It's been over a month since we headed south with Melissa and Travis to shoot their long-anticipated destination nuptials.
It
was
the
best
time away.
We loved sharing dinners and beach time with their family and friends who took us in as if we were one of them.
And Travis and Mel's much-awaited day was stunning. Simple, classy, gorgeous-their wedding along the Punta Cana coastline was steamy and dreamy.
Here is a sneak peak from the magic.
xo.
I love living in Brantford. I do. I am grateful for everyone who has taken me in, invited me to coffees, made an attempt to know me. We are making our home here, slowly but surely and it's a lovely home indeed. We are having dinner with some dear friends this week and I spend every day anticipating the sweetness of this pending time.
So love is happening right here in our lives and in this city.
But between you and me-and this is hard to talk about so I shall keep it brief-there are pieces of my heart strewn hither and yon, to the four winds and beyond. And some days,
it's
just
hard.
Parents, family and heart friends dot all the faraway places on the map and mark the crooked spaces where my heart bleeds.
I can't think about it. I choose here. I live here. I won't complain, I can't.
But on this grey Tuesday, just a short, mushy love letter to some of my very dear ones-the ones who raised me.
And even though the miles separate us with an unforgiving severity, I am grateful
every
single
day
for some of the lessons I have learned from being by your side.
Dear Parents (And other Parental Figures),
There is so much to say and I rarely say it enough.
So here goes.
I am grateful for the values you instilled in me-like manners, being polite, being aware of those around me.
{I distinctly remember standing in the hallway with you, Pops-worn red plaid carpet beneath my bare toes and you telling the 9-year-old me to never ever make fun of anyone, for any reason. I have never forgotten. I only wish I'd heeded these sage words more.}
You all taught me to value people and see their worth with no thought to their skin, sexuality preferences or creed.
I
love
that.
I have watched you work yourselves to the bone and back but never spare a penny if I was in need. I know from you what it is to love without reserve.
Thank you for working so hard, for sacrificing so much. I know that even keeping a roof over my head and clothes on my back meant you giving up your own needs for years on end.
You taught me to love God, love others.
You taught me the meaning of generosity and honor.
You taught me to be faithful in even the smallest of things, to be a girl of my word.
For these things and so much more I am ever grateful.
I look at your lives-lived so well and I am amazed at the people you are. I am grateful to know you; I aspire to be a girl of your caliber-thoughtful, kind and true.
I hope you hear the echoing love and thanks from my soul, every single day, across the miles. I carry all these bits of you with me, always.
For I love you, I do.
xo. L