Chilly
I traded in the city girl life for something a little more remote...
fiHilary Messer-Barrow, 34
Sat amongst the presents at my brother’s Vancouver Island home, it was a little bit bittersweet.
This would be my last Christmas on Vancouver Island, or Vancouver city for that matter.
My now husband James, 29, had been transferred to Beaver Creek for work, a remote part of Yukon, Canada, close to the Alaskan border.
And soon I would join him. I had never lived far from my family – especially during the holiday season, so I wanted to make the most of the time I had with them.
‘Are you ready for your present?’ my mum Meg, 60, asked, passing me a rectangular package.
Tearing the paper off, I stared up at my parents dumbstruck, when I saw what was inside – it was a beautiful homemade cookbook.
‘So, you don’t starve in Yukon,’ she grinned.
I knew enough about cooking to get by, but I had nothing on Mum.
Her cooking is outstanding, and I was really going to miss it.
Earlier that day we had tucked into an amazing Christmas dinner, courtesy of her culinary skills.
Flicking through the pages, I felt myself welling up.
She had included all our family recipes, and the secrets that made her food so special.
Each page included a family photo – each recipe was now a bespoke memory I could take with me on my new adventure.
Enveloping Mum and my dad Robert, 62, in a hug, I didn’t want to let them go.
‘I’m going to miss you both so much,’ I said, finallypulling myself away.
‘Remember how much you used to love visiting your grandma,’ they said to me. ‘She lived out in the middle of nowhere.’
My grandma used to have a farm out in British Columbia, and as a little girl I adored going to visit her. Actually, I thought to myself. There’s quite a lot I don’t like about living in society.
For example, Christmas was so stressful, and there was always so much pressure to spend money.
Yet, my family cookbook was the best present, homemade with love.
Smiling, I felt a little more confident about flyingout to meet James, all the way in the far north.
He had gone out in November 2018, and I would be joining him on 1 January 2019.
Calling him that evening, I was intrigued about how his firstever Christmas went in Beaver Creek.
‘Everyone has been so welcoming,’ he said – Beaver Creek had a population of 90. ‘I’ve been invited to a big Christmas dinner by some of our neighbours, and the community has had loads of get-togethers, so I haven’t felt alone.’
Then, on New Year’s Day, it was finallytime for me to join him.
Giving
