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[previous monthly letters: 15... 14... 13... 12... 11... 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1]

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions.
~ Joey Adams

dearest Nevis,

last year, we rang in the new year together on the beach in front of the Four Seasons resort with fireworks and tequila and arguments with my boyfriend. this year couldn’t have been more different. i was in a blizzard in Canada without fireworks or tequila (but plenty of champagne) and definitely no arguing with my boyfriend.

the 30 days leading up to the Big Eve were a little different too. exams were just as hectic, but now old hat and not nearly as daunting. i abandoned the island mid-month and packed up my bags, somehow managing to survive 11 flights and over a dozen cities in 3 weeks. it was a whirlwind.

back on Nevis January 5th for the last stretch of classes. i know the days until April 16th will absolutely fly by.

my new year’s resolutions are all about MORE: more flossing, more yoga, more time for friends and family, more love.

this afternoon we’re off to Saskatoon to meet more of my family. this should really be the last of it — new family, i mean. and introductions. and first impressions.

we went to see “Four Christmases” last night and — while it wasn’t that great* — i sort of wish our familial festivities only took one day and that we could fly to Fiji tomorrow to get away from it all. it’s weird to meet someone and fall in love and create a little life together on a little deserted island, only to have reality come crashing in when you get back to the mainland. i’m head over heels for this guy, so i want everyone to like him and i want everyone to like me and i want him to like everyone…

and i know that’s not necessarily possible. certainly not after just a few days.

so i’m done stressing. if this is really meant to be between us, it’s just the beginning of many many many holidays to come. and stressing about keeping everyone happy every holiday season must be a recipe for absolute and total UNhappiness.

i’m happy and he’s happy. that’s the whole goal, right?

please tell me that’s the goal. otherwise i might be in serious trouble over here. : )

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*or even really very good.

he’s never(!) been here before.

he’s mildly infatuated with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and their red uniforms with wide brimmed hats and mighty steeds.

he’s learned all of the provinces and territories and their capital cities.

he’s endured laughter from his friends and family at the name “Regina” for the past week.

he arrives tonight at 8pm. so please excuse me if i’m online even less than i have been (like that’s possible – hah), but we have a lot more prairie sight-seeing to do.

“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.”
~ Burton Hillis

two out of three family Christmas celebrations are complete. yesterday was a picture-perfect gathering with kids running through the house playing laser tag, dogs staring longingly at the side table filled with baked goodies and chocolates, a kitchen overflowing with food that tasted even more wonderful than it smelled, a heated Tetris tournament, and too many presents for Santa to carry in one sleigh.

all topped off with several rousing rounds of boys-versus-girls Catch Phrase. the girls won, of course.

i count my blessings every single time i am with my family. they are wonderful and perfect and i am so very lucky.

i hope Brandon thinks the same when he meets The Gang tomorrow… wish him luck! ; )

thank you to everyone who sent Christmas cards and emails and Facebook messages and all sorts of other holiday greetings. i hope wherever you are in the world, that you are happy and healthy and warm and stuffed full of good food while surrounded by a big bunch of people that just love you to pieces.

more to come when Maddy and i have time. after all, we’re on holidays… !

you have no idea how many strange looks you can get when answering the question “so where are you flying to today?” from anyone outside of Canada.

i was even offered the advice that we “should really change the pronunciation to Reh-GEE-na or something.” i blame Latin and Queen Victoria. and maybe it’s worse with my accent. i don’t know.

but i’m really not from* a city named after female genitalia. honest.

ho! ho! home! again! so very thankful no one was killed in the runway accident at Denver International Airport on the weekend. by the time you read this, Brandon and i will be already en route to Denver (via Boulder) for my 140pm flight. please keep my travels and snowy connections in your thoughts today. i’ll be back in Regina (and en route to Moose Jaw) by 8pm tonight!

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*i use the word “from” ever so lightly these days. where am i from anyway? born in Saskatoon, but preferring to call Vancouver home for the 8 years pre-Nevis and having lived in a few cities in between. thankfully, home is always where my family is.

[Tom Osborne statue at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, NE]

today is my last day in Nebraska. we went to see “Yes Man” at the theatre last night and everyone clapped wildly when Jim Carrey ended up in Lincoln at a Husker game wearing corn cobs on his arms and head and cheering “GO BIG RED!”

my week here has been absolutely amazing. yes, i met the parents and the friends and the old roommates and the grandma and the step-siblings and some of the aunts and uncles for the first time. i would be lying if i said i wasn’t nervous. we all want to be liked, right? and we definitely want Mom to think we’re good enough for her only son.

yep. nervous.

