Closure
We lived in St. Paul for a year. I can't say that I was thrilled to move to St. Paul, but I made it my mission early on that I would come with "the right attitude". With that change in thinking, I found that I was genuinely sad when we moved because I made many great friends and challenged myself to new experiences. After living in a small town I have found that I (a city girl) have become a defender of rural life.
The year I lived in St. Paul had a lot of "Firsts". Here are a few:
1) Attended Parentlink group, which at first I thought was for poor people who needed "help" from the government. Boy, was I wrong! On move-in day I was told by a few people that I MUST go there. Alright, I get it. I went there a couple of days later and found it was the best thing and what I really did NEED. Not for poor people, but for everyone. Small families, big families, stay-at-home moms, ladies running day homes, people who have lived in St. Paul their entire lives and people who moved in from another city or even country. I made great friends and networked with a lot of people to understand the good and bad of that community. And the organizer, Miss Sheila, is an incredible woman. She is the lady who would pray to have as a teacher, next-door neighbor or friend. She acts like she is part of your family (in the best way possible) and gives off a feeling like you have known her for years.
2) Purchased a business license and started from the ground up a little "St. Paul Spooky Stroll" business. I even had an employee. Legit. It is now in the hands of the St. Paul Museum and I hope they keep it going and make it an even better event.
3) Considered going to a rodeo. Yeah, so we never went, but it was discussed which, come on people, for me is huge!
4) Learned how to play the ukulele and performed (yikes) in public.
5) Willingly listened to a country radio station for a few songs at a time.
6) Spoke on the above mentioned country radio station on a few occasions (promoting a program I started and winning contests. Ha ha! I have really fast google fingers)
7) Camped in a tent with two kids under the age of 3. Would NOT recommend this.
8) Watched a tractor drive down my street on a daily basis.
9) Dropped off one of my kids at school. Little Dragon started a once-a-week pre-pre school. He is getting so big. Loved that French school!
10) Wrote a column roughly once a month and was published to the 12 people that read the St. Paul Journal. Kidding! It had a fairly big readership, people I didn't think would read the paper would make comments (all good) on my writings. It is so nice to use the "adult" brain and feel like Abby pre-Little Dragon again.
11) Went to places like: Mundare, Bonnyville, Vegerville, Vilna, Glendon, Fort Kent and Ashmont. Places I didn't know even existed.
12) Finally understood the difference between a crow vs. magpie. I think...
13) Organized and founded a community program, Storytime at Sunnyside retirement manor.
14) We SOLD our Edmonton house that we have been using as a rental. It was a whirlwind of should we fix the windows? Should we fix the roof? How is the market? But once it was posted, even before it went "public" we got an aggressive offer from a buyer that wants to bulldoze it to the ground. Boom. Sold. We don't have to put one more penny into it. Phew!
15) Started a petition and presented to town council. Ugh... town council is THE worst. Change is NOT a scary thing. Researching something is NOT a scary thing either. Please, pretty please Noreen run for MAYOR. I would endorse you and you would have an awesome girl squad that would put Hilary to shame.
16) Went to Christmas Mass.
17) Discovered new lakes such as: Floating Stone, Stony Lake, Kehewin, Lac Bellevue, and my favorite Cold Lake!
18) Won a colouring contest. I know most of you are thinking that I beat some little kids Billy Madison style, but atlas it wasn't that epic. It was an adult colouring contest (had an adult category to it) and I got some sweet shoes.
19) Started swimming lanes again (even wore a swim cap) and purchased nice goggles that don't cut off the circulation in my face. Those Costco 3 pack plastic goggles are the worst.
**One thing that Big Dragon regrets not doing is attending a sweat lodge. I don't know if I could hack it. I like the idea of it, but I am a bit of a baby when it comes to saunas.**
Thanks for being a great home to my family over the past 12 months.
Good Night St. Paul!
The year I lived in St. Paul had a lot of "Firsts". Here are a few:
1) Attended Parentlink group, which at first I thought was for poor people who needed "help" from the government. Boy, was I wrong! On move-in day I was told by a few people that I MUST go there. Alright, I get it. I went there a couple of days later and found it was the best thing and what I really did NEED. Not for poor people, but for everyone. Small families, big families, stay-at-home moms, ladies running day homes, people who have lived in St. Paul their entire lives and people who moved in from another city or even country. I made great friends and networked with a lot of people to understand the good and bad of that community. And the organizer, Miss Sheila, is an incredible woman. She is the lady who would pray to have as a teacher, next-door neighbor or friend. She acts like she is part of your family (in the best way possible) and gives off a feeling like you have known her for years.
2) Purchased a business license and started from the ground up a little "St. Paul Spooky Stroll" business. I even had an employee. Legit. It is now in the hands of the St. Paul Museum and I hope they keep it going and make it an even better event.
3) Considered going to a rodeo. Yeah, so we never went, but it was discussed which, come on people, for me is huge!
4) Learned how to play the ukulele and performed (yikes) in public.
5) Willingly listened to a country radio station for a few songs at a time.
6) Spoke on the above mentioned country radio station on a few occasions (promoting a program I started and winning contests. Ha ha! I have really fast google fingers)
7) Camped in a tent with two kids under the age of 3. Would NOT recommend this.
8) Watched a tractor drive down my street on a daily basis.
9) Dropped off one of my kids at school. Little Dragon started a once-a-week pre-pre school. He is getting so big. Loved that French school!
10) Wrote a column roughly once a month and was published to the 12 people that read the St. Paul Journal. Kidding! It had a fairly big readership, people I didn't think would read the paper would make comments (all good) on my writings. It is so nice to use the "adult" brain and feel like Abby pre-Little Dragon again.
11) Went to places like: Mundare, Bonnyville, Vegerville, Vilna, Glendon, Fort Kent and Ashmont. Places I didn't know even existed.
12) Finally understood the difference between a crow vs. magpie. I think...
13) Organized and founded a community program, Storytime at Sunnyside retirement manor.
14) We SOLD our Edmonton house that we have been using as a rental. It was a whirlwind of should we fix the windows? Should we fix the roof? How is the market? But once it was posted, even before it went "public" we got an aggressive offer from a buyer that wants to bulldoze it to the ground. Boom. Sold. We don't have to put one more penny into it. Phew!
15) Started a petition and presented to town council. Ugh... town council is THE worst. Change is NOT a scary thing. Researching something is NOT a scary thing either. Please, pretty please Noreen run for MAYOR. I would endorse you and you would have an awesome girl squad that would put Hilary to shame.
16) Went to Christmas Mass.
17) Discovered new lakes such as: Floating Stone, Stony Lake, Kehewin, Lac Bellevue, and my favorite Cold Lake!
18) Won a colouring contest. I know most of you are thinking that I beat some little kids Billy Madison style, but atlas it wasn't that epic. It was an adult colouring contest (had an adult category to it) and I got some sweet shoes.
19) Started swimming lanes again (even wore a swim cap) and purchased nice goggles that don't cut off the circulation in my face. Those Costco 3 pack plastic goggles are the worst.
**One thing that Big Dragon regrets not doing is attending a sweat lodge. I don't know if I could hack it. I like the idea of it, but I am a bit of a baby when it comes to saunas.**
Thanks for being a great home to my family over the past 12 months.
Good Night St. Paul!
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