I woke up this morning around 05:45. The house was swollen with darkness and I couldn't tell from the bedroom whether or not it snowed more overnight. It's Christmas Day, -15°C.
Instead of getting out of bed then I turned over a couple times. I tried laying on my back. I curled up in an almost-fetal position to see if I could zip back down to slumbertown, but nope. I tossed some more and eventually found myself awake again at 7.
My phone blipped to tell me I've been sent a text message. I walked from our room to the kitchen and straight over to the stove to grab the empty kettle. It's not easy for me to avoid coffee in the first two hours of waking so there I was. Soft snores from our room kept me from dozing off as I sprawled on the couch to wait for the sound of boiling water. 2 years ago on this day, the source of the snoring asked me to marry him.
But for now let's rewind a bit; or as my godson says: fast-backwards, to January 2019.
On the 3rd we were to land back home in Calgary from Bangkok, via Hong Kong to Vancouver. I remember getting to Suvarnabhumi Airport the morning of January 3rd when we left, thinking of my family back home and the friends and colleagues I couldn't wait to share stories from my trip with. We were waiting to board and I happened to notice an airplane pull up at the gate behind us. Not even ten minutes later, that plane disappeared. What felt like all of a sudden, passengers around us began trekking past our seats toward the escalators and we had to guess they were all on the same flight. Our flight's gate changed. No announcement, no signage, no BKK staff to guide us. It was follow the leader till someone could explain what's going on. And that someone happened to be one half of a gay couple from Toronto, Canada. Shoutout to these guys who were so insanely cool about the whole thing. And by whole thing I mean the flight information display system that read: "INDEF. DELAY" next to our flight number once we got downstairs to where the action was. Indefinitely delayed in Bangkok. After spending nearly ten hours at the airport that day we finally departed for HKG.
We were told in Bangkok by the Cathay Pacific staff, our flights could only be scheduled to Hong Kong, not Canada where our family was waiting to collect us from YYC. And yet on the plane to Hong Kong, after landing, we got to chatting with the girls seated in front of us about the whole thing and they were heading back to Toronto. The funny thing is the staff in Bangkok scheduled them on a flight to YVR, to get back to YYZ. The flight to Vancouver was scheduled to leave at 01:20 that same day, but by the time we leapt off the plane and ran to the desk for assistance it was completely overbooked. It was after midnight at HKG when we landed and the airline put us up in Regal Airport Hotel with the rest of the stragglers. 14 unexpected hours in Hong Kong after traveling for three weeks is nothing, right? I'll admit the buffets were absolutely phenomenal, OK.
In the end we lost two days but made it home, safely, eventually, and thankful on Saturday January 5th 2019. What a trip!
February was the month I renewed my first mortgage. I was 22 when I bought my townhouse, working in marketing and social media relations. That year was maybe the last good year for making money in O&G. My stepdad had his second cancer treatment on February 13th and we were starting to look at venues for our wedding next year. My fiancé turned 39 on the 22nd. I planned a surprise overnight in Banff at Rimrock Resort & Hotel. We went skating at the high school in the afternoon and spent the night feeling like kids in a mansion. February for us is a month of marking.
March turned out to be a busy month. I barely remember it, but I think I sold 7 machines which was nice. April felt much the same, aside from the Alberta general election, when I felt the province start to turn negative. Over the years I found that April tends to be a period of time where you're either planning for summer events or reflecting on the winter season past. At the end of April we began conducting interviews for a "Junior" Technician - someone we could train to work on; install and repair our equipment. Unfortunately we had 90% overqualified candidates apply for the position. I remember some of their faces when my boss told them the starting wage: minimum. Some of these guys were used to camp money, had APEGA certification, or decades of years working in a technician role. This was an eye-opener for us, but not more than my co-worker who had moved to Calgary from Syria not even a year before. She worked for 9 years as an electrical engineer at a top firm in Damascus. She was mortified to say the least. It's no secret newcomers to Canada must have their foreign licenses and certificates recognized by WES or ICAS.