Brandon’s friends and family have given me the warmest welcome i could imagine and his parents spoiled us rotten with Christmas gifts. i can’t wait to come back in April and i hope the next time i visit Memorial Stadium will be in my new Nebraska shirt on our way to a game.

back to Maddy and the -45 degree weather tomorrow night. via Boulder and Denver and Winnipeg. i’m sad to leave Brandon behind again, but he’ll be joining us up north on Saturday. here’s hoping the weather warms up just a tiny bit for skating and snowshoeing and driving to Saskatoon. happy holidays!

it sort of looks exactly like Saskatchewan. except not.

at 5am on Tuesday, mom and i left for the Regina airport. by 930am, i was in a Sky Shuttle zipping into downtown Edmonton to meet the glowing and gorgeous Darlene for a quick lunch. at 3pm, i got back on a plane and was landing in Colorado before my movie even ended.

the full day of travel flew by. but the walk from my gate to the arrivals section of Denver International (and into Brandon’s patiently waiting arms!) took absolutely forever. i swear there were like 6 mile-long moving walkway thingies.

we spent last night in Denver with a few of Brandon’s friends and drove to Scottsbluff this morning.

so, here i am! for a week! right now i’m in a house full of happy dogs and overflowing Christmas decorations and it feels great. tomorrow morning we get up bright and early to drive to Lincoln and Omaha. not sure how often i’ll be online over the next few days or week, but i promise to update if i change states or countries again.

PS: i have a feeling Maddy is going to put me in the doghouse for a bit when i get back. thanks for taking such good care of her, Janice. put in a good word or two for me. i miss her already. : (

she is great. she has a HUGE winter coat and is doing a wonderful job acting like i haven’t been away for 8 minutes let alone 8 months. she doesn’t follow me to every room, but sleeps with me upstairs and will hang out in the same room if i pick a good spot. no matter how ridiculously freezing it is outside, she would still rather be out than in. but i can only throw a frozen frisbee for so long.

and for those of you that have asked, Janice’s dog Creepy (Maddy’s mommy) has a full-time job being sick and is still on several meds, but appears to be doing an amazing job coping. she is one tough girl. just like her mama.

i am so happy to have all the girls around this Christmas. my littlest brother Jameson arrives on the weekend and has no idea what he’s in for… *mwahaha*

[me on the AirTrain in Newark headed to the real train to take me to NY Penn Station]

thank you for all of your well wishes. my trip home went off without so much as a hiccup. can’t quite say the same for Brandon…

we parted ways Friday morning to head home independently to our freezing families. due to my convoluted and lengthy trip, he was scheduled to arrive in Denver almost a full day before i finally hit Saskatchewan.

instead, he got to his small town 12+ hours after mom, Janice and Maddy met me at the airport in Regina.

here is a little he-said she-said of our last couple of days…

Friday, Dec 12th

7am
ME: finishing up packing and drinking coffee and getting excited.
HE: still working on his business class homework.

8am
ME: waiting in line at the Nevis airport while the students in front of me shuffled the weight around in their suitcases to get in under the limit.
HE: driving back home to finish packing and close up the house.

1020am
ME: boarding WinAir flight to St. Maarten with 10 other MUA students.
HE: waiting at the Charlestown ferry terminal with 4* suitcases to go to St. Kitts.

11am
ME: getting ready to hop off the plane in St. Maarten and listening to the pilot debrief about all the faulty electronic instruments in the plane. the open cockpit delivered a little too much info.
HE: hanging out with a good friend and former MUA classmate in St. Kitts.

2pm
ME: waiting patiently as our flight is delayed 45+ minutes because a teenage girl ran to the front of the plane right before we’re about to take-off and decides she doesn’t want to leave St. Maarten after all.
HE: driving to the St. Kitts airport and realizing he forgot his passport.

530pm
ME: standing at the baggage claim in Newark listening to a voicemail from Brandon telling me he missed his flight and i can call his Vonage number any time because he’s back at home on Nevis. no further details. my stomach sinking.
HE: sitting at home. kicking self. trying to sort out transportation home even though all flights are fully booked (with MUA students) until Wednesday. i am scheduled to land in Denver on Tuesday. the operator finally (miraculously) delivers news that someone changed their ticket and ONE seat is open from Nevis on Saturday.

