I think it’s hilarious that, one day, I’m going to have to explain to Hudson and Avery that we used to actually take pictures with something called film.  That we had to send it away to be developed and that – until you got the pictures back in your own hands – you really had no idea if they were any good!  I’ll have to explain to them what university office hours are and how – back in the day