We hired a male who didn't last more than three weeks. My boss pulled the plug one morning and had a runner-up start later that afternoon. I'm happy to say he's still with us as of May 28th.
June was the start of summer 2019. Finally. The Baseheads slopitch team was back in action Mondays and Wednesdays at the Aero Drive diamonds. It felt so good to be out there on the shale with our pals and especially now, with winter well underway this week it's not hard to miss the feeling. What else? My godson turned twelve. I'm so in awe of his intellect. He is thoughtful and curious and loves to cook. I brought him to a sushi-making class and we learned a lot about the history and tradition of Japanese culture at Kinjo thanks to Bobby and Ted.
At the end of the month my boss invited us all over to his place in Okotoks for a year-end BBQ.
We hit (surpassed) our target of 2m and the beers were on him (thanks Toolshed!). The next day I flew to Vancouver for a well-deserved break and much needed catch up with MY Godmother. She's lived there nearly as long as I've been alive and with my birthday on the 3rd there was much to celebrate. Happy Birthday Canada. Happy Birthday Me. After snacking and chatting and smoking and laughing I flew home refreshed and rested and ready for next year.
The following week on Friday, we had been invited to my step-brother's house for dinner because his girlfriend's sister and her fiancé were in town for the first time to check out Banff, The Calgary Stampede and more summer fun in Cowtown, Alberta. Being Friday, work doesn't end until 6pm or later so they knew we'd be the last to arrive. I can still hear my Uncle Barry yell from the kitchen as we opened the door, (I never ring the bell when I go to my siblings' houses) "Hold On, Hold it!" And there was my step-brother's girlfriend holding a chalkboard with SURPRISE - We're Married! written. My reaction was stifled by disbelief though I dared not show it and yelled back, CONGRATS while giving her a hug. They were married Wednesday in their living room with the dogs as Maid of Honour and Best Man. Our parents were a little more shocked than us kids who tried our very best to be as supportive as possible. No one except for her sister and her soon-to-be husband knew about it.
In August our cousins were married just west of Qualicum Beach on Horne Lake. Wow! It was truly a magical day filled with love, yard games, dancing to Whitney Houston and a midnight pizza party. The next day we took a drive to Coombs, BC where they have a well-known attraction called Old Country Market -a.k.a. Goats on Roof with, you got it: Goats on the Roof.
With back-to-school, new television shows starting up and most things being released I've always considered this next month to be quite enticing. Enter tradeshow season September. As a company we attend Western Imprint Canada held each year at the BMO Centre for the garment and decorating industries. For the first time in what felt like ages, we had a strong team and culture to bring with us to show off. We even celebrated our co-worker from Syria's 1st year with the company. Possibly the best part was meeting Marsha; the youngest person to be given a license to marry people in Alberta.
Okay, I take that back. The BEST part of September 2019 was my Premium flight to LAX for the best bachelorette party I could imagine. And what happened in West Hollywood stayed there.
October and November were hustle months. I spent a lot of time researching vendors, photos, ideas, food and more ideas. Knowing that December is not the busiest time of year in our company I wanted to ramp up some business to make up for the loss in revenue. If I had a dime for every time someone told me to "Check Pinterest" I'd have enough money to pay for at least 1 avocado toast. Needless to say we are very much looking forward to our big day.
Back to December. The month started with a phone call to my grandpa to wish him a happy birthday. He never answered. I left a voicemail. Two days later my tenant tried calling me. I missed it.
When I finally phoned him back he told me there's a flood at my condo. It wasn't a joke, I learned.
In the end I'm truly lucky to have the most supportive mother in the universe. My partner's parents are loving and thoughtful. They are a blessing. And today as I sit here typing away on Christmas Day I'm thankful. I'm happy, and I'm looking forward to closing off 2019 in the book of life.
The text message I received this morning just after 7 was from my high school English teacher. She sends me a holiday wish each year around Christmas, often the morning of. It's often the littlest things that make the biggest impact on us. I hope you'll take time to reflect on your year too.
Merry Christmas.
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