In Praise of the Internet

This week I fell in love with the Internet all over again.  Now I know the Internet has some drawbacks:  It makes it easier for criminals and terrorists to cooperate, facilitates the sharing of illicit material, is a huge temptation for time-wasting, etc.  But there are is at least one amazing up-side to the Internet, as I've re-discovered this week, and that's....

...CONNECTION

It's no secret that I have taken a while to make new friends and feel connected since moving here.  It's starting to get better, and now that I'm serving regularly and meeting new people, I feel like the day is breaking, so to speak.  Still, there are some areas that are lacking and that's where the Internet is rocking my socks.

The first area of lack has been missing my Ottawa friends.  While there is no substitute for being in someone's actual presence, I have to admit that I love Facebook as the best alternative.  Facebook gets a lot of criticism for allowing people to be lazy and rely on posted updates to see what friends are up to rather than actual contact, and it's true that sometimes you need to sift through a lot of cheesy memes and online gaming updates that you'd rather ignore.  (Except cute cat photos and hilarious dance videos.  Keep those coming!)  Phone calls are great when you can find a good time, but I love being able to check FB and see what my friends' kids are doing these days, and who is sick and which friend had a nice vacation.  It makes me feel like I see some of their day-to-day life, rather than just getting the highlights in an email now and then.  So friends, if you ever think no one wants to see one more update or photo of your child, I do.  (Unless it involves graphic descriptions of bodily functions.  Sorry.)

The second area of lack has been in connecting with women like me. Jumping into a medical life has been challenging, and it's not a coincidence that since I got connected with a medical wives group on Facebook and started reading similarly-themed blogs, I've felt a sense of relief.  There are people out there who get it.  This life is hard sometimes, but we can support each other so we can all get through it.  I was really hesitant to be vulnerable and post my struggles for the Medical Monday link-up, but the responses I've received to Monday's post have really touched me.  I exchanged a few emails with Amber from The Unconventional Doctor's Wife that really encouraged me.  Feeling connected in this way really changed my perspective over the past few days.

 Of course, I still need to be mindful of my screen time and of getting so invested online that I neglect friends "off-line", but today I'm just grateful for these means of connection.  Thanks to everyone who commented this week and took part in the link-up, and thanks to my friends from all over who keep me in the loop!

Thankful

This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving.  Since my mom is on vacation, Gil and I decided not to bother with turkey, pumpkin pie, etc.  (Actually, I hate pumpkin pie.  Honest.  It is one of the few desserts that I cannot stomach.)  We "celebrated" non-traditionally by going out for a dim sum lunch, because nothing says Thanksgiving like BBQ pork buns.

There is, however, nothing about turkey and mashed turnips that make one more thankful than on other days, so we are still trying to be extra-cognizant this weekend of the tremendous blessings in our life and to be thankful for them.

Some things I am thankful for:
--God's gift of salvation
--50 amazing weeks of marriage to a fantastic husband
--Our home
--Family
--Cats
--The last 10 years as a Christian.  Some of them were very difficult, and I am still growing, but I can truly say I have a changed and redeemed life
--Coffee
--Wonderful friends all over the planet
--The opportunities I have had to travel and see the world

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  What are you thankful for this weekend?

Long Weekend

Now that we're settled into the new house, we were able to spend the long weekend enjoying lovely weather and relaxing... sort of.  In fact, Gil worked all day yesterday and part of today, and I wrote a Chinese test over the weekend.  Other than that, though, we took some time relax, have a Saturday-morning brunch, attend a friend's barbecue, go out to a Thai restaurant (I'm seeing a food theme), and just generally enjoy the time.  Here are some images from our weekend:

My brother's kitty came to stay with us for a few days. 

I love this photo, as it kind of seems like he's laughing or really surprised. 

We have peonies about to bloom beside our garage.  So pretty!

Today I spent a lazy afternoon reading on my front porch.  It was delightful. 

Happy Victoria Day!

The View From Here

Well, friends, it looks like we are moving into the new house in just a few days.  I say "looks like", because we've had a lot of bumps on this road so far, and I don't think I'll believe it's real until that morning when we finally wake up in our new bedroom.

