Happy Thanksgiving my American Friends

As a child growing up tomorrow was such a huge day. It was Thanksgiving, a day where you would gather with your family and friends and feast over food for hours. There would be laughter, some yelling (we’re Greek after all) and hours of being together. As someone whose entire family is in Greece, we were fortunate enough to have been “adopted” into a couple of families by my father’s cousin. Both sides were pretty big so these events had tons of people crammed into two or three rooms. The men in one room, the kids running around everywhere and the women usually in the kitchen making sure everyone was happy. And we were. We didn’t have the latest toys, we didn’t have much of anything but we had each other and really that is all that mattered.

This year your Thanksgiving dinner will probably look a little different thanks to Covid 19. There may be less people around your table and more people on your computer screen. Remember whatever the festivities look like, this year more than ever to take a moment to give thanks for all that you have. It is so easy to be mad at all that we’ve lost this year or that this pandemic has taken from us. But give thanks for all that you have and all that you are. Today isn’t about the biggest turkey, the most food on the table or the biggest gathering. It is about the love in your heart and what you do with it every day of the year.

Happy Thanksgiving my American Friends! Let me know what are you thankful for this year??

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Roula

A little ditty about Jack and Diane...no really in all seriousness I'm a daughter, sister, wife and mother. I'm a Greek-American, who has transplanted in Canada. As a first time mom I'm sharing some things as I go along.

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The importance of prayer in your life.

Do you find time in your life for daily prayer? Or is it something that you do when you “need” something from God, Allah, Buddha, or whomever you believe in? Growing up Greek Orthodox and attending a Catholic School, prayer was always something that I was encouraged to do and something that I passed on to my daughter. Every night before bed she says her prayers. The irony of all this is that I taught her a Greek prayer many years ago and she could recite it before she actually knew the meaning behind it. Do you take time out of your day to pray? With the pandemic going on and all of the restrictions around attending church I’ve found that I’m missing that connection. I’m missing being in a place where I don’t need to explain myself because for the most part, everyone enters because they believe. I miss venerating the holy icons and seeing these works of art all around us, listening to our silent prayers.

It is because of this connection that I decided to join a prayer group for the Christmas fast. As Greek Orthodox Christians we fast for 40 days before Christmas. I don’t know how I will do on the food part but I know that I can take a few minutes out of my morning to read the Holy Gospels. This group is 40 people each assigned a gospel reading to start on. We continue down the line until Christmas Eve when we’ll read the last one. Along with that we pray for each person in our group, that God may have mercy on us all. Over the last few months I’ve had multiple conversations with friends about journaling and starting our days with gratitude. While I continue to try and do that, this is something that I can easily wrap my head around right now. Maybe because in the wee hours of the morning when I wake up I don’t need to “think” about a topic or solve my own problems, but rather I can read the word of God and be grateful for the day ahead, which we all know is never promised to us.

So I ask you my friends, what is the importance of prayer in your life? Do you find yourself coming to prayer when needed or have you found a way to blend it into your daily life? Drop me a comment or send me a message, I’d love to hear from you!

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Roula

A little ditty about Jack and Diane...no really in all seriousness I'm a daughter, sister, wife and mother. I'm a Greek-American, who has transplanted in Canada. As a first time mom I'm sharing some things as I go along.

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How are you really feeling?

As we’ve entered month eight of this pandemic how are you really feeling? I know I have had quite the journey over the last eight months. More ups and downs than many people have in a lifetime but no matter what I have to keep moving forward. Many years ago, as I was leaving a position that I held for a few years, I was gifted with a framed print for my office. The print was of the poem The Dash. That framed print now sits in our home office. The other day as I was fighting with the computer to do what I needed it to do, I looked up and there was the poem. It reminded me that no matter what we do, it is today that we need to make count, because tomorrow isn’t promised.

I’ve been thinking a lot during these past eight months…but really haven’t we all. What is the bigger plan for myself and my family. God knows my kid is destined to do amazing things and my husband, well the best thing he did was marry me a decade ago (ha! ha!) so now what about me? Was the fundraising jobs I held and the money I raised my destiny? Should I be working on a greater goal, other than raising an amazing human (my daughter)? Have any of you been in this place of questioning during this pandemic? Wondering if coasting though life, as I’ve heard some friends call it, is enough? Has the magic answer hit you in the face yet or are you still digging for it? What tools have you used to figure out the next part of your dash? I’d love to hear from you.

In the meantime, in case you haven’t read the poem by Linda Ellis, I leave it for you below.

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Roula

A little ditty about Jack and Diane...no really in all seriousness I'm a daughter, sister, wife and mother. I'm a Greek-American, who has transplanted in Canada. As a first time mom I'm sharing some things as I go along.

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Oh what a day!

Oh what a day yesterday was! I think that the world was holding its collective breath and finally was able to breathe again. At least that is what it seems to this American born woman living in Canada. I have said it before, I’m not here to talk politics but no one should take away what November 7, 2020 means for women. We finally have the first woman as Vice President and a woman of colour who is first generation, talk about an accomplishment. Imagine how proud her family must feel, like the families of so many Greeks that I know, who celebrate each accomplishment. Her parents came from Jamaica and India with a dream of a better future, a better life. Well within that life their little girl was able to achieve the second most powerful office of the United States of America. Let us stop and think about that.

Growing up my parents always told me I could be anything I want to be. But I’ll be honest, they never told me I could be president of the United States. As much as they gave me the best that they could and pushed me to educate myself and do better, those words were never said. Did that hold me back from achieving my dreams, absolutely not because they supported me in other ways (and still do) each and every day. When my daughter was a baby people would say she’s such a princess, or what a doll, etc. From when she was little I would always tell her she had the power to be the Prime Minister, the President and then a princess. The words you choose to use when speaking to your daughters matter. The empowerment begins at home with you. Our girls will be made fun of on the school yard and challenged in the classroom. They will have to deal with not fitting the “look” of a certain type of group or being included because let’s be honest, sometimes kids are just plain mean. Saying all of that, let us take the time to lift our girls up. Let us show them that if they set their minds to it and work hard, they too can accomplish anything. And let us adults work harder so that when they are Kamala’s age there is no glass ceiling because we’ve smashed the crap out of it!

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Roula

A little ditty about Jack and Diane...no really in all seriousness I'm a daughter, sister, wife and mother. I'm a Greek-American, who has transplanted in Canada. As a first time mom I'm sharing some things as I go along.

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November is here

In the United States November is a big month with Thanksgiving being in it and it being such a huge holiday. When I moved to Canada, November became do I dare say it–anti climactic. Yes we have Remembrance Day (Veteran’s Day for my US friends) and I will wear my poppy with pride but I don’t decorate my house for it, I don’t have a huge party for it. I do my part and remember those who have served for our country (on both sides of the border). So once the Halloween decorations come down, I feel like it is okay for the Christmas decorations to go up. When I was living in the US I would never have a tree up before Thanksgiving. It would always go up on the weekend after Thanksgiving. This year, which is unlike any other I’ve lived, I feel like we deserve the Christmas cheer to last a little longer. We deserve all of the those wonderful feelings of Christmases past that a tree, decorations, etc., evoke. So when will you put up your tree? I’d love for you to leave me a comment and let me know.

Every first of the month I try to put out a Facebook message wishing my family and friends a great month. Reminding us that it is a new start, as really every day is. Also reminding us that this is not a dress rehearsal and to make today count. So my wish to you my friends is a wonderful November. One filled with health, happiness, laughter and love. Know that you don’t need the first day of the month or the week to make a change. Any new day (or new hour for that matter) can be your first day in whatever you are trying to accomplish.

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Roula

A little ditty about Jack and Diane...no really in all seriousness I'm a daughter, sister, wife and mother. I'm a Greek-American, who has transplanted in Canada. As a first time mom I'm sharing some things as I go along.

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