Stratford 2 Waterloo

Last month, my world got rocked, which is the reason for my absence from Bloggerville.

It all started one seemingly normal Tuesday morning, when my husband and I were trying to get ourselves ready for work and our son prepared for daycare. I had a presentation at work that day, so I was a little more frazzled than usual, but in no way expected the train of events that would follow.

On our way into work, I realized I forgot something at the house, and so we had to turn around and go back home to pick it up. This wouldn't be a big deal for most people, but my husband and I both work in Waterloo (our son attends daycare there as well), so this small change of schedule threw everything off.

It's not that we aren't used to the drive; my husband and I have been doing it for the last 6.5 years. But something changed after I returned to work from maternity leave and suddenly we found ourselves leaving Stratford early and arriving home late. With the drop-offs, I was finding myself on the road two hours a day. And on that particular Tuesday morning, it all came to a head. Essentially, we snapped and realized what we had been denying for so long: commuting was getting the better of us and we needed to make a change.

The thought of moving to Waterloo had crossed our minds many times in the past (usually in the dead of winter when even the highways couldn't take the harshness of winter in the snow belt), but our decision always returned to staying in Stratford because we love it so much here. We're nestled on the Avon, a short distance from the theatre, the downtown core is vibrant and alive, creativity flows as freely as the WiFi and we've been so excited about what the University of Waterloo Stratford campus and Stratford Institute are promising our fair city. More importantly, we're close to family and have experienced a sense of community here like nowhere else.

But as pretty as this picture may be, it all comes at a price. And I'm not talking just gas or time: I mean sanity! We realized that we're living in Stratford for the weekends because on the weekdays, we're too exhausted to do much else.

And so, on the Wednesday following that crazy Tuesday morning, we made the bold move of peeking on a real estate website to see what was available in Waterloo and lo and behold, we found a house that felt right and was situated fewer than five minutes from our places of work and daycare. Long story short: we bought it, and moving day is just around the corner.

Before we could get excited about the many wonderful things Waterloo has to offer our growing family, we had to mourn the loss of Stratford. We saw ourselves here for a long time, but thankfully, we will be back often to visit family and friends.

One of the many benefits of moving to Waterloo will involve reducing our carbon footprint, which also feels right to us. We calculated that we'll be saving 16 days a year off the road (and I mean 24-hour days!). I grew up in the area and so I'm familiar with the city, but so much has changed since I lived there and I look forward to making many new discoveries that I will post in this blog, along with some old (and new) favourites from Stratford and the surrounding area.

So there you have it - my long story not so short after all. I want to thank the many people who have made my time in Stratford over the last 6.5 years so memorable. You are a wonderful community that I was proud to be part of and a little piece of my heart will always belong to Stratford.

In the words of William Shakespeare, "Parting is such sweet sorrow," but it's time to move on, and I look forward to discovering many of my own unearthed joys in my new but familiar city and surrounding area.

So stay tuned. And thank you for accompanying me on my journey.