Yesterday, I was reminded to practice an attitude of gratefulness, even through difficult or stressful situations.  I've been trying to look around and note the blessings in my life.  Here are some things for which I am grateful today:

1)  I am grateful for the way God has been with me through the waiting period.  If you had told me back in January that we would still not be moved in by now, I would likely have burst into tears, but God has really taught me about patience and submission in the past few months.  The lessons have not always been enjoyable, but I am certain that one day I will look back at our first few months of marriage and be amazed at how much growth happened in a short time.

2)  I am grateful for this newlywed stage.  I was frankly a bit terrified of moving in together.  I kept hearing people say that the first year of marriage was so difficult; I had images of Gil and me tearing each other's heads off all the time.  In fact, although we have had arguments, the transition to marriage has been  quite an easy one, and I am accepting that as a gift from God, as I'm sure we will face trials at some point in the future.  Six months into our marriage, I can say that Gil has truly been a rock for me as I've gone through so many big changes at once.

3)  I am grateful for spring!  The other day, I dragged myself out to run before breakfast.  It was a battle to get outside, and a battle to go through with the route I had mapped out.  I was so blessed through the experience, because I ended up turning onto a new (to me) street and it was lined trees that had beautiful magenta blossoms.  It smelled *amazing*.  What a gift for a Monday morning!  Yesterday, I picked up my bicycle from being tuned up, and am looking forward to enjoying this season with bike rides and time spent in our new backyard.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Some Things I'm Excited About

Since my last post was a little negative, I thought I would brighten things up today.  That is especially needed since it's COLD!  We were mega-spoiled by 20+ degree weather earlier this month, so now anything close to zero seems unbearable.  (It doesn't help that our building cranked up the fans during the warm weather, and has not bothered turning them off.) 

I am a book hoarder, and any efforts to counter this seem to be in vain.  This past summer, I tried to make a serious attempt to get rid of books that I was unlikely to ever read again.  I forced myself to actually read the books I had bought on sale ages ago, so that I could decide whether I really wanted them.  Shortly thereafter, my best friends threw me a bridal shower and instructed all my guests to give me a book!  So, I guess all that purging was to make room for the new books, right?  Anyway, here are some more new books that I am really excited about, and why:

1)  I am excited for my new kitchen  It actually allows for more than one person to stand in it.  It has more than one cupboard, and space in the drawers for our cutlery.  I really looking forward to baking there, so I bought the Joy the Baker Cookbook.  If you don't know about Joy, you should.  This is her blog.  Every recipe that I've tried has been fantastic.

2)  I am excited for summer vacation!  We are just in the process of finalizing details to go to Gdansk, Poland this summer.  I have a lifelong interest in Central and Eastern European culture and history, so I am so looking forward to this trip.  I also thought I could use some basic Polish skills, so I bought this book.  Now to tackle the pronunciation of words like "wszystko" (everything) and "przepraszam" (excuse me).  Really, this is just feeding into the obsessions with a) books; and b) language learning aids.

3)  I am excited about my Chinese lessons!  For the first couple of months, we were focused on pronunciation and vocabulary, but now I've started learning to read and write.  It's hard... but it's worth it.  Last week at Bible study, I noticed one woman had a dual-language English-Chinese Bible, so I asked her where she bought it.  This week, she brought a new Bible for me!  She said she had some extras at home and was happy to hear I was learning Chinese.  I find it easiest to practice reading when I'm already familiar with the text.

4)  I am excited to spend some time with Gil this weekend!  After the craziness of the last few weeks, I told him that we have to go out and have some fun this weekend.  We are not sure yet what we'll do, but we really need some time to build into our marriage.

5)  I am excited for road tripping with a good friend next week!  But more on that later.  :-)

So now it's your turn:  What are you excited about??

Some Notes on Our New House

Well folks, we have a house!  We took possession two weeks ago, so I thought it was time to give some more details about our home.

Our new home is a three-bedroom bungalow in North York.  There is also a guest bedroom in the basement with a bathroom and shower.  (Hint, hint, we would love visitors!)  We have quite a nice-sized yard and are right beside a playground.

Here are some (not so great) photos.  There are no photos of the outside because, well, I'm paranoid, but enjoy these inside ones!:

Entranceway

His and Hers closets - so excited!

