End of the semester, out on good behavior at the jail and oohhh look fluffy white stuff came from the sky.

Christmas time is upon us again, where oh where did the time go?  This time last year, I was already at home and loving the snow and the weather. I am currently writing this still in DC curled up in my chair, not loving the un-snowed winter that is happening right now.  But as of tomorrow, I will be making my journey back to Alberta to the land of snow and winter and fantabulous family!!!!

As is tradition, once we finished our last final and before we all decided to hightail it every which way throughout the country, all of us girls went out for a Christmas dinner.  The place of choice - Rosa Mexicana which is a wonderful place to eat.  We were set to toast us getting through this semester and surviving our internships when Colleen so gracefully told us that she could not drink.  Yes people, she is pregnant.  Yay!!!!  It feels like the group of people from Knocked Up the way we have all bonded this past year and whatnot.  So, along with the toast to school, we toasted Colleen for becoming a mother.  Wonderful news all around for everybody.  Supper was wonderful - just got to sit back and talk about how internships were going, what Christmas holidays people were going to have, basically talked about everything except for school.  I love nights like that when school is not on the list of topics.

After supper, Kalyn and I decided to head to the White House to check out the tree as last year I had missed it.  The tree was amazing!! So big, so colorful, so bright.  They also had a bunch of trees around the big tree for each state.  I did not get a chance to see the Capital tree or even zoo lights (but from pictures from friends, zoo lights looks the same from last year).  I am super sad though that I am not able to see the Calgary zoo lights which is Aly and our's tradition for the past three (or four?) years.  I am sad that I will not be hitting Calgary at all this trip so this is a shoutout to all my Calgary peeps in that I miss you and wish you a very merry christmas!!!!!  

IT SNOWED!!!!!!!  Not a lot mind you, not even close to what Alberta winters are like, but I saw white fluffy things come down from the sky and they were huge fluffy flakes.  The snow actually stuck around for a couple of days so I was in complete heaven.  The city, however, was not.  At the thought of there being 1 to 3" of snow falling, gasp and shock and awe in how much that is (total sarcasm), the city shut down.  Government closed.  Highways were barren. I was outside in the street, dancing in the snow.  When not dancing in the street, I was curled up in my chair, playing crib, watching curling, having tea.  It was a wonderful way to spend a winteryish day.  Heaven.  Why can't there be more days like that around here?

I got to participate in the Wreaths Across America at Arlington Cemetery and it was quite the experience.  I had no clue what to expect as I have never heard about it before and at first thought it was what I had seen at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers and laying wreaths there but I was so completely wrong.  A whole bunch of students from the school went on behalf of the school and got to lay about 8 wreaths per person.  I started worrying that I was going to lay a wreath on a site that may have family coming to lay wreaths or wanted to make sure I laid wreaths on sites that had nobody and did not want them to feel left out.  So many thoughts were going through the head when it came to laying a single wreath.  Who should I lay it on?  

My thoughts were that I tried to lay wreaths on the sites that had both a wife and a husband name on it that way it was like both people got the benefit of a wreath and just in case no family would come to lay a wreath.  I also laid wreaths on sons and daughters of those people who fought in the wars to make sure they were accounted for.  Just being there was inspiring and amazing - the amount of people who showed up was massive and just watching the Cemetery start filling up with wreaths was quite the sight.  I was standing on a hill, just watching people line up for the wreaths and then weave through the grounds, to pick which gravesite was going to get their wreath.  I am so glad I was able to take part in something like this.  We were standing in line to get the wreaths and I was telling Steph that I don't think we have something like this up in Canada since we appear to be the world's designated driver and thus don't need a cemetery like this to house all the soldiers from the wars, but just to be able to be part of something like that was quite touching.  I love the fact that even though I am not from here, that I am not American, I can still be part of something that is deeply American, that affects a lot of people.  Those memories are ones that are truly touching and meaningful.  

My time at the jail has been amazing.  Providing therapy for seven individuals was such a journey, some days went better than others and some people were more apt to change than others.  At the end, before I left, three had gotten released, and I felt like a mother whose children were leaving home hahaha.  I wished them luck and told them that I never wanted to see them again so hopefully they listened and learned something from the therapy.  I also got to run an Anger Management group and a Job Readiness group and the anger management was so fun, I am definitely doing that again.  The job readiness, not so much as that was painful and was like pulling teeth.  I am hoping that in the new year, I am allowed to run a group wherein the inmates will draw to music in order to understand/talk about/get in touch with their feelings.  This type of therapy has never happened before in the jail, so I am not sure if it will fly or not.  I am so lucky to be at the jail though for my internship as the experience I am getting there is insurmountable and the atmosphere is so fun and exciting and definitely not boring. 

Well tomorrow I get to look forward to a 12 hour travelling day, from my house to my brothers, so yay!!!!  This Christmas is the one with my sisters down so it will be pretty awesome of a time.  I hope everyone has a wonderful, happy, safe and extraordinary Christmas.  And, here is a clip of my favorite Christmas moment to leave you with.  I miss everyone and love you guys to pieces!!!!