February's Post...written 2 weeks ago!

So February is almost over and it has proven to be a very exciting month for me.  Not only did I get to enjoy some romantic moments with my honey, but I managed to slip away for a week of total relaxation.  Sometimes opportunity knocks and you just have to jump at it. I jumped last week just like I did 21 years ago, when I married my best friend.  I use to feel like I didn't deserve someone this loving and caring but throughout the years, he has helped heal me with his unconditional love.  He taught me that it's okay to love openly and freely, to be honest about one's true feelings and to express that love without inhibitions.   As a result, Valentine Day takes on a whole new meaning.  Sadly, we did not spend it together this year.  So as a consolation, I made my hubby breakfast in bed with a handmade card thrown in.  I really wanted him to know that no task was too great for him.  I also know that it's the simple things in life that he enjoys, like chocolate kisses and homemade treats.  Breakfast consisted of home fries, scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, chocolate covered strawberries and homemade cinnamon roll.  I did have a fruit smoothie made but that met with an accident, lol and of course sprinkled with his favorite chocolate.       

"If you fight like a married couple, talk like best friends, flirt like first love, protect each other like brother and sister, it's meant to be."  I love this quote.  It pretty much says it all.  For some reading this blog post, they would probably say that my hubby got quite a treat but to be honest I ended up getting the best gift of all.  On February 8th, I happen to see the sweetest deal on facebook.  It was a trip to Jamaica for

$199.00, no taxes or fees and direct.  I was totally shocked.  Deals like these usually included the tax which would bring the price well into the 6-700 dollar range.  Not this time!  This was Wednesday, I got the green light from my honey and booked the tickets on Thursday.  Even though we've had  relatively mild winter, cold is cold and I was ready for some sunshine and heat.  What better place than Jamaica, a land  of 30 degrees weather, perpetual sunshine and incredibly friendly people.  In my heart I am Canadian but in my blood, flows my Jamaican culture. What made this trip even more special was being able to travel with my two youngest children. Camden had never been on an airplane before and Raven flew last year to Ontario. Unfortunately when I broached the subject of them going, they refused. Yeah, I know, I thought the same thing...totally crazy!!! I had to beg them to come with me.

    Fortunately their friends told them how lucky they were and that changed their minds completely, lol.  For the first time I was able to show some of my children pictures of my childhood.  I could show them the poverty, I grew up in and the richness of my birth country.  The Jamaican flag is made up of the colors black, green and gold.  Black for the hardship and adversity, green for the agriculture and lush vegetation and gold for the minerals and never-ending sunshine.  I remember being very happy in our poverty, having known nothing else.  I didn't know what it was to be poor until I moved to Canada.  I thought it was normal that you boiled your clothes in a tub over fire that was made with wood and coal, and not a stove.  Who knew that you could plug an iron in instead of placing it over hot coals to heat before ironing your clothes and was I shocked to find out that you didn't need to scrub your clothes by hand until your knuckles were raw, to get them clean...all you had to do was place them in a magic box and it comes out smelling beautiful. 

Can you imagine my surprise when I discovered that once a year you went door-door and people gave you candies, lol, or that at Christmas time, you didn't just go to church and learn about the Savior's birth but you also get presents, lots and lots of presents.  I think just having a bed of my own and not having to share it with six other people was one of the better surprises personally.  How blessed I have been to know both worlds and to be able to show my children.  My home is here in Canada, more specifically, Nova Scotia.  However, I will never forget the land of black, green and gold.