a belated thank you

Lately I have been trying really hard to squeeze everything in.  I get to school early every morning so I can study for a few hours before class to decrease the amount of time I have to spend studying in the evenings when JP is around, I've been trying to sneak in christmas shopping online during breaks, and late on sunday nights I've been making pumpkin muffins to scarf during the week.  Today is no exception, I had a presentation this morning on my patient and I finagled going first so I could leave early to take O to the vet.  It went faster than I expected and so I got to pop home and give JP a ride to work with a pit stop at our favorite breakfast sandwich place Ono's.  Mmmm.  Now I have a short amount of time until I have to walk up the hill to the vet and so I shall squeeze in some pictures from thanksgiving break!!

And you know what?  I am bummed that I was too busy to write a post of giving thanks, so I think I will shove it in here and hope that you aren't tired of hearing what people are thankful for!  First off, JP and I decided to head off to Montreal for thanksgiving.  Neither of us are huge into the holiday itself, and we really needed some time away from Portland and all that surrounds the day to day of work and school.  We went Wednesday to Saturday so that we could get back in time for my brother's concert.  It was such a great get away.  We mostly just filled our time with wandering around, drinking coffee, looking at architecture and exploring the neighborhoods.  

On thanksgiving day we ate arepas from a place I found while researching.  Mmmm not necessarily traditional turkey day grub, but one of my favorite meals for sure.  The best part is that it is all gluten free so I didn't have to dig around in the rattling-ly empty part of my brain that used to hold all the french I painstakingly learned during high school and college.  Haha, not that I ever knew the french word for gluten, but still, ordering straight off the menu is a rarity for me!  We played pool that night at a weird little second floor bar overlooking a main street, and had a great time.

JP was psyched to go to his first Chinatown, which was two blocks from our hotel, and then was subsequently disappointed when it was so small. 

We went to the Cathedral de Notre Dame, and were so awed by the intricate and ornate architecture.  We just sat in the pew for a while and took it all in.  A beautiful place to reflect on how thankful we are for the people in our lives and the ability to take time away from our real lives and just explore a city.

We went to the science museum, which was unfortunately also being visited by what seemed like every school aged child in the vicinity.  It was a little chaotic at times, but still great fun! I learned how to tie a mean knot!

The drive home was beautiful, with occasional sightings of snowflakes. 

And what better way to toast the weekend than attending a concert hosted by my brother Joe.  It was called Joe Walsh and Friends, and it was unbelievable.  There was so much talent on stage, and such laughter and friendship between the musicians.  It was just a treat to see, my parents got to watch it in Minnesota on the internet with a live stream!  Joe often comments that he has never studied as hard as I do now, but watching him play it just made me think how we all dedicate ourselves to something wholeheartedly in different ways.   He may not "study" per se, but he works tirelessly to perfect his craft, he practices every day and really strives to be better and better, and it comes through in his beautiful music.  Such a gift to be able to support him and live just two blocks away!

In life right now I am so very thankful to be here in Maine studying medicine and really learning so many incredible things about the human body.  The more I learn, the more I appreciate the health of my loved ones.  There are so many things that can go wrong in a body, and I am grateful right now that there is so much health and vitality in many of the people I love.  I am especially thankful this year to have two ridiculously strong, loving, amazing parents who have both come out of their struggles with cancer as changed people, with so much wisdom, faith, and if you can believe it, even more love to share with the world.  I am thankful for the opportunity to live near two of my siblings, to be able to share these two years with them is such an unexpected opportunity for me, and I am so blessed by how welcome they have made me feel, and how continually supportive they have been, even when I miss phone calls and cancel dinner dates!  I am so blessed to have such amazing friends and family, who surprise me everyday with their talents and love.  And of course I would be remiss if I didn't give whole hearted thanks for my amazing partner JP who has really shone during this difficult year in his dedication, love, laughter and unending support.  I would be such a different person if not for those that surround me with their love.  So thank you for being in my life, I am truly grateful. 

thank you, thank you, thank you kindly..

