My whole life, Heaven on Earth was located in Furby’s Cove, NL. I grew up in Labrador City, but spent every summer out in the dory with Pop catching cod and mackerel, picking partridgeberries and bakeapples with Nan, learning how to sharpen a chainsaw blade or how to fillet from Dad, and the best way to cook cod tongues from Mom. A day trip to Gaultois, an exciting road trip to Hermitage to fill up water buckets, a wave and a smile from our neighbour Karl Langdon. I could always smell the salt and tide before we even got over the hill, and my heart would leap out of my chest.

The years went by, and Nan and Pop started to slow down. They ended up moving to Grand Falls to be closer to health care, and my dad, Job Dewland, took over the property in Furby’s Cove. Nan and Pop still made an effort to take a day trip out for a boil-up or to feel the salty sun on their faces, and you could feel the pure bliss radiating from them. In 2023, we lost my Nanny Patsy Dewland, and 28 days later, Pop Job Dewland Sr. followed. I still believe he died of a broken heart.

No matter how much time has passed, you can feel their presence in the Cove, so now it really is Heaven on Earth. My parents, Job and Bernice Dewland, have now made Furby’s Cove their slice of Heaven on Earth, and I can only hope that the tradition continues, for home is where “they” are. A place can mean so much to someone; it is where my Grandparents spent every weekend with their family and friends, where my parents are spending their retirement, and it’s where I told my parents that I was expecting my little girl. I can’t wait to be able to share the heart of the Dewlands with her, too. This place is our legacy, the heart of our family, and no matter where we are, it will always be home.