ᐃᒪᐅᑉ ᓯᓈ - imaup sinaa - seashore

I think of new things to share every time I look at these pictures. This set of photos is a brief random collection of my walk along the ocean shore...the Apex trail (which is my favorite) and the causeway. These were taken the beginning of July when the sun was warm and the bugs were few. The rugged aloneness and peace of observing this untouched piece of earth was relaxing and refreshing. I'm neither a writer nor a photographer, but I want to try and remember every aspect of life here. To forget the value of this simple, slowed down lifestyle would be the loss of an important lesson as we start to think about re-entering southern life.

At low tide, the boats settle onto the ocean floor and await the return of the water.

Small beach shacks litter the shoreline. They are so rundown and weathered by the harsh winters, but remain functional as storage and housing in the warm summer months.

My pale, chilly toes. The first and only day I've worn flip flops in the summer of 2011.

Josh checking out the melting sea ice after his return from Yellowknife.

My favorite: water and sunshine.

Iqaluit graveyard. Faded cloth flowers accent the wooden crosses. For the first time in my nursing career, I can visit the gravesite of patients who I have cared for. I appreciate this honor to return my respects to the Inuit elders who struggled to maintain their culture and to reflect on the effects of change on the younger generations of Inuit. The future is daunting for these people.

This caught my eye after a week of admitting several teenagers with suicide attempts. It seems that the first reaction to a fight with mom, a break up with a boyfriend or grieving the loss of a family member is "I want to kill myself." Sadly, too many succeed. I'm sure our emergency personnel can attest to the violent, abusive homes that the majority of Nunavut lives in. Somehow, coping skills have not been developed within this culture. Or perhaps they have become too broken, too destroyed, too dysfunctional to be effective. I wish I could find the person who wrote this sentence, and share what they learned with the other hopeless, hurting kids here. To encourage someone when they have no hope, no help and no predictable future is so difficult.

I have a thing for Inukshuks. It's not just that they're a cool northern stereotype. It's what they symbolize; that you're not alone, that someone else has passed this way before. It's a sign of friendship and hope, that someone took the time to build this rocky greeting to direct and encourage you.