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When I think of Lindsay, I remember her as a fourteen-year-old in grade nine science class. Maybe that’s why it always feels so comfortable to chat.
In the fourteen years since then, she’s moved to Halifax, completed her nursing degree, survived a stroke, bought a house, lost her mother, and become engaged to her long-time partner, Cyle.
Though the last time I ran into Lindsay in person was years ago at the mall, we’ve made time to talk over video.
“I caught up with one of my friends from nursing school,” she says. “After nursing school, she moved to Victoria, BC. She’s moved back, and we all got together last night, and each went around and said the things that have happened over the last six years, and as I’m talking, I was like ‘Man, a lot of things have happened in the last six years.’”
When Lindsay and I first reconnected three years ago (read about it here), she used the phrase ‘The show must go on’ to describe how she handles hardship.
“I always use that phrase with my mom. She went through breast cancer, and experienced physical changes, but I remind her that this is season two of the show,” I say while complimenting Lindsay’s pragmatic mindset.
“I feel like I get that from my dad,” she replies. “My dad is very much, ‘Okay, something happened to you. What are you going to do about it? Nothing. Okay, move on.’”
Lindsay was lucky to have met Cyle at nineteen during nursing school, and decided to stay in Halifax after her final placement.
“I wouldn’t be able to get through what I did without Cyle,” she says. “There is animosity in our family because we lost our mom, between my dad and brother, and dad and sister, so the dynamics have changed. Home doesn’t feel like home anymore, which is weird to think of.”
She continues by sharing that her dad started dating another woman six months after her mom passed away. “It’s kind of two feelings. Obviously, I want my dad to live his life, have a companion, and feel happy. But at the same time, I don’t,” she says as we both smile with general understanding.
Lindsay and Cyle have a wedding date set for September. They bought a house 20 minutes from downtown Halifax, and Cyle’s parents live nearby.
“Who do you spend the most time with?” I ask.
“I’m still really good friends with my friends from nursing school. We have a good group. Then two friends from work whom I met when I started working. I keep up with them. My roommates from university are all spread out, but when they’re back in town, we hang out,” she says.
She’s currently in a nurse practitioner program and will graduate in May 2026.
“Where I’m placed, it’s very rural. Some people are unhealthy and don’t go to the doctor because they don’t go into the city. It’s a bit of a challenge because we’ll say, ‘This is where you need to go for this service or referral,’ and they won’t go because they’re afraid to drive on the big roads,” Lindsay explains.
“When I think of the East Coast, I imagine people as more community-oriented,” I say as a question.
“100 percent, I would say everyone is a lot nicer,” says Lindsay. “I was scrolling Facebook, and saw a post in a group where someone wrote, ‘Is there anyone who can drive me to the airport? My car just broke down.’ And there were already seven comments asking, ‘What’s your address? I’ll come right now and take you to the airport.’ That wouldn’t be a thing anywhere in the GTA.”
When Lindsay last visited Toronto, she found a recipe book in her childhood home that her grandmother had made while she was in her nursing home. “Every resident had a recipe in the book. I thought, ‘This is amazing,’ and I kept the book. Now I have the recipe from my grandma, but also all of her friends at the nursing home,” she says.
Lindsay’s Favourite Dinner Idea
Chicken Broccoli Divan (The Campbell’s Soup Recipe). Try it and let us know what you think!
“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”
—Lucy Maud Montgomery