As the leaves change and the temperature drops it’s Thanksgiving in Canada, a time to celebrate with family and friends and think about what you are thankful for over the last year. This is not a tradition that we have in Ireland but this is my third one in Canada and it is a nice time to reflect. There are so many things that I am thankful for , some big and some small , but all have impacted my life in some way.

Since coming back to camp I have been busy getting settled into my new role and making my new room feel like my home and a hide away where I can go. We try to do some events as a staff team each season and it just so happens that it is hockey season in Canada right now. Can you truly say that you lived in Canada if you haven’t gone to a hockey game? I have watched hockey a few times on TV with my friends trying and failing to explain all the rules to me but I have never been to an actual game which is something I have always wanted to do. So we hopped into the camp van and headed to downtown Edmonton to see the Oil Kings play. I’m sure I will probably get this wrong but these guys are like a minor team who may eventually go on to play in the NHL, so the stadium definitely was not full but for my first game it was very cool.I can only imagine the atmosphere at a NHL game with a full stadium which would be cool one day but that would cost me significantly more. I’m thankful that I get to live in this country and get to experience new things everyday .

Thanksgiving is a time to spend with friends and family , so that is just what we did with our camp family. Myself and a few others headed into the kitchen in the afternoon to start making dinner. We had the works, turkey, stuffing , vegetables, gravy and potatoes of course , which me being Irish I took charge of to make sure they were done right. It all came together in the end with precision timing and we royally stuffed ourselves. It felt like a training session for Christmas dinner and well lets just say I have lots more training before I am ready for a Christmas dinner in my household. Note to self , wear stretchier trousers! The majority of our Fall staff are not from Canada and some had never carved pumpkins before so seeing as we would not be together for Halloween we decided to carve some pumpkins after dinner. This is something that I love to do so I was very excited. After we had our pumpkins empty and designs carved we had a little pumpkin photo-shoot in the dark to get the full effect of the candles in the pumpkins. I am so thankful to have this camp family when I am so far from my own family, it really makes being so far from home easier to handle.

I am continuously thankful for my friends and family. I may not always be near them whether it be different countries or time zones and we may not talk everyday but I know that they are always there for me no matter what I need. They celebrate me for who I am and raise me up to be the best that I can be and I will forever be grateful for that. As I have travelled for so long I have friends all over the world who I definitely don’t get to see or talk to as often as I like but I know that no matter what they will always be there. I had a moment this month when I doubted my life choices for a minute and worried that I would never meet a special someone to spend my life with. My friends , the amazing human beings that they are , were there for me with wise words and virtual hugs from across mountains and oceans. They reminded me of a very important message that no one is perfect and that no one has their life figured out. We see only a glimpse into people’s lives on social media which can cause you to think that you should be doing something different but remember this is only a glimpse. We are not seeing the whole story but only the first and most appealing sentence. I am forever thankful for friends who remind me that I am the maker of my own destiny and that I can do whatever I set my mind to. Who celebrate me for maybe not taking the typical path and always cheering me on from their corner of the world. I love you guys. I am also forever thankful for my family who support me when I decide to move to this country or that country whether they are an hour away or the other side of the world. For always supporting and loving me no matter what decision I make. For always making sure I know that they love me no matter what and encouraging me to be true to myself. I may not say it enough but Thank You to all of you who have moulded me into who I am today and who continue to inspire me to grow with each day.

It really is only when you take the time to think that you can find so many things to be thankful for. Whether they are big or small they all have an impact on your life, maybe in ways that you ever even noticed until you took a second to think about it. So Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadians out there and I hope you take the time to see that there are so many things in your life that you can be thankful for.

Emma

xx