It’s been almost a year since I’ve written anything worth sharing with the world but my recent trip to Southern Alberta has inspired me to return to my first love. And so, I’ve decided to resurrect my blog I started more than a year ago to share my passions with the world and to hopefully encourage and inspire others along the way. In a better place after a tumultuous year, I’m eager to pour my heart into it this time around.

As I shared in previous posts, my mom was diagnosed with acute leukemia in January 2023, and what followed was the most trying time of my life. I spent many months helping to nurse and care for her in the aftermath of intensive rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, and finally a stem cell transplant. With no immune system for many weeks following these treatments, infection nearly took her life several times.

I am so humbled and grateful to say the treatment was a success and my mom has been in remission since then. While we have in many ways moved on from the pain of the past, what I experienced during this time has changed me indelibly. Suffice it to say the past year and a half has taught me a thing or two about resiliency in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges. My recent trip had me thinking about the resiliency of the human spirit in light of our pioneering past – after all, the men and women who came before us faced challenges unlike anything we face today.

When I worked as a reporter for the Airdrie City View and Rocky View Weekly my most rewarding assignments were investigating the history of the region and highlighting the lesser heard voices in the community. Thanks to the support of my editor at the time, I spearheaded a history column entitled “A View to the Past.” Maybe it’s the retired journalist in me, but my recent trip had me snapping photos and scribbling in my journal once again in hopes of highlighting the voices of our pioneer past.

I took in many sights on my trip to Waterton, travelling through historic settlements such as Fort Macleod and Pincher Creek. While the majesty of our National Park had me in awe, the true wonder to me was seeing the mark our early pioneers and Indigenous peoples had left on this region of our great province. While tourists of many lands flock to the landmarks, falls, and mountain peaks, it was the relics of our past that had me the most captivated, yet seem to be the most forgotten.

Our forebears lived a life marked by brutality. They felt the harshness of the land and the physical exhaustion of a hard day’s labour. Yet, in my opinion, they experienced a distinct connection to the land, the ones they loved, and the God up above. Without the conveniences of modern technology early pioneers laboured and faced discomfort, but they also embraced a slower pace of life in the absence of digital noise. It’s a way of life I am in awe of and inspired by.

I reflected on our pioneer past whilst I found myself rushing to snap a picture among the crowds of tourists (and I mean crowds…) at Waterton National Park. I realized in the hustle and bustle, I had almost failed to stop and truly appreciate all that I was seeing, to truly breathe in and savour the fresh mountain air. Those who traversed these trails not so many years ago would have enjoyed these sights in all their splendour, without the distraction of cameras and smartphones.

The early pioneers were a resilient group of people and they were well acquainted with the harshness of the land they derived life from. They may not have had it all right (and no group of people ever have and ever will, by nature of being human), but they inspire me deeply. When I find reason to grumble about my circumstances I look to the life of these early pioneers and I am humbled. May we never forget the sacrifices they made or the way of life they cultivated, and may we find ways to honour them in our own lives.

I hope to make another trip to this region again soon as there were many sites I missed seeing. But until I return to visit our pioneer past, I will think often of it and pay homage to it in every way I can. Whether it’s adopting less tech time and more stillness in the day-to-day, cultivating my small piece of land in my backyard, mending my own garments, or making a nice hearty bowl of stew to nourish my family, I will endeavour to live a life of simplicity and tradition. Cheers to the ranchers, miners, steelworkers, homemakers, and Indigenous peoples – all the men and women who put their indelible mark on the province I am so proud to call my home.