8pm
ME: trying to meet up with Kayla despite cell phone calls getting cut off and NY Penn Station being too huge to navigate via text message. finally rendezvous in front of Borders. freezing butt off.
HE: watching “The Dark Knight” alone at home. probably depressed. i hope he was enjoying a beer or six.

Saturday, Dec 13th

245am
ME: delivered via cab to the hotel near the airport. setting alarm for 4am and falling exhausted (and slightly drunk on good NY martinis and wine and cheese and prosciutto) into bed.
HE: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

430am
ME: checking in at the Air Canada ticket counter.
HE: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

6am
ME: sitting at the gate talking to my boyfriend on my cell phone.
HE: awake and bored and talking to his girlfriend a zillion miles away and just wanting to be home already. getting ready to go to the gym.

830am
ME: claiming and re-checking baggage at Toronto Pearson airport. receiving more disaster text messages from wonderful boyfriend at home. i think the first one was along the lines of “so i know why i missed my flight yesterday… there’s an inch of water in our kitchen right now.”
HE: mopping up huge water leak in our apartment with towels. and more mopping. and calling landlord with frustration. apparently we had so much rain the pool was overflowing.

930am
ME: having the most wonderful breakfast and conversation and coffee i have had in a very long time with the most wonderful folks i have met in ages, JennW and Superhero Husband Mike.
HE: probably bored out of his mind. business homework. re-checking packing and re-checking passport location.

2pm
ME: dropped back off at the Toronto airport after a marvelous day (breakfast, mall, Starbucks!) with Jenn and Mike. thank you guys for everything! you keep fabulously wonderful company and take great care of tired visitors!
HE: checking in for flight out of Nevis. finally!

4pm
ME: talking with Kev on the phone and realizing he is on the other side of security while my flight is starting to board. sadly admit we will likely miss each other by mere minutes and yards. shed a small tear.
HE: killing time in San Juan airport and eating one of the best baked potatoes in the world with broccoli and cheese.

6pm
ME: landing in Regina! it looks COLD out the window! mom and Janice and Maddy are waiting for me at the foot of the long flight of stairs! mom is crying! i am crying! Maddy is jumping all around and kissing and licking and shedding like crazy!
HE: landing somewhere in Texas with a final security clearance and connection to Denver!

630pm
ME: watching luggage conveyor belt and pleasantly surprised to see that both bags made the entire trip in one piece and on the right flights. mom has giant bag of clothes and shoes because the temperature is -42° C (-44° F) with the windchill!
HE: en route to Denver.

830pm
ME: drinking tea in the living room and talking with mom and Janice.
HE: still en route to Denver. probably trying to get comfy and snag a few winks.

930pm
ME: curling up on the drafty third floor under a fleece sheet, electric blanket, wool blanket, comforter, another wool blanket and another comforter with Maddy on the floor beside me thinking i’m insane. sending a text message to my wonderful boyfriend with hopes that his flight was good and to call me whenever tomorrow.
HE: experiencing the worst landing of his life in Denver with 60 knot tail winds. but finally on American soil!

Sunday, Dec 14th

1230am
ME: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
HE: getting in an accident with someone that swerved out of control and crossed 4 lanes on the icy interstate. dad was driving and stayed behind to talk to the police while mom was taken to the hospital for neck and back pain. the car they hit drove away, but (miraculously!) their license plate fell off at the accident location so they won’t be too hard to find.

3am
ME: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
HE: mom getting released from the hospital and finally on their way home** again.

8am
ME: up drinking coffee and reading the insane text messages Brandon sent me last night.
HE: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

i know things don’t always go as planned, but sometimes i am amazed at just how much can go wrong in a short period of time. could someone just hurry up and invent the transporter for real already??

my Christmas wish for everyone is to have a safe trip wherever they are headed. just don’t forget your passport. and remember that if you want to get off the plane, they really will turn around and taxi back to the gate for you, but the other passengers might “boo” a bit, so it’s probably best to have a legitimate excuse and not just throw a teenage tantrum at your dad. be sure to check your kitchen for lakes if you are unexpectedly delayed. keep in mind that driving slow in the slow lane still won’t necessarily save you from those driving recklessly in the fast lane. and never ever forget that it is fully possible to have a wonderful day in a mall on a weekend close to Christmas after only an hour of sleep!

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*since this is our penultimate trip home, we were trying to bring back as much stuff as possible.

**i talked to Brandon this morning and everyone is home and fine. thankfully they were in their big pick-up with large tow hooks on the front and ended up with only minimal hood and grill damage. the icy storm and horrible driving conditions in Colorado is all over the weather news this morning.