Wide Open Spaces ~ Nestled Safe & Secure

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 32 (WIDE OPEN SPACES)

Wide Open Spaces left me a bit pondered. 

I could write about my great granparents arrival in 1909 from Ukraine to homestead in northern Saskatchewan which is a very flat part of Canada.

When Chris and I travel across the prairie provinces of Canada I am always overwhelmed by how much space is really out there.  

Chris often comments that you can watch your dog run  away for 3 days in Saskatchewan when we travel through those wide open spaces. 

On one of our trips Chris commented that he missed the mountains as we were traveling across Saskatchewan. 

I replied that since we were at an elevation we were actually on the top of the mountains. 

This shifted both of our views.

It really is about perspective.

Surrounded by mountains in British Columbia OR on top of the mountains in the prairies - the mountains are still there.

I remember walking out of the optometrist office with my first pair of glasses at the age of 10, and realizing the mountains had trees on them.

I had never realized the mountains fully surrounging my hometown had trees.

When we first moved away from the mountainous area of BC I really missed the feeling of being snug & secure in the middle of the mountain valley. 

This last weekend I went home for my highschool reunion, and recreated this gem with my highschool friend:

Going home is hard because I have to acknowledge that my mother is not busily living her life with no time to phone me - she really has been gone for 10 years & isn't coming back. BUT I console myself that she is with dad -- who has been gone for 15 years & isn't coming back either.

Where we live now you can see the mountains in the distance - just a bit too much space for me, and I wonder if maybe it is time to think about going home. 

BUT then I arrive home to realize that we created a protected space in the wide open spaces that we have called home for a long time.

Home safe & secure !!! 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Photos:

Personal

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

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