So much to be thankful for this year; this difficult, heart wrenching year that has seen its fair share of ups and downs.  In the chaos of our every day stresses, finishing up projects at work, and looking towards the new year, JP and I haven't had a lot of down time to reflect on our blessings.  This year we carved out some time to get out of town, and last minute car troubles not with standing, we got ourselves out of this here town in one piece!  Thanksgiving has always been a holiday my family celebrated in Iowa with my grandparents and cousins, aunts and uncles.  So many of us packed around tables that were set up in every room on the main floor, sometimes with not enough seats for everyone so we had to eat in a kind of rotating dance.  We always ate well, celebrated loudly and closed the festivities with pinochle; grandma of course always made her way to the top table and held her own there for the rest of the night.  My memories of those celebrations are beautiful, and even though I would give a lot for them to not be over, I wouldn't change them a bit.  Now we are moving towards creating our own traditions and discovering different ways of celebrating with both the old and the new.  What better way to welcome in the new than with a vegan celebration with JP's family in Utah!   This time I was feeling much better than our last visit when I was in the midst of my post-haitian stomach troubles, and I even documented a bit!  The food was amazing, and I could even participate in everything except the tofurkey which had the gluten in it.  They made gf cornbread stuffing, broccoli and rice, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and even a gf pumpkin pie!  Yum!  I could eat more at this celebration that I probably could have at others so it was definitely a win!  With four whole days (minus two 11 hour driving days) before us, we packed in the family fun time with, among other things, a hula hoop competition, bowling, friendship bracelets, vegan sushi, guitar playing, tree trimming, lights hanging and homemade hot chocolates.   We were busy, busy!  Oliver and Yin of course barely stopped to breath the entire time, taking in the pack of seven dogs the Berry's have, running around their two acre fenced in yard, and cuddling up to the girls who couldn't help but spoil them with love and attention.  O was passed out cold the entire drive home, and was so exhausted he didn't even puke while we were crossing the mountains, which is an all time first!  Now I am going to throw a hodge podge of photos at you, all of which encompass the fun time we had.  I can't believe we didn't get a group shot though!  Guess we will just have to return soon!

 

 

Which brings me to the blessings I was talking about, and of which there are too many to try to make a comprehensive list.  I'm so thankful, SO THANKFUL for my beyond amazing family.  Each and every one of my siblings and parents are stronger, more dedicated, more caring, more beautiful and more amazing than I can even believe and I am so incredibly grateful to have them to lean on and to prop up.  I can not express the gratitude I feel for being born into such a group of amazing individuals.  I'm so thankful every day that I am living this life with my best friend at my side, who I grow closer to every day, and who has given me so much of himself.  Though our paths were meandering, I am constantly surprised that we found each other not once but twice.  I'm a lucky girl to be sure.  I'm thankful for the Berry's for welcoming me into their home and holidays, and making me feel so loved and appreciated.  It's a great gift to feel so accepted by JP's family in so many ways.  I'm thankful for each of my friends, who all feel like family to me.  They support my crazy academic pursuits, listen to my woes, and cheer me on every step of the way.  In every way I feel blessed, and I am going to work hard to carry that feeling into all that I do.  Thank you for being exactly who you are. 

Perhaps you recognized the reference in the title of this post to the song from Amahl and The Night Visitors, one of my favorite Christmas stories.  In my head whenever I hear that song I can't help but think of my little brother Micah.  When we were younger he had a habit of belting out songs and substituting his name into the original words.  It was so endearing and sweet, and in a lot of cases pretty ridiculous (do the micahrena anyone?), so when I think of this song I hear "this is all we Micah's can offer you!  Thank you, thank you, thank you kindly.. Thank you thank you, thank you kindly..", and it warms my heart.

Some pictures..

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Our feast! Centered is the meat plate, chicken, steak and bacon..mmm meaty.

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Skipping rocks, a favorite pastime.

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It was COLD, but we bravely sought out the natural hot springs and jumped in!

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Second night we made chicken skewers and ate them during our ping-pong tournament.

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Hello intimidation.

What a great group of people, and an amazing way to celebrate the holiday. It's so nice to be able to show off my new state, I've never had one before! I'm heading back to Minnesota for my birthday and Christmas, but have a lack of visitors scheduled in the new year...just saying!

back from the dead

PHEW. I've been sick and then sick again, which added up to most of my november just slipping by my window while I barely even got the energy to go outside. Luckily the view from my window was pretty, alternating between snowfall and glorious sun. Yesterday was 8 degrees and today is a nice 35. A girl could get used to this place! Since returning to real life I've been battling with the Colorado DMV, getting out for quick bike rides, and teaching the little one how to sit up and eat solids. In the midst of all this, two of my favorite friends came to celebrate the holiday with me and celebrate we did! I've got pictures to show off, but an internet connection that is tenuous at best and loading anything tends to push it off the edge. Next time. December already feels as though is is going by so fast, which is too bad because it is one of my favorite months of all! I got the Christmas lights my parents thoughtfully snuck into my apartment up in a desperate fit of energy, but my concrete box doesn't take to tape very well and they were down in about an hour. I've been searching for a christmas station on the radio becuase I'm a sucker for the traditionals and it always feels much more enchanting to hear them pop up unexpectedly on the radio waves as opposed to blandly on an itunes mix. I've got tickets home for my birthday and a lot of family fun to anticipate, parties and friends to hug. It's the first year I can ever remember not spending with my Grandma, even the year I was born, so it will be a change for all of us I think. I am so fortunate to have such an amazing, supportive family..is this turning into a belated Thanksgiving post? In any case, I just wanted to reassure you that I'm still alive out here in this mountainous desert that I have love-hatingly been calling home for just about three months now. It seems life is just stressful sometimes no matter where you are, but for now I am very glad I am here.