Hello and Welcome to My Forest Girl Adventure

A Forest Girl Adventure Begins

Hi, I’m a young woman, well maybe not so young anymore, but I would like to still believe I am (matter of perception, I guess 😊). I am 36, okay almost 37, a wife and a mother of two, one boy and one girl, and at my core, I’m a country girl through and through.

I grew up in the country, surrounded by trees, snow, hard work, and fresh air. From a young age, I realized that the outdoors wasn’t just where I played; it is where I belong. My father used to call my sister and me his “forest girls,” and the name stuck, not just because we loved the bush, but because we were raised to handle it.

My parents believed deeply in balance. They raised us to split wood, haul brush, make maple syrup, and trek through deep Canadian snow, being outside all weekend long and on weeknights after school. We learned what real work felt like, whether it was a long day boiling sap into syrup out in the cold, with tired muscles and frozen fingers, or hauling brush and doing burning all day long from after breakfast until right before dinner. There was a quiet satisfaction that came from doing something hard. But just as importantly, they taught us how to come inside, shower, clean up, put on a nice outfit, and walk confidently into a formal restaurant, making sure we had full table “etiquette,” as my parents used to say.

That balance of grit and grace, strength and polish, tenacity and resilience shaped who I am today.

Professionally, I’ve lived a very different kind of life. I’ve worked in an office since I was 16 years old, first part-time in school, then full-time as soon as I graduated college. I’m a physical security specialist by trade, doing threat and risk assessments, security designs, security design briefs, and security implementation strategies. I’ve worked in both the private and public sectors. I’ve been a security inspector, traveling across Canada and around the world, and today I work in a strategic role in Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, but living an hour outside in the country.

But here’s the truth I’ve come to fully realize, especially since COVID: the outdoors is my reset, my happy place.

Being outside is my calm. It’s my grounding place. It’s where my mind clears after a chaotic day of work, where I then rush home, make dinner, take the kids to their activities, and all that comes while raising a family and trying to take care of myself.

Being in the country and outside (and with my family) is where I feel most like myself. Any free time I get, I want to spend outdoors, creating new adventures and memories, building experiences, and raising my kids in a way that keeps them connected to the natural world and learning true hard work and family values.

They love it too, and I’ve watched them come to need the outdoors to reset and rebalance themselves, just like I do. My son wanted to do an “Alone” challenge like the TV show. We had to build our own shelter and bring only 10 items. We didn’t make it through the night due to a pack of coyotes outside our shelter, but I was proud of him. He wanted to do it. He was brave. He put in the hard work. He pushed past his fears. He had a dream and he worked for it. When we packed it in at 11 o’clock (to go to a nearby cabin) because there was no sleeping for a 10-year-old after a pack of coyotes got in a fight five feet from our makeshift shelter, he said he would try again when he was 13. But in the pouring rain the next morning, he asked if we could go start our fire again with flint, boil our water from the creek, and make our oatmeal before we packed up and headed back home. That was a proud moment as a momma, and that memory has stuck with both of us and will be cherished deeply for a long time. Since then, he wants to be outside, building, creating, making fires, cooking on fires, or just simply playing outside like a good old-fashioned kid.

My daughter would have said when she was younger that she didn’t want to go outside and play, but every time she did, as I always made it a necessary part of our day, you would see her spirit rise. Just this past year she got a cold, and she said, “Mom, I am sick. Tomorrow I need to go outside for some nice long fresh air. If I do that, I know I won’t be sick anymore. I need to be outside every day no matter what. It is how I will feel better.” That was a cool moment, not because it was a “YES, I finally got through,” but because my daughter had found her center, her way of calming and regulating her body, and it was being outside. Just like me, she needs fresh air to reset and find her calm.

Recently, I reached a frustrating point in my career, and that’s when something clicked. The strategic thinking I use every day at work isn’t all that different from the strategic thinking required in the woods. Whether it’s an unrouted hike, a simple provincial park camping trip, or a remote, self-supported challenge, it all requires planning, risk assessment, adaptability, and thoughtful decision-making. The environment may change, but the mindset stays the same.

That realization is what led me here.

I’m starting this blog to bring my two worlds together: my professional experience and my passion for the outdoors. This is my new adventure, and I’m not entirely sure where it will lead, but that’s part of the excitement. I told my husband and kids I was trying this new adventure, WAY outside my comfort zone, but I need it. I am excited for it. I am also one determined forest girl, and now that I’ve told my family, I have to lead, be an example, and follow through with my vision, my dream.

Along the way, I’ll also be sharing the gear, tools, and products I genuinely use, trust, and believe in. These are things that have earned a place in our packs, our camp kits, and our everyday lives, not because they’re trendy (trendy things usually don’t last), but because they work. They are tried and true.

My goal is simple: to share what’s helped me and my family so that, if it resonates with you, you can choose to use it too, whether that means heading out on your own adventures or following along on ours.

Through this blog, I’ll share experiences, skills, lessons learned over the years, and some funny stories, all while drawing real-life parallels between the outdoors and the corporate world. I want to explore balance between work and wild, strategy and instinct, structure and freedom, leadership skills and assets that can be transferred to any aspect of life, and how that balance shapes the way we think, parent, live, and ultimately who we are as individuals.

This is an open invitation. Take what’s useful, leave what isn’t, and join me on the journey if it feels right.

My Forest Girl Adventure starts now.

ForestGirl003

P.S. Thank you for reading my first ever blog and being with me as I step into this uncomfortable but fun new adventure!!