I am a planner. I like to have a plan and stick with it. But with our somewhat nomadic life style, I have had to learn to go with the flow. Never more so than earlier this year, when our travel plans had to be put on hold.

You may have read our post about the trouble we had down in Texas and the long drive in a rental car to make it home in time for Christmas. It turned out, we would only really understand the cost of that trip a few days later. 

Our original plan was to drive Ole the Van home to Calgary in time to spend Christmas and New Year’s Eve with family and friends. We would then set off on the next leg of our adventure. We had booked our flights in early January to head to sunny Mexico. It would be a quick turn around, but we were looking forward to the next phase of our adventure. That was the “plan”.

However, within a day of getting home, Dave’s leg started to swell. He iced and elevated. He stretched and took over the counter anti-inflammatories. Still the swelling didn’t reduce, rather his leg started to become warm, red and painful. After a chat with his doctor, he went to the emergency clinic and it was determined that he had developed an extensive blood clot in his leg (likely as a result of the long driving days on the way home).  It would take time for the clot to stabilize.  Flying wasn’t recommend.  Mexico would have to wait. That was the reality.

Initial disappointment quickly gave way to an immense feeling of gratitude. We were so thankful we were home when this happened. We had doctors, healthcare facilities and services we were familiar with, with no language barrier and minimal healthcare costs. We caught the clot in time for treatment and Dave was doing well. We had our friends and family for support.

But now we were to be in Calgary for an unplanned period of 1-3 months.  Calgary in the winter is a mixed bag. It usually has a fairly mild climate. You might see a week or two of really cold weather, but it’s sunny. It snows, but the snow usually doesn’t stay on the ground for more than a few days. We get these weather patterns called Chinooks – warm winds that can raise the temperature 20 degrees or more in a single day. They break up the cold, melt the snow and make the winters quite tolerable. But that is usually. This year would be unusual – some say, the worst winter the city has ever seen. The snow would come and stay. The Chinooks were none existent. 

So quickly, the practicalities of this delay descended upon us. Where would we stay, how would we get around and what would we wear?? Before we had started our travels, we had rented out our house and sold our cars. Ole the Van was still down in Texas. We had been chasing the sun – we didn’t have hats or gloves or scarves or boots or winter coats. 

What we did have was family and friends. And they came through in a big way.  They provided offers of housing, vehicles, warm clothes, home cooked meals, nights out on the town and wonderful company.   There is perhaps a natural inclination to decline when people offer to help. You don’t want to be a burden. But in these circumstances, when we were worrying about a medical condition and what that meant for our immediate and long term future, we were so thankful to be surrounded with such genuine and generous family and friends.  We spent some additional time with Dave’s Sister and our niece and nephew. A friend then provided us with an opportunity to use their vacation property in Canmore. The time up in the mountains was magical with all of the snow and it offered a wonderful environment to rest and recover.

Pippa loved chasing the bunnies and romping through the snow.

Our next stop was a housesit for a friend and former colleague who had recently retired and was heading south to the warmth of Palm Springs. I’m sure she was glad she did, because we had even more snow!

Our final abode was a rental apartment we booked through Air BnB. We have used AirBnB when we have travelled, but it was an excellent resource for a short term rental in our own home town. An added bonus was the cable package at the rental which allowed us to cheer on Canada at the Winter Olympics!

It’s amazing how fast the time went.  I was able to do some cooking and baking. Dave was able to spend some extra time with his Dad. We went to some of our niece’s and nephew’s basketball games. We joined the whole Sorensen clan for fondue night up in Banff. We caught an exhibit at the Glenbow Museum on Frieda Kahlo. We caught up with friends. We got our taxes done. All of that time at home turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Dave and I spend a lot of time with just the two of us, especially when we are out on the road, but this was an important reminder of how meaningful it is to have a village. We are so thankful to have our friends and family in our lives. Sometimes the even the best of plans do not come to fruition, but if you accept help when and where it is offered and go with the flow, the outcome can be amazing.