We are so excited that God has blessed us with a new home.  It was a long journey, and very frustrating at times, as I saw a lot of doors close and it was hard, but in the end, this is the house we were waiting for.

One Year of Auntie-hood

I don't have anything deep or meaningful to post today, except that I'm really really excited about my nephew Ezra turning one.  A year ago, I became an auntie, and I am enjoying seeing him grow month by month.  (Unfortunately, most of this "seeing" is by photograph since my step-sister lives in the Chicago area.)  I have since become an auntie again three times over since my step-brother's son was born in December, and I gained another nephew and niece when I married Gil. 

This new stage in our family is so rewarding; I enjoy watching my siblings grow personally as they learn to be parents, and it is awesome to see how my capacity to love is increased with each new addition.  I hope and pray that we will be able to add our own children to the mix one day soon-ish!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EZRA!

Doing his best to represent Canada!

I Looked and Found a Good Friend

I think I've mentioned before that I'm currently taking Mandarin classes twice a week. In our first month or so, we learned a song that goes like this:

找，找，找朋友 (zhao, zhao, zhao pengyou)

找到一个好朋友 (zhao dao yi ge hao pengyou)

It means: “I look, look, look for a friend; I look and find a good friend.” Actually, I thought my teacher had made it up until I heard it recently on a song of Chinese children's songs. Enjoy it here with some awesome karaoke:

Anyway, I digress as usual, but this seemed a fitting song today. I've been feeling lonely lately. I miss my friends. I was finding myself reading a TON of blogs by other women, many of whom I had never met. It seemed like I was obsessed with this, and could spend hours reading other women's stories. Finally, I realized that this was an attempt to fill my loneliness with virtual friends, and it's probably not so healthy... As I mentioned in in my last post, I know it will take some time to form deeper friendships here in Toronto, but in the meantime, I crave connection sometimes.

Enter my old friend... the telephone. Today I called up my former roommate Dana, a woman whom I love so much and who was such an encouragement to me in my Christian walk. We actually had been emailing back and forth regarding some practical, but this afternoon I decided it would be better to actually hear her voice. We talked for TWO HOURS. I didn't even realize until then how much I missed this kind of connection. It felt like old times, when we were living together and would be in deep conversation, stopping at intervals to say, “We should really go to bed,” only to talk for another 30 minutes. We talked about marriage, friends, children, cats, baby names (even though neither of us are pregnant, FYI). It was just what I needed. Thanks to God for good Christian girlfriends!

PS You can see more of the Chinese children's album that I bought here.  These kids are so cute!!

Gratefulness

The other day, I had a bit of a mini-meltdown. I was so frustrated with our condo and just wanting to find a house RIGHT NOW. It's not just that our place is small (which it is), but that it was designed for someone who works long hours, eats out most of the time, and is rarely home, hence the lack of cupboard and closet space. Sigh...

Anyway, I don't really want to complain about our home; the point is that I have been very frustrated. Since then, I've had a few reminders to be grateful. I met with a friend and her two young boys whose space constraints make ours seem like a mild annoyance. I've thought about the homes that we built in Guatemala which were probably the size of my living room and housed entire families. Then I read Genesis 9.

I get a bit sea sick on boats and am by no stretch of the imagination a “country girl”, so the whole living-on-an-ark-with-animals-for-months concept has always been unfathomable to me. When I read the account yesterday, I tried to imagine it. On a boat for months. The smells and sounds of lots of animals. Probably not a lot of variety of cuisine. No air conditioning or central heating, and don't want to think about bathrooms... Crammed in with your immediate family and little privacy. Not to mention the grief of knowing everything in your life is gone, and everyone else you know has died. Of course, the people on the ark had every reason to be thankful they were there. They knew the alternative was much much worse. I'd imagine that when they got discouraged or frustrated, they reminded each other of that fact.

I am not stuck on an ark, and the life that I left was certainly more enjoyable than perishing in a flood. Nevertheless, just as Noah and his family willingly boarded the ark, I have to remember that I chose to marry Gil and to move here. And I would choose it again. And I have more to be grateful for in this marriage than I have cause for complaint. Hope this reminder will take me through the next bout of self-pity!