B is for British Columbia

Two weeks after our wedding, Sean and I filled one-third of the smallest available UHAUL trailer with all our earthly possessions, hooked that trailer up to the Ford Explorer that my parents had loaned us, and headed out for our new life together as a couple. Sean drove the Explorer pulling the UHAUL trailer at daring speeds and I drove his little black Ford Ranger, nodding off as I listened to soundtrack after instrumental soundtrack. We had no cell phones, no walkie-talkies, and no plan to follow should we get separated. We drove west out of Colorado, through Utah and Nevada, then turned north through California, Oregon and Washington. It took us about four days to reach the Canadian border. Somehow they let us through the border and with very sketchy directions we headed towards Langley, British Columbia to find our new home. After getting very lost and confused, we finally came across a very big, beautiful, white house behind a fancy iron gate on 244^th street. A few hundred yards from that white house was a big white warehouse and in the back of that warehouse was a tiny but clean apartment where we would spend the first 8 months of our marriage learning about life, growing up, experiencing the realities of married life, and rubbing our only two pennies together.

Did I mention we were very poor?! We didn’t have jobs when we first arrived in British Columbia - all we had was a very cute apartment, a few boxes of belongings, a new university to attend… and love. We had rented our apartment sight unseen from a Dutch family who were in the tulip importing business (thus the warehouse). Classes at Trinity Western University started for us soon after arriving and we spent all of our free time those first couple of months desperately searching for work that we could do in addition to being full-time students. Because we were on student visas in Canada, we had to find work across the border in Washington. As we saw our meager savings running out, we became desperate and more than a little worried. I remember Sean calling for a job that he had found in the paper... the job was chasing and catching turkeys! And he didn't get the position, either. Finally, Sean found work at Westside Building Supply in Lynden, Washington where he worked installing blinds and closet shelving in homes. I got a job as a night-time receptionist at Lynden Manor, an assisted living center; working from 4-9 p.m. on weeknights.

I look back on our 8 or so months in British Columbia with great fondness. We were very young (younger, anyway) and so far from all that we knew. I’m not exactly sure why we decided to go so far away – Trinity Western was a great school where we took awesome courses in Bible that we are still grateful for, but we went up there not knowing a soul. We had very little money, no jobs, and no idea what to expect. Still, God used that time in our life in a mighty way. We left our homes and our parents and became our own family. We learned to depend on each other and trust God. We learned the value of a dollar and how to work hard. I learned how to ride the city bus system when Sean’s truck broke down and we were left with only one vehicle. We learned that a lot of Canadians weren't very fond of Americans...until they met us, of course :-) We learned that we both loved going for drives – mostly because that was all we could afford and even that was almost too expensive. We learned the names and faces of the Canadian and American Border Patrol officials because we crossed the border at least twice a day for our jobs. We learned that Tim Horton’s has the best donut holes in the world (we’d search high and low for enough spare change to get some Ho-Ho’s and milk on Friday nights). We learned to rent older movies because they were cheaper. And we learned how to be a husband and wife AND best friends at the same time.

We ended up moving back to Colorado after our first year in British Columbia rather than stay at TWU and finish our degrees there. Sean got an offer he couldn't refuse (from my Dad) to work and learn how to be an aircraft mechanic as well as take flying lessons in order to get the flight training he needed to become a missionary pilot (yes, we knew we wanted to do this way back then). It was cheaper and just made more sense to move back "home." But our time in Langley, British Columbia was no mistake! It was a God-ordained time of leaving and cleaving for Sean and I. In a way, it was an extended honeymoon…but with bills to pay and books to study. Someday, we want to go back to B.C. and do a little walk down memory lane. The trick will be finding that darn apartment again!

*****

B is also for:

Brooklyn. Of course. Our firstborn with an awesome sense of humor and the sweetest hugs you've ever experienced.

Books. My favorite pastime! I love a good book - or even a so-so one as long as I get to sit down long enough to read it.

Bible Study. Tonight we kick off our Bible Study by Beth Moore, "A Woman's Heart." It is a study on the tabernacle. I can't wait!

Babies. Yes! Announcing....the arrival of some new baby kittens just last night. Oh, they're cute. (Had you for a second there, didn't I!)