Having lived in a big city from the day I was born and throwing myself in a small town like Sundre has been a shock – I can't believe how friendly everyone is here.
In all honesty, I love Calgary and it will always be my number one home, but I have only been living in Sundre for three weeks and it's already feeling like a second home to me.
For starters, I have to admit I love the commute. Driving less than five minutes to get places rather than an hour stuck in rush hour traffic is quite a bonus.
When I first arrived here I would be walking down the street and someone passing me would say hello – it nearly knocked me off of my feet.
It doesn't mean that people in Calgary are mean. It's just that people don't care to say hello; everyone sort of keeps to themselves.
Since I wrote my introductory column, people have been approaching me and introducing who they are, which makes my day.
Every time I interview someone they ask me about myself: how I am finding the job and how I am finding Sundre. It warms my heart that people care to know.
The other morning after it had snowed the night before, I was leaving for work and my neighbour, Marvin Hopkins, was removing the snow off of my car.
He also removed the snow off the driveway and rolled the garbage bin out to the curb for garbage pickup so I wouldn't have to.
Almost every day when I get home from work he comes outside to say hello and asks how my guinea pig Moose is doing.
Last weekend I went to Calgary and knew the drive would be too much for Moose, so I nervously walked over and knocked on Hopkins' door.
To my surprise, he and his wife Yvonne were enthusiastically willing to watch Moose for the weekend. They also invited me over for tea in the future.
This is all so new to me because my neighbours in Calgary are not this friendly – not even close.
There, the neighbour next door has complained about my family and me since day one.
He said our dog was too loud and then got two dogs for himself – which never stop yapping. Then he said our deck was too far out, so my dad took it down.
His biggest concern is people parking in front of his house. Even though it is a public parking street, we have the courtesy to not park in front of his house. What does he do? He parks in front of our house.
Then, the neighbour across the street makes it known not to park even near his house because whenever anyone does, he just moves that vehicle out of the way with his vehicle.
Need I say more?
It is so nice to be around people who care to help each other out, rather than just caring for themselves.
I just want to thank you Sundre folk for welcoming me here and making me feel like home really isn't so far away.
