“Home is wherever you happen to be,” Peter mumbled as he read the tattoo poster on the back wall of the shop. Peter continued down the street as he made his way to the only coffee shop in town. Peter had just moved to a small remote town called Pleasant Camp in British Columbia. Only accessible by way of Alaska. The town served as the border crossing in the area for hunters, outdoorsmen and cross-country hikers.
Peter was the first of his family to venture so far from home, but when the opportunity arose for him to become an officer with the Canada border service agency, he couldn’t say no. He had been at Pleasant Camp for three months, but the effects of isolation were already taking their toll.
Peter was used to being a homebody and living in the big city, thus the back country and its limited population were difficult to accept. But in a short time, Peter developed a routine. From home, to the coffee shop for a tall black coffee with one sugar and two doughnuts, and then straight to the border crossing for his shift. With little else to do for a city boy in the back country woods, his routine quickly became monotonous, but preserved his mind in the face of boredom.
As Peter worked through his daily tasks, he realized that the hours seemed to drag on. In a place that sees only a few thousand people a year, it made for very quiet days at the border. When the day finally came to an end and the sun had begun to set over the horizon, Peter packed up his belongings and started for home. He passed the same coffee shop and tattoo parlour, both of which were closed.
“Why does everything close so early here?” Peter mumbled as he ambled down the street.
By the time Peter had dragged himself through the front door of his home, the sun had set and darkness took over. Because the town was so small, street lights were only in the most frequented spaces, so night time in Pleasant Camp was darker than anything Peter was used to.
“I want to go home,” said Peter as he threw himself on the couch.
Although this job was the opportunity of a lifetime, he had not considered the fact that he’d be far away from his family. In fact, Peter had assumed that he would be posted in a city bustling with people and a plethora of things to do after the sun had set.
Moments later, the phone rang, waking Peter out of his post-work daze.
“Hello?” Peter answered the phone in a somber tone.
“Still not doing well, I see,” the voice over the phone replied.
“Oh, hey Dad, how are things at home?”
“Everything is well at my home. How are you settling into yours?”
“This is definitely not home for me Dad. There’s no one here, nothing is open and it feels like I’m completely alone.”
“That’s because you are alone, son. You’re far away from everything that you have ever known, but you are home now, in your own way.”
“How so?” grumbled Peter.
“Son, listen to me, home is wherever you are. Home is not a place, it is a state of mind and you get to decide how to feel about the environment you are in. This is your chance to do things the way you want to, and be the person you choose to be. You get to start a completely different life and explore the world in a way that you could have never done if you were stuck in the city. Right now, you have total freedom and a great job. Embrace that, and learn to be happy. Like I said before, home is wherever you are and right now, that is your home.”
“I suppose you’re right Dad, I guess I just have to tough it out.”
“That’s the spirit,” Peter’s Dad said sarcastically.
“You’re going to do great Peter. You’re resourceful enough, you just have to embrace it. Look I gotta go now, your mother made dinner, but just think about what I said, alright?”
“Sure thing Dad, I’ll talk to you later.”
Peter tossed the phone on the table, turned out the lights and went to bed. His father’s words echoed through his head until he finally fell asleep. The next morning, Peter resumed his regular routine, passing the tattoo shop, he stopped to look through the window. He noticed the same poster he had seen the day before.
“Home is wherever you happen to be,” Peter read the words out loud. “Seems like fate. Guess you were right, eh Dad?”
Peter continued to the border crossing with a smile on his face. He took a deep breath just before he entered the building and let out all his worries.
“It’s good to be home,” said Peter as he disappeared into the building.
