Article & Images Submitted by: June Crandall, Contributing Author
I think some of you will be able to relate to this article…maybe more than I think! I was born and raised in Albert County in a small community called Mapleton which is now part of Ward 3 of the Community of Three Rivers. I grew up in the 50’s, 60’s and very early 70’s on a small working farm. Today that size farm might be referred to as a hobby farm but not so back then. Everyone had a farm with some cattle, pigs, chickens and horses. We lived many miles from large grocery stores. Grocery stores were only places you shopped to get flour, sugar, salt, pepper, some other spices and other staples like cheese and bologna. Everything else was home grown or home made.
This is not an article about that life; however, it is about what it means to be back home.
I think some of you will be able to relate to this article…maybe more than I think! I was born and raised in Albert County in a small community called Mapleton which is now part of Ward 3 of the Community of Three Rivers. I grew up in the 50’s, 60’s and very early 70’s on a small working farm. Today that size farm might be referred to as a hobby farm but not so back then. Everyone had a farm with some cattle, pigs, chickens and horses. We lived many miles from large grocery stores. Grocery stores were only places you shopped to get flour, sugar, salt, pepper, some other spices and other staples like cheese and bologna. Everything else was home grown or home made.
This is not an article about that life; however, it is about what it means to be back home.
I left home and Canada in 1977. I married a military member, travelled overseas, raised two children, and finally settled in a state on the Eastern coast of the US. I gained an excellent education and a rewarding career. However, very early in 2020, I felt a strong urge to retire from my career. I was no longer married so I felt rather liberated to make that solo decision. Most importantly, I decided to move back to the place of my birth -New Brunswick. I cannot explain in words the sense of peace and relief I experienced in making that decision. I think the decision was more emotional than practical…it just so happened that practical was never something negative. To me, it made sense! Everything fell into place like the pieces of a puzzle. It was satisfying.
In October 2020, I left the US by car and arrived home in two days and moved into my home in early 2021. I was truly home…no turning back. Though I left family and friends in the US, home was always a draw to me though I will confess that I really did not recognize the draw until I arrived back home.
From a very early age, home meant something very central and centering though I did not recognize it as being important. I think that I can now accept that there was always something that was slightly off center in my life from the time I left in my early 20s until coming back home.
I came home to the exact land I grew up on, live close to the same people I grew up with – my sister and brother, and see many of the same people I went to school with. What has changed? Not that much really…we are all older and wiser, we all have children and grandchildren, but we all love home.
Did I come full circle? Absolutely, yes and it is wonderful to be back home.
Here are some lyrics to a song by Celtic Women called Homeland that says it best. I hope some of you can relate.
“This is my homeland, my heart is here
These are the voices I long to hear
No matter how far I may roam
I have a homeland, I have a home.”
In October 2020, I left the US by car and arrived home in two days and moved into my home in early 2021. I was truly home…no turning back. Though I left family and friends in the US, home was always a draw to me though I will confess that I really did not recognize the draw until I arrived back home.
From a very early age, home meant something very central and centering though I did not recognize it as being important. I think that I can now accept that there was always something that was slightly off center in my life from the time I left in my early 20s until coming back home.
I came home to the exact land I grew up on, live close to the same people I grew up with – my sister and brother, and see many of the same people I went to school with. What has changed? Not that much really…we are all older and wiser, we all have children and grandchildren, but we all love home.
Did I come full circle? Absolutely, yes and it is wonderful to be back home.
Here are some lyrics to a song by Celtic Women called Homeland that says it best. I hope some of you can relate.
“This is my homeland, my heart is here
These are the voices I long to hear
No matter how far I may roam
I have a homeland, I have a home.”
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