To Buy, To Rent, To Move, To Stay!

Back in September, we became permanent residents of Canada.  Kathryn had become a permanent resident a few years ago, but the rest of us were here on visitor records and temporary work permits.  To those of you who don't know much about immigration to Canada (most, I would suppose), it meant that our time in Canada was officially limited because we would have to leave and go back to America when our temporary work permits expired.  This was a hard situation because we couldn't settle down or make plans for our lives at all.  We couldn't buy a house because we couldn't get a regular mortgage, and we had no assurance we could remain in any house we bought even if we could buy one.  So, we have been renting in a lovely spot for the past three years.  We now have the chance to buy the house we are in, or buy another house close by, or even rent for a while longer.  Now the time has come to make a decision.

Kathryn will be moving back to the USA, to Notre Dame University to study for her doctorate.  Kathryn has been selected as a Mellon Fellow, which is a very prestigious award for outstanding scholarship.  She also got accepted to Oxford University, but she has decided to study at Notre Dame instead.  Aaron will be graduating from Massachusetts Maritime Academy in June, and we have no idea where in the world he will be working next year.  Abigail is going to the University of Prince Edward Island, and Daniel is in high school.  So, we will be down to only two kids living with us in PEI, for the time being.  Abby's miniature horse, chickens and our five cats are here with us, but all our relatives and most of our friends are in another country.

Are we going to stay here forever?  It seems like we might.  In fact, I just found out the other house up the road that we like so much is not for sale, so we are going to stay put and buy this place and the glorious nine acres of woods, pasture and bubbling brook around us.