HELLO JUNE ☀️

Christos Anesti! Pasxa seriously feels like 2 weeks ago and only a month since Western Easter, yet here halfway through the year. It’s incredible how fast time is going; I think coming off 2020, “getting back to normal” feels strange and the new concept of time doesn’t make any sense! Yet, time stops for no one and we leave in (less than!) 6 weeks for Greece to FINALLY get married!!
I’m kind of freaking out – like, feeling ALL the emotions at once, but it’s kind of amazing..

It’s been hard to focus on my wedding the last few of months, and if you asked me back in March – I was STILL processing the whole ordeal! Covid, the pandemic, lockdown, postponing our wedding, all of it! Heck – I think most of the entire world’s population was still in the middle of processing March2020 this past March. But now that summer is here, life feels great!!

my life in the last few months:

Lent, Pasxa and LOTS of Spiritual/Inner Reflection

• Another Lent and beautiful Holy Week has come and gone. This time of year always brings more meaning, intention and clarity into my life, but this was the most reflective Pasxa season I have ever experienced. After spending Easter2020 in lockdown during a global pandemic, my eyes were opened to parts of me that seriously needed God’s healing! Last year was hard for so many, and likewise found myself in a very, very dark, deep void. My foundation never broke, but I knew that the soil on which I was being planted would need constant watering. I started each day with prayer and meditation, grounded myself in the Word daily and kept my thoughts centered on constant gratitude. By Palm Sunday, I was ready to spend every single moment in church, experiencing the greatest sacrifice and blessing of God’s LOVE! I must commend my fiance for going to church every single day of his first Easter season as an Orthodox Christian.
  • It wasn’t a “normal” Easter – we had a very small gathering versus our large Stratigis Greek Easter celebration, but we got to spend it in church, together with family, and there was still lots of lamb, wine & dancing!

Super ‘Busy Season‘

• If you haven’t read my first post yet, it’s a quick read and I go into detail about what I do for a living!
  The Atlantic Hurricane Season started June 1st, and until the start of the season, work life is chaotic and depleting! Everyone is making sure to have insurance coverage in place and the current state of the market is absolute bananas. I’ll spare boring details, but my fiance and I are just glad we’re finally on the other side of 6/1. Time to breathe a little.

Self Love Practice & Processing Wedding Grief

• Last fall, prompted by many catalysts – my postponed wedding included – I started to dig deep into my shadows. I peeled back layers and layers of badly bandaged wounds caused by traumas from my youth. I made mental health a priority and started seeing a therapist. I made self love a daily practice, a ritual and unbreakable promise to myself. I made it a habit to pour love & forgiveness into my own cup each and every day. And I started healing.
• For the longest, I wouldn’t allow myself to process any wedding grief. How could I feel sorry for having to push back my wedding by a year when people were dying from an unknown virus? How could I be upset about my destination wedding not going as planned when people were losing jobs and unsure of where their next meal would come from? How could I be sad about something so silly and frivolous? And I felt that way up until April! As I started to love myself more and step into my light, I created a safe space for myself to feel and honor each and every emotion. I was upset about my wedding, and that’s OKAY!
• This probably deserves a much longer post, more details to come!

Wedding Documents

• Short of having to promise my first born child, the hardest thing about getting married in Greece has to be the paperwork. Add in trying to get married in Greek Orthodox Church in Greece and the hoops you have to jump through now have fire. Then, combined with the fact that documents cannot be dated PRIOR to 90 days before the wedding, 3 months to get foreign papers certified, translated, Apostilled and sent via courier service is barely possible in a perfect world. We’re currently trying figure out how this works in a post-Covid world.
• Another topic deserving of a much longer post, so more details to come!

Birthdays, Holidays & My Parents’ Wedding

• Western Easter, or as we Greeks affectionately call it – “American Easter”, is always a good opportunity to let everyone know when Orthodox Easter is. This year, the two holidays were a whole month apart – Easter beginning of April and Pasxa beginning of May!! We still celebrate both and between the two, we had a couple crawfish boils, celebrated a couple birthdays and Mother’s Day. Then, the event of the Spring – 43 years after being married at City Hall, 3 adult children and 2 grandchildren later, my parents got married in the Greek Orthodox Church!
  • My mom is Catholic and my dad is Greek Orthodox, in both religions, marriage is a sacrament! In 1978, my parents decided to get married by Justice of the Peace and do make their sacrament of marriage later. Doesn’t matter that it took 4 decades, they did it and I am so proud of my mom & dad!!! They are a true testament to sticking through, showing up every single freaking day, and making it work even when you really just want to walk away from it all. It was such a special occasion and to be able to witness the union of the two beautiful souls that created me, brought me into this world and protected me since birth, alongside my siblings and niece and nephew was absolutely priceless. And, it’s made me excited for my own wedding!

Not to mention nursing my sinuses back to health after a severe sinus infection, I’ve been a VERY busy bee protecting my energies and wellbeing. The last few months were necessary for my growth. I am SO excited for what’s to come. And now that work is less hectic, I’m excited to bring you more content.

Stay tuned! xoxo