My very first night living on my own here in Ottawa, I walked the length of the Rideau Canal.  It was a long walk.  It was a beautiful walk.  It was an immensely joyous walk.  The air was warm…the city was quiet…and all I could think about was how excited I was for this new part of my life to start.

So much has happened to me since that day and so much of it has been in that very same place.  Along that very same Canal.  I have spent so many hours with friends and family along the Canal.  I fell in love along the Canal.  I had some of my best ideas along the Canal.  I accomplished great goals along the Canal.  But mostly, I built some of my best memories and best relationships along the Canal.  Through long walks over coffee or countless kilometers of running…so much of that new life I was so excited to experience happened along the Canal.

It rained when Sarah and I strolled along the Canal.  We tucked ourselves under our umbrella as the sky poured down around us.  And we talked.  A lot.  And once Trevor met up with us to join in the fun [and rescue us from the rain]…we laughed.  A lot.

And in that time, I found myself constantly reminded of everything else that happened in those very same steps.  And I was SO beyond grateful that my new found friendship with Sarah and Trevor was now one of them.  Our time together was so much more than just their engagement session…it was time together that was spent talking…and laughing…and being vulnerable about all of life’s challenges.  It was time together that had me going home knowing that I would never just consider these two my clients.

It was time together that had me more convinced than ever that all of life’s best plans happen right there…with all the right people…right along the Canal…