I got to spend the whole weekend with one of my besties, Olivia. We did a Fall photoshoot!

He said

On the fitness front this week I hit a significant milestone right on the nose. All along, my stretch goal in this was to get below 200 lbs. Way back at 238 lbs that seemed like an impossible goal having spent most of my adult life between 220 the 238 I started at. But as the kms piled up on the bike this summer and the lbs started going down, it seemed a lot more attainable. Two weeks ago I was knocking on the door of that goal and this week I stepped on the scale at 200 lbs even! It felt really great and knowing that I am that close to realizing that goal and making that 2 at the front into a 1!

With this weekend being Thanksgiving, and given that COVID has drastically changed how people were giving thanks this year, we decided to do one thing that would make sense and would keep us safe. We celebrated at the trailer—just us and our summer bubble family the Sherwood’s. Friday after Danielle was done with the work at Mom and Dad’s house, she and Emelia made their way up to the trailer, and Saturday after I was done work, I did the same. With fall in progress, the trees at the trailer have really started turned beautiful hue of yellow, orange and red. The scenery on the drive up was stunning, and trailer park is even more wonderful looking with the fall colours.

I got out for bike rides both yesterday and today on the Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail amidst the same beautiful fall foliage. While the headwind on the way to Blyth really sucked, the tailwind reward I got on the return to the park, as a welcome help on the ride. The trail looked absolutely stunning in it’s autumnal glory. We only have until the end of the month at the park before we pack up the trailer for the winter, so I am clinging to every single ride I can get on the trail no matter how cold and windy it might be. The trail is one of the best things about this camping spot and a large part of why it didn’t take a second thought when Danielle asked if I wanted to renew the trailer site for next year.

We did manage to get together as a family virtually yesterday via FaceTime with the Teeters at noon while Mom & Dad enjoyed their Thanksgiving lunch at their apartment. It was good to get the chance to visit and especially to see Dad. While we weren’t all under the same roof, we did get to enjoy each other’s company and catch up on what we’ve been up to and how we’re doing. Mostly we’ve seen each other as of late, masked in passing at the house as we’ve been doing all the work to get it ready for sale. I think this is the first time in some time, where we could just relax and shoot the poop so-to-speak.

Then in the afternoon we set to putting all the parts of our campground turkey dinner with the Sherwood’s. They made turkey and taters, and we took care of the sides and deserts. It also happens to be Justin & Stephanie’s 17th Wedding Anniversary too, so we raised a glass to that as well. The food was amazing and we all settled into turkey-coma around the fire pit. While the temperatures were a little on the chilly side the fire kept us toasty and entertained. We were a much quieter group around the fire pit last night—either it was the food and contentment or it was the quiet reflection that camping season is coming to an end. Either way we are so happy how this camping season was saved and thankful that we’ll be doing the same next year too!

She said

What another crazy week. Let’s start with the great news first, I was offered a full time job on Friday afternoon. After over 500 resumes sent out, 15 times making it to the last round of interviews, countless interviews, online assessments, phone calls it all finally came together. It was a very stressful week. We had so much going on with John’s parents place but I also had 6 interviews, including 3 for the job I was eventually offered. Busy for sure but worth the effort in the end.

I can say the last few weeks and months have been some of the most stressful in years. The financial impact was stressful trying to find work when COVID forced the closure of the daycare as a viable income. I was given such amazing support from friends and family and for that I am eternally grateful. It was an emotional rollercoaster, ending in a job at a London based family owned company called Bristol Sinks. The staff seems super nice and I am excited for this next chapter. The hardest part of this was giving notice to the school I had been working at over the last two months. Sadly with covid restrictions I was getting little hours and it was not at all financially viable.

So back to this weekend. As John mentioned this weekend was Thanksgiving and with the rising numbers in Ontario as we brace for the second wave made our holiday weekend look very different this year. We weren’t able to see our family at all this weekend, no big dinner with John’s family at all. But we made the best of the situation. We had planned to go to the trailer for the weekend and spend it enjoying the fall colours and as much time around the campfire as we could. We spent the weekend with our bubble family The Sherwood’s. With the COVID restrictions in place we made sure we did everything outside to assure we were being extra safe. We are forever grateful for our friendship with them so it was suiting we spent Thanksgiving with them. They are more like family than friends anyway!

So I am thankful, thankful that things are finally coming together for us, thankful that our family is safe, healthy and together. Thankfully for amazing friends – I can honestly say I am not sure what we would have done for our mental sanity through the pandemic if we didn’t have some of our closest friends to go through it with. It was a good as it could have possibly been considering the circumstances. We wanted to take full advantage of as much trailer time as we can because we all know the winter is going to be long and isolating, even more this year.

For all of this I am thankful, it hasn’t been an easy year at all but we are trying to hold on to the good vs only seeing what we have lost. It certainly will be a Thanksgiving we will never forget.