hadn’t yet gotten used to long trips—a half-hour journey to Bangor from my…
If you could live anywhere in the world for the last chapter of your life, where would you choose? Our final destination on the trail of Rose Michaud is Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia’s true New Scotland. This last chapter in our five months of home assignment last summer tied up the loose ends of…
During high school, I received an underappreciated Christmas gift from my Downeaster grandparents—a book of poetry, essays, and illustrations featuring aspects of Maine history, legend, and culture. I don’t remember the book’s title or where it may have ended up along the road of life. But one thing I recall with clarity: Within its pages…
It was meant to be a short detour, really. Not a deep dive into military service and secret assets. My husband and I spent part of last summer camping in Nova Scotia’s delightful Annapolis Valley. On the trail of Rose Michaud, we set out one July morning, headed toward Port-Royal National Historic Site, a reconstructed…
A few months ago, I shared that we traveled from Coquimbo, Chile, to Canada and the US on a short furlough. Now—six months, 34,000 km, 44 different beds, and countless letters, emails, and text messages later—we have finally arrived home. Or did we leave home to return here? Although I often feel ambivalent about the…
During a recent visit to Canada, old friends took us beachcombing on the Northumberland coast of Nova Scotia. There, I received a practical course in sea glass hunting. Neither I—nor my friends, the experts—found amazing museum-quality pieces, but we picked up handfuls of pebbles, shards, and even grains in a variety of beautiful colors—white, aqua,…
It’s over for another year. Not the search, but National Novel Writing Month. I’m able to say now that I’m a three-time “winner” of NaNoWriMo, although I’m not sure what that means to anyone, even including myself. But writing 50,000 words in The Search for Rose Michaud at least started me on the path to…
In the last few weeks, we’ve experienced the cliff notes of a whirlwind tour of Europe. We came up a little short of the goal last time. However, today we’ll jump right back into the race around the world in 80 tins, because I have LOTS of Canadian classics in my collection to tell you…
God is in the restoration business. He reminded me today after a candle scorched our anniversary tablecloth. The marred keepsake will likely join my pile of patchwork possibilities, because in our family, we’ve been stitching stories from stains for years. It’s tempting to mourn the losses. But it’s also comforting to realize that’s okay. “God…