Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving in Canada and so today, I wanted to take some time to discuss what Thanksgiving means to me.

Growing up, I enjoyed Thanksgiving as it meant a day off school, lots of turkey and time hanging out with family. I do have to admit though, that I always held some resentment towards the holiday. You see... Thanksgiving (in Canada) falls on the second Monday of October. My birthday also happens to usually fall around this time. Sharing your birthday with a holiday always meant issues planning a party as everyone was usually away either on the long weekend or other weekends surrounding it and having the sharing of the gifts as an afterthought at family gatherings. Not that I expect to always be the centre of attention... but on one's birthday, it is nice. Although, I suppose I can't complain too much as, in our family, December 24th is never Christmas Eve, but rather birthday day for my Mom and sister. The one perk of having my birthday near/sometimes on, a holiday is that I did have a much better chance of getting it off of school than most people. That and getting Grandma pies. My Grandma J. makes the best pies ever. I don't care if you think your grandma makes the best... I'm 100% confident that Grandma J.'s are the best that I've ever had or are likely to have. Today, I no longer feel any sort of resentment for having a holiday birthday, but rather Thanksgiving has become my favourite holiday.

Thanksgiving is usually the time of year that I like most. It falls nicely in the middle of October, when usually the leaves are falling, the air is crisp and the sun is still warm enough that being outside is rather pleasant. Trees are a myriad of colours, brightening the landscape. Here, in the UK, however, this is not the case. Some trees are turning colour, and yes, the air is cool, but it is a damp cold that sets into your bones and the leaves are mostly falling because of the rain, but yet, I am still thankful.

I am thankful that I had the opportunity to move here, to live and to work here. I am thankful that I met my future husband here and that I've met some amazing friends and had some wonderful experiences. I am thankful that I am able to travel, able to have a career and able to enjoy life.

I am thankful for my family who have been loving and supportive. I am thankful for my friends, who have been there to have a laugh and also when times have been tough. I am thankful for growing up safe, and with luxuries that many around the world do not have.

I am thankful that I possessed the capabilities and the opportunities to complete two degrees, allowing me to work in the field that I feel called to work in.

I am thankful for a loving God who shows me compassion beyond all understanding, and love beyond comprehension.

I guess... this Thanksgiving, I just really feel thankful and I know that I am so blessed.

Today, please do remember to just be thankful.

-E

Thanksgiving meal... yum!

Pumpkin tarts... made by Ashley. SO GOOD!

Birthday cupcakes thanks to my wonderful fiancee!

More Thanksgiving meal... :)

Engagement Lessons

David and I have been engaged for just under two months now... and what an interesting two months it has been!

It has been a whole range of emotions since the moment David pulled out the ring. From extreme happiness and joy to stress and confusion... the change in our relationship status has been a new experience for sure.

From the very start of our engagement, it was pretty clear to me that I am not like a lot of girls (or at least the stereotype of most females). I have never had a "vision" for my future wedding, nor have I ever sat and looked at wedding stuff in anticipation of my future wedding day. I always knew that I'd like to keep it fairly small and simple. David and I had actually discussed the idea of having a small ceremony and then a party for both sides in our respective countries before we got engaged, but that was the extent of any thoughts or planning that I had pre-engagement. I never thought about colours or themes or dresses. When I went to weddings, or a friend showed me wedding stuff, I knew what I liked or didn't, but that's about as far as my wedding dreams and knowledge went. So when family members and friends started asking questions and wanting to get an idea of what I'd like, I felt overwhelmed. I thought... I like yellow... so let's make that the colour! The only flowers I like are sunflowers... so let's make that the theme! Done.

Ok... it turns out that it was not done. We haven't thought of any complimentary colours yet, and it turns out that sunflowers are very not in season in April (when the date is), and so would be crazy expensive to get, so new flowers it is. I am not a person who cares about flowers in general and usually appreciates wildflowers in the woods more than cultivated gardens with fancy flowers that are "just so". Looking at various flowers baffles and confounds me but I'm sure that myself and my family will be able to sort something out. Although it turns out my tastes seem to run to the eclectic and is not always appreciated by other human beings. So a lot of my ideas for the party have been turned down by any and all people hearing them, and also is usually accompanied with the "Erin. No." face. And here I thought weddings were the time that the bride could go nuts and do what they wanted!

Something else that has been interesting is people's reaction to our wedding date. We got engaged in August 2013 and plan on marrying over Easter break (we get two weeks here for school holidays), in April 2014. That makes it about an eight month engagement. Now, I know most typical engagements are a year or more which does make sense as weddings are a lot of work and having that time would be useful but it just wasn't something that we wanted. While eight months is still not that quick of an engagement, we have gotten some really crazy reactions. From people hinting that there might be a little reason for us to get married quickly (nope!), to just reacting shocked and then pressuring me to explain why we are "in such a rush" to some amazing people who are simply supportive. It really surprised me how much judgement people have put on us for getting married before the usual engagement gestational period. To me, if you are ready to get engaged, you are ready to marry and so waiting around doesn't make that much sense. We have other reasons to pick April that are more practical but really... we don't want to wait ages to move in and start our life together.

Something being engaged has changed is how our conversations that we have about our relationship and future. There is something very comforting about knowing where the future is leading to and who I will be sharing it with. Wedding talk has also brought up some ways that we are different (I am fighting for some form of TARDIS at the party but David... and my mom... tells me that it's silly but darn it... it would be so cool!), and many ways that we are similar. We both agree that the details of the wedding aren't that important, but it's more the marriage that we are wanting to focus on, which is great and I feel like a healthy way to look at the whole getting married thing. The only problem is... in order to get married, we will need to sort out some of the details first.

Sigh... and so I go to look at more pictures of bouquets.