It’s been just over a year since I last checked in and I think it’s fair to say that a lot has happened.

We were eager and excited to head out into the world again, a new adventure in a new country where we would make a home for ourselves, raise a family and start a business. We never could have imagined what the future would hold for us. 

During our time in Italy, I wrote drafts that I wanted to publish but life kept getting in the way, everything was so uncertain and I just never felt confident enough to post them on our website. Suffice it to say, we spent a year working tirelessly towards our goal of opening a B&B. During our year abroad we spent countless hours in government offices applying for permits and countless more hours on the road searching for an appropriate property to plant some roots. Months rolled by and we toiled away trying to get a grasp on this new and confusing country, trying to find our place in it. As the time passed, it became clear that an unspoken uncertainty was beginning to take form in both of us. It seemed like we had made no headway towards our goal and the distance from friends and family began to weigh on us. 

Eventually it became clear that this journey was not everything we thought it would be. We fought the idea, not wanting to give up on this dream that we’d been looking forward to for so long but the more we fought the more clear it became that it was not meant to be. We had to accept that there is strength in knowing when to quit. 

So once again, we packed up our things and prepared to move back home. I don’t want anyone to misinterpret this as a sad story because it most definitely is not. During our time there we studied the language, learnt the history of a beautiful city, spent time with old friends and made memories with new ones, travelled, and got a dog! 

Over the year, we learnt so much and that new found knowledge taught us that there is no place like home and as cliche as I might sound, sometimes you have to let something go before you can understand it’s value. This is how we felt about Toronto, we had to leave it to understand what an amazing city it is. We’re multicultural, forward thinking, friendly and open minded, Toronto is a place filled with arts, cuisine, exhibitions and everything in between. We were so happy to have made the decision to come home to the place we know best, where our friends and family are, where we grew up and where our children can grow up.

So with all of that in mind, know that this is a success story, this is the story of us trying, taking that shot and being okay with missing because the value of everything we learnt from that is immeasurable. We came home better people because of everything we went through and can’t wait for the next chapter of our lives to begin.

Stay tuned for a potentially expected announcement!

L.L.W.P.