A Letter From the Maritimes

I’m not going to lie. It took me a really long time to miss you. I moved here last Fall and it was such a strange experience. People were nice – are nice – all the time. Always. And patient, and sweet. And the pace of life really is slower here. It’s not uncommon for someone to take two or three days to return a call or an email. I relaxed into things here very quickly because, Ottawa, to be honest, you were always a bit hasty for me. The Maritimes seem to have time for me in a way that you never did.

I’m sorry if that hurts you.

Photography by Adam Meaney

Around Christmas, I started to wonder if you didn’t have it right all along. It was December 22 and I was standing in a line at Chapters with only a single cashier working. The line snaked around the store and I felt hours away from the top of the queue. The weirdest part, Ottawa? No one was getting angry. They were just…going about their business, leafing through their soon-to-be-purchased items and, I kid you not, talking to one another.

Weird.

Ottawa, it seems like you’ve always defined yourself as the kind of place where stuff gets done. You want to be the centre of attention, and you feel a little small next to Toronto, so you go about being very efficient and buttoned-down and when downtown closes at five everyone goes home to Kanata to avoid their neighbours. And I admire that in some ways, Ottawa, I really do.

In fact, I miss it.

I miss something I never knew I had.

I miss my anonymity.

Ottawa, remember when we used to watch Cheers together, and I used to dream about living in a place where everybody knew my name?

I have that now.

It sucks.

Did you know that in the Maritimes, if you leave the house in your pyjamas because you’ve been working from home all day and you need milk and you have to pick up your partner from work (and maybe next time I’ll tell you about how they don’t like it when you say partner)…. Did you know that people remember that, and ask you about it later? Did you know that if you’re buying something in a store, you can expect to be asked about it by the cashier the next time you’re in the store? Did you know that you can never make it through a trip to Zellers without at least three conversations with strangers?

People here don’t define themselves by the work they get done or the business they complete, Ottawa, and that is going to take some getting used to. They seem to define themselves in relation to each other and that’s all well and good but man, Ottawa, it takes some getting used to.

I kind of miss never having to say hello. To anyone. Ever.

Oh well. Until next time, Ottawa, I remain,

Lost in the Maritimes

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