And now the end is near...

This could be my last week in the North.

It is almost certainly my last week in Inukjuak.

As I have mentioned before, our school year ends this Friday, and I am still none the wiser as to my future employment prospects. I've worked for three years in Inukjuak now, and since moving out to Canada in 2005 this small town is where I've spent most of my time. Consequently, I've become somewhat attached to the place - its people, its routines, even its weather - and I have very mixed feelings about the possibility of having to say goodbye.

I think that most of us are, deep down, creatures of habit, and the prospect of having to break the habits I have spent three years developing is not one that I'm looking forward to, if I'm honest. After such a period of time in a small community one is able to find a place, a niche if you like, both in a professional and a personal sense, and although there are many problems and inconveniences that have to to be surmounted, you can't put a price on that sense of 'worth.'

In the meantime, I continue to (put off) packing my boxes and to tie up what loose ends I can. There are many goodbyes that have to be made this week, an onerous task at the best of times, and one that is made all the more problematic by the fact that I might be saying 'hello' again in September. It's a bit like when you bump into someone you haven't seen for ages whilst you're out shopping; after you've spent time catching up you then bid your fond farewells, only to run into them again two minutes later in the next aisle, causing you to go through the whole awkward process all over again.

So, whether Friday will indeed prove to be the final curtain, or whether there will be a Sinatra-esque comeback to be made, only time will tell. What is for sure though is that I now have only four days left to pack, so I really ought to make a start...