A little moutain healing like only the Rockies can offer

Nov 19, 2015

Losing an animal is a difficult thing to adjust to. Sometimes you don’t realize just how ingrained they are in your everyday routines, and it makes their absence all the more noticeable. Or at least that’s how it was for us. Every time I get home and open the door I expect a furry face to greet me. I am surprised every time there’s not.  Odd things make me cry when I’m least expecting it. The first week was really awful. I didn’t want to be in the house any more than I had to be.

So it was a true gift that months before we won a weekend away at the gorgeous Emerald Lake in B.C. We had won the 2 night stay at the CanSuffer Spin fundraiser in February. It was donated by a fellow teammate – Gordon – who told us “it’s the most romantic place”. We had booked it in September for this weekend, at a time when we thought Daisy would at least make it to Christmas. Now the weekend away was a welcome distraction for us, as was the kids’ planned sleepovers at the grandparents. We’d be out of our house of Daisy reminders, amongst the mountains and trees for a weekend of healing.

I honestly couldn’t leave soon enough on Friday (but had to wait until Phil finished work), and naturally it started to snow on our drive out. By the time we got to the BC/Alberta border in the mountains, some of the highways north and southwest were closed due to bad weather. Our way was still open but the road conditions worsened as we got closer to the resort (and actually the road we took closed a few hours after we had drove through). They got lots of snow earlier in the day, and the roads were icy. I was glad we had decided to take Phil’s truck.

Like my trip the weekend before with the girls, I could feel myself start to relax, even with the inclement weather, as we left the city further behind and drove the highway into nature. The smell was amazing – there’s just something about pine trees and mountain air. The snow made it incredibly romantic. There was already quite an accumulation on the ground but as we drove up to the parking lot, it was snowing just enough to make it look like a movie. It was absolutely beautiful.

At Emerald Lake you park your car a few kilometres down the road from the resort. A bus takes you to your room. I was grinning like an idiot as we boarded the bus with our luggage. The grin just got wider as we saw the gorgeous lake as we crossed the little bridge onto the resort property. It’s really amazing – no cars are allowed so you walk everywhere. It’s like a little pedestrian village. Like something out of a story book. I knew I would love it there before we even set foot in our room.

In our room, which was overlooking the lake, there was no TV and a huge, wood burning fireplace with as much wood as you like! We had a little balcony with a couple of chairs, which happened to be half buried in snow, but we pretty much left the door open anytime we were in the room with the fireplace on. The fresh air mixed in with the burning fire was intoxicating.

I can honestly say it was one of the most relaxing getaways we have ever taken. It was a weekend of doing very little except breathing in the amazing air, snapping pics of the gorgeous scenery, going into the outdoor hot tub and hiking around the lake. Oh and eating their delicious food and drinking ha. On Saturday afternoon after our hike we just hung out in the room reading! I can’t remember the last time we just sat and read! If you are looking for a relaxing, amazing weekend, I would highly recommend Emerald Lake. It’s not cheap, but it is now on our radar for future weekend getaways cause it is SO worth it. There were some kids there, but I would recommend it for a nice adult getaway.

So thank you Gordon for donating such an amazing prize for the CanSuffer event – it was so perfect I can’t even tell you. It started our healing process from a hard month full of loss. It was like for one weekend we were in another world – a reprieve from the grief and pain, surrounded by breath taking beauty in a peaceful, soothing environment.

Because of spending a weekend in that setting, coming home was a little easier. The sharp edged pain we felt leaving the house a few days earlier was now a dull ache. It still hurt, of course, but it was a little more manageable (although the silence was still deafening upon our return...) I think a weekend with their grandparents helped the kids reset a bit too. There were still tears in the following weeks – and heartbreaking conversations at bedtime from missing Daisy – but I think as a family there was a shift in our grief and we were now able to start to process it.

I really believe in times of pain and turmoil you need to follow your gut as to what your heart needs. For us, it always seems to be the mountains that call us. Whatever it is, do what your gut says – it will be different for everyone – but for us it has never led us astray and we always feel in a better frame of mind to handle whatever it is that is on our plate. So I say if it means packing up the family and going camping – do that. If it means a family sleep over in the living room, do that. If it means a quiet walk or some meditation or yoga, do that. 

Time waits for no one, I know, but sometimes I think slowing down when you’re hurting can do the soul a world of good…

….and wine….wine helps too…