Let’s Talk | A look at 2014

Guys, I wasn’t very good at sticking to my promise of keeping you posted on all things “Canadian Adventure” was I?

Well, here I am, almost a year into our life here so I thought it would be as good a time as any to do a little update post and wrap up the year ahead of my “media-less” month of December I’m going to be embarking on (more on that later!)

Where to start…the beginning should work right? (I’ve included a couple of Insta shots from my personal account to make up!)

Sunday this week marks 11 months since we landed to a snowy Toronto, four suitcases and far too many pieces of hand luggage over the limit, ahead of a big year of change. As heart-sore as we were to leave the mountain & everything Cape Town, it’s been a good start to life here.

Canadians are some of the loveliest people you will ever meet, it’s hard to not feel immediately right at home.

In February, after a couple of months of hunting, we found our sweet little home and officially became home owners for the first time, which has felt amazing and terrifying at the same time. We moved in in April, just before our trip back to SA mid-year But we are settled and happy and I have a lovely little space for some exciting studio stuff in the future!

It’s hard to believe just how fast almost a year can go really. We have been to ball games & barbecues (and learnt to call them that). We have started saying “take out” and “eh” (just kidding, not that bad yet!) We have travelled to new parts of this gigantic country that we can’t wait to explore more of (Montreal, man I love you!) We have seen a full four , very distinct seasons (and taken about a billion photos of each!). We’ve celebrated our first Halloween (with a bit of South African Biltong & Melk Tart flavaaa) and now it’s time for snow angels, excessive amounts of library books, fire places and copious amounts of hot chocolate again, topped off with a celebration of our first year here.

It’s had it’s tough moments I won’t lie.

I miss my mountain something stupid…and lolly vendors on the beaches and Kalk Bay air on a Sunday and Kirstenbosch picnics on a hot, hot day. My heart aches for my friends and family and the number of times I crave a cappuccino date with a business buddy, oh man! But I am so so thankful that we get to travel back as much as we do (March & April + summer, I’m coming for you!) and technology has truly saved my life (k, maybe not that drastic but Skype is my new BFF). We are still waiting for the go ahead for me to set up Christine W here (you may have noticed things have been on the quieter side! haha) So it’s been a bit frustrating on that front, with me being all go,go,go like I usually am. But flip that coin and I’ve had possibly one of the best years personally.

Sounds crazy right? How can I beat last year? The answer – nothing will (I mean hello, I married the love of my life, had the wedding day of my dreams and photographed SO many beautiful weddings & clients throughout the year!)

But this year has been so drastically different and so, so, good.

(Yup, that’s a car under that blanket of sparkly snow…very, very different!)

I was forced to slow down actually, I just had to stop. I haven’t picked up my camera every weekend (my wrist thanks this year for the time to heal – silver lining!) I had to push (still have to daily) through that resistance of wanting so so badly to throw myself, my ideas and my business into the Canadian market and get busy shooting beautiful stuff, but not being able to.  I’ve had to find ways to re-learn what it was like to not just default a “so busy” mentality, and re-structure my days in the best, most positive and productive ways (I won’t lie, there were a few too many PJ days in the beginning of this year!) I’ve had to re-set the idea in my mind that busy = successful. But mostly,

I’ve had to learn the lessons of patience, persistence and presence. And for those lessons in 2014, I will forever be grateful.

You see, I’m guilty of wanting it all now, of wanting it to be easy and simple and stress free. Things can get a little crazy in our media, immediate, busy busy world. I found especially with time zone difference that my eyes were opening (after a pretty restless night) and I was feeling like I had hours of “life” to catch up on. I was starting my day scrambling, comparing, worrying, frustrated and resisting. It wasn’t working. And it wasn’t until I gave myself a little bit of permission that things started to shift and change. I made friends with change…it’s as good as a holiday I’ve heard! I gave myself permission (and actually listened) to focus on me, our marriage, our home.

Because what I’m learning more and more is that I cannot truly give to my business and my clients what I do not give to myself and my people.

I want my business to grow from a place of love, of calm and of real. I want it to grow with me as I change and move forward. I want to make sure I’m serving my clients from a place of authenticity and passion. I want to connect the dots in a way that makes the final picture one that I truly feel is best for me and my path. This year has given me the time to really realize the changes that I need to make, learn the lessons that  I constantly need to learn..and chance for lots and lots of yoga (at the most glorious studio three minutes from home…so lucky!)  Nope, I haven’t made money this year (thanks Hubby!) or shot X number of weddings or been featured here or there that I can measure my successful year by. I don’t have a bunch of stuff going on in my diary but I do have a bunch of dreams for the future…and I’m ok with being patient with them, persisting in the pursuit of them and learning to be present now and still have them.

I’ve also learnt this year that we are all searching for the same location on this grand map, but we all have our own paths.

We don’t get to know the answers, or have a clear vision of the valleys or mountains. Where would be the fun in that? (K, I lie, I would totally like just a smidge of a vision into the future to not stress as much as I do!) But we also don’t learn things once and then just “get it.” Some lessons we need to over and over and over again We are always learning, moving towards that location and “seeing” how things work out in the process.

I love “seeing” how things work out, sometimes exactly how I imagined them, other times, so drastically different that I wonder how I ever imagined them any other way.

I keep all my crazy mind-maps and goal setting & ticked off lists for a yearly “re-cap,” which I usually do in January before setting the new ones for the year. But in the past, I’ve found that January kinda gets me panicked. I have to admit to being influenced by the crazy amount of resolutions and new year shine that comes into focus in January. I make lists and lists of things I want to achieve in just 365 short days and things start going a little looney right off the bat. So this year, I’m switching things up and starting my 2015 now, one month (and a bit) before it actually does.

To start, I’ve decided to take a little “media-less” month of in December (Let’s be honest, it won’t be media-free because I love Instagram too much!) I’m going to be taking a little break from the beautiful feeds, and letting my mind settle on what feels real and right for 2015. I will be using my free time (that I’m not soaking up this special month, drinking hot chocolate in front of the fire or reading one of the several books I have on my list) to pour my heart into some special projects for 2015 that I can’t wait to share with you.

So with that, I would like to wish you a wonderful Festive Season!

(I loved looking back at my 2013 post)

And as always, I wish you enough. Enough time to reflect on your 2014 journey and all you have accomplished, challenges and all. Enough trust that you are on the right path, connecting the dots that will lead you to a final picture that is true to you. Enough warm hugs and cups of hot chocolate (even if it’s super warm where you are…sweaty hugs still rock!) Enough permission for yourself.  Enough love for others. Enough safety and joy for you and your families. Enough happiness to lift any sorrows and especially, enough excitement for a brand new year.

I can’t wait to share my 2015 story with you all.

Happy Holidays!

xxx