2017: A Year to Embrace

em·brace: 
accept or support (a belief, theory, or change) willingly and enthusiastically. 

Exactly one year ago, Zack were walking around the town of Krabi, Thailand, discussing where we saw ourselves in the coming year. Together, we decided on one word: grow. 2016 was a year to grow. We did not have any plans to move across the world (like the two previous years), and our travel plans consisted of exploring more of South East Asia and a trip home in the summer to visit with family. Compared the the year before that, this year seemed to be a bit more stationary. We stayed put a lot more, slowed down, and became more connected with where we were living and the people who we worked with.

So, how was our 2016?

2016 seemed to split itself in half. The first 6 months were amazing- we loved our lives in Chiang Mai, my small business was actually growing and I became more involved with teaching at school. We explored Malaysia in January and spent two weeks in Indonesia in April. We hosted friends in Chiang Mai for the first time and realized just how much we felt at home here.

The second half on the other hand, life seemed to flip flop. Just when everything seemed to be going amazing, my brother was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colonrectal Cancer at age 30. Our trip back home to Canada turned into visits to and from the hospital, and led me to doubt that living in Thailand was something I should be pursuing at this point. I left in tears, hoping and praying for a miracle. We then moved houses in Chiang Mai- which all of a sudden I regretted. I didn't feel home anymore and also felt very removed from not only my family's situation at home but the life we had made in Chiang Mai. On top of everything, the political situation in the United States made the world seem to me like a scary place to live in. Also, in October, the country of Thailand went into a year of mourning, after the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej.  This was a sad time for the country of Thailand.

Man oh man, 2016!

I did not want to hop on the bandwagon of hating on 2016 but at this point, it's hard not to. What I can do, however, is look back and realize just how much our little word (grow) rang true this past year. I grew in so many ways that I didn't expect. I grew in faith, opinion, self-awareness, business, and even in my teaching abilities. My heart grew a bit bigger with adopting a little cat into our home. My love for Zack grew immensely as we leaned on each other in so many new ways this year, and my relationship with my family grew as we realized just how precious it is to have each other. New friendships blossomed this year- real, open relationships as opposed to surface friendships. I found faith in believing in miracles and prayer. And despite the political situations, my faith in humanity has not been hindered- if anything, it has grown. I've witnessed so many people stand up for what they believe in this year.

This brings me to where we are now: 2017. A new year means a new word, and after a good long conversation with Zack, I decided that my little word this year is: embrace. I really don't know what this year will bring, especially coming out after such a year as 2016. I do know that we may very likely be moving in July, but that's about it. I'm not expecting it to be easy (in fact, leaving Chiang Mai I know will be sad), but I can choose to embrace the path we are on. I can choose to embrace the relationships I've made and the life that we've been given.  To end this post, I'd like to share some photos that inspire me to embrace the coming year ahead.  Here's to 2017!

My niece, Brooke, who is an inspiration to all of us.

Our kitty who doesn't like family photos.

My brother Ben and his beautiful family!

My family. 

Friends who remind me that life is awesome.

Myself, Kaitlin, and Natalie at our Christmas Open House.  It's so nice to be connected with other creative people and to share our talents.

Zack and I spent lots of time hiking during our visit to Canada over Christmas.  It may be cold, but you may as well embrace it! (just like this trail cyclist that I came across on the Bruce Trail).

When we were home, Zack's parents took us snowboarding.  I love the way they embrace life!