Day 64 – 23.1 km (total – 1257.7 km)

This morning, we made our way to Armbrae Academy to spend some time with the elementary school as well as a class of grade 10s.  It was awesome to put some of the names to faces from the letters Mr. Chambers had brought us a couple of weeks earlier.  After some time in the gym, we went out into their schoolyard and had extended recess.  The school backs onto a wooded area, part of which is included on the property.  After a rousing game of tag, students showed me the area.  Highlights included the Armbrae tree, which had a hollowed out area at the base of the trunk.  There was talk of finding salamanders as well as simply splashing in the mud!  Although this section of the property wasn’t big, it was enough to see how creative minds can flourish when exposed to just a little bit of nature.  Students had so many questions and things they wanted to share – definitely one of those times when you wish you could just spend the whole day hearing their stories.

But the road was calling, and after a full week in Halifax, we started the trek back up to the TCH at Truro.  I was able to put in about 23k before calling it a day.  The legs and body felt sluggish but that was to be expected.  It will take a few days to get back in the swing of things for both Sarah and I.

There were definitely mixed emotions leaving Halifax today.  Both Sarah and I had a chance to catch up with our respective friends (and family for Sarah) who live there and leaving that sense of community isn’t easy.  I also felt overwhelmed today… I feel like there is such a long way to go on this journey and today, it feels daunting.  In Newfoundland, we trained ourselves to simply focus on getting through each day on its own.  And so we need to regain that mentality over the coming weeks.  As we do, we’ll remember and relive the incredible experiences we’ve had with students over the past week… as well as the past 2 months!  I’ll break out those letters that students have written and drawn and that will fuel me.  Fuel me and push me forward, one day at a time.