Fridays with Mr. Milk - It's Time...

Ten years. It's time to go.

I love this country. I came here in 2000, in search for a path unknown to me and Canada helped me find it. I studied, I worked, I partied, I enjoyed the nature and the outdoors, and took notice of the little things Canadians do that makes them the wonderful people they are.

You see, to me nothing epitomizes more what a "Canadian" is than seeing a hubcap positioned by a light post on the side of the street. This is a country were consideration is in the collective agenda, every day. Where "thank you" and "please" are not just nice words, but mandatory words. Where everyone is equal and there is a proper way to do things and a not-so-proper way to do things, and society is your judge. Where people stand in single file to get on the bus, and where tipping a waiter 18% is a society-imposed rule that compensates for the minimum wages servers make; and everyone does it.

Love it or hate it, Canada is a wonderful land. When I tell people that we are leaving, the immediate response is a big, stunning, "WHY?" (with an undertone of "why would anyone think of leaving Canada?"). People pray for the opportunity to move here. We are leaving.

Back in September, when Chocolate Lover and I began thinking of leaving to go back home, I must say the journey ahead of us scared the crap out of me. Not for the amount of work that it was going to be, but for the weight of the decision we had to make. What if we regret it? What if we make the wrong call? I asked friends, family, strangers, I made pros and cons lists, thought about it every morning in the shower and in my sleep. January came around and our final decision made sense.

Tomorrow we are leaving and I could not be more certain that this is the right thing to do. Family first. Nothing is more important than being close to the ones you love. That's exactly what we are doing, and I'm happy to be leaving on a super high note.

Work has been amazing to me, and if it wasn't for the lack of anonymity on public blogs I would go into more details, but let's just say that I feel very satisfied with what I have accomplished here and I am eager for Chocolate Lover and I to do the same back home.

Home was Cyprus when we were in Canada and Canada when we were in Cyprus. It's time to choose.

We are going back to Cyprus. We are going home.

From sunnier pastures and loving surroundings, but with memories of a wonderful decade in Canada, we'll be touching base soon. Until next Friday, this is Mr. Milk signing off.