Marriage Updates and More!

So, due to last week being busier than I anticipated, I didn’t make a blog post. Needless to say, the internet service at my fiance’s house was spotty after Hurricane Irma. Luckily, we didn’t suffer any major damage and no injuries, so I survived my first hurricane pretty easily.

I also wanted to take time to blog now because the rest of this week is going to be even more hectic. Tomorrow, September 22nd, I’ll be getting married! We’re going to a courthouse for a brief ceremony surrounded by friends and family (I was never one to have a big “dream” wedding), and then heading off to a nice restaurant to say our vows and enjoy a tasty dinner. Hopefully we’ll all have room for some wedding cake afterwards, and then we’ll be going off by ourselves to stay overnight at a hotel for some alone time. We then plan to spend Saturday celebrating our post-wedding with our circle of friends since a couple of them are unable to come tomorrow, and Sunday will continue our trend of taking my parents out somewhere cool for their vacation.

I’ll probably write a more detailed blog about these events next week, and as far as my green card goes, we’ve gotten a consultation appointment set up on October 4th. However, I’d like to mention that from here on out, I can’t guarantee I’ll have a blog up every week like I’ve usually tried to do. I’m thinking of doing my usual horror-themed string of blogs for October, though, so we’ll see if I can pull that off. I just read Stephen King’s “Gerald’s Game” and am thinking about seeing the Netflix movie, plus my fiance and I saw the “It” remake yesterday, so maybe I’ll make some of my entries about his work. We’ll see when the time comes, as we’ll be taking our honeymoon to California midway through the month as well.

I’m just so happy to finally be at this point in both our relationship and the visa process. This is basically the endgame to what we started back in November last year, and I’m relieved we had a smooth ride getting to it (hurricane notwithstanding). Until next week!

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Welcome to Miami!

After making it through immigration and a long, long layover at the Toronto Pearson Airport last Saturday, I’ve been relaxing and enjoying my time with my fiance in Miami. It hasn’t been without its downsides, however, as we’ve been bracing ourselves to either hunker down or evacuate in the wake of Hurricane Irma. We’ve both had to get used to knowing that I won’t be leaving after a short period of time, but we’re more than happy about that. My parents are also doing well in spite of missing me, and I know it’ll be hard on all of us once they leave after their 10-day vacation starting at the end of next week.

As far as Saturday, immigration went pretty smoothly in Toronto with me only spending less than an hour between it and customs. On my Miami flight, we did run into a moment of scariness when we attempted to land. Because of an error made by the air traffic controller, we came close to running into another plane who was also trying to land. Thankfully, our captain slammed on the pedal (I don’t know plane terminology that well) and got us out of there to loop around and try landing again. After the day I’d had, I was just eager to be on the ground and was even happier when I saw my fiance and future mother-in-law waiting for me. I didn’t even run into any issues with the two large suitcases I’d brought, so the rest of the night was a breeze.

Yesterday, we finally went to a courthouse in Coral Gables to obtain our marriage license. Even though we won’t be using it for a couple weeks yet, I’m glad we got around to it this quickly (partly because of the storm). I’m still eager to jump into my green card process as soon as possible, and we’ve got a fun Californian honeymoon planned in mid-October as well. And while our wedding won’t be all that big or fancy or traditional, we’re just relieved to have made it to this point. Neither of us have wanted a ginormous ceremony anyway, so a private, civil ceremony is perfect for us.

Of course, before we can make further plans, we have to deal with this hurricane. So, depending on circumstances (loss of power and such), I may not have a blog up until later next week. For now, we’ve got the house prepared in case we stay, and we have a solid idea about what to take if we head north. I’m not as nervous as I thought I’d be, but hopefully we’ll get through it unscathed regardless. Until next time!

The Big Move

Tomorrow, September 2nd, is the day I’ll be leaving Canada to get married to and live with my fiance in Miami.  After all the stress of sorting out my things and taking care of important matters, I’m more excited than ever to be there. I can’t even say I’ll be too sad to leave, especially since I’ll still get to see my parents when they come down in two weeks for our wedding.

I guess at this point I just feel…relieved. I’m relieved to finally be getting out of their house and away from the small town I grew up near. I’m relieved that I didn’t have to worry about taking ALL of my stuff this first time because there’s a lot I’ll still need to bring once we have our own place. That will come in due time, but at least I can focus for now on the necessities. I’m relieved that this whole process has been smooth sailing and will hopefully continue to be that way when I apply for a green card. And, of course, I’m relieved that after all these years of dating and later being engaged, my fiance and I will finally be husband and wife.

Of course, I’ll miss the family and friends I have in Canada. But as I’ve pointed out to each and every one of them, I will be back for visits. We still want to throw a big party with everyone once I’m able to get the time and legal allowance to travel. And while I’m sure I won’t be able to come every year, I think it’ll make me appreciate things a lot more. Not necessarily my family or friends, because I already appreciate them, but my town. I’ve gradually felt stuck here and have wanted nothing more than to go somewhere new. Now that that will be a reality, I think my attitude towards it will change.

It’s weird to think that this is essentially a new chapter in my life. Besides college, it’s easily the biggest change to happen to me. But I’m glad the day is finally here. I’m excited for the new opportunities and plenty of fun things to do that Miami can provide me. And even though I’m not remotely pleased about the political climate down there, I’ll get by. At the end of the day, I’m going not just for myself but for the future I’ll have with my fiance. So, the next time you see a blog from me, I’ll be in the United States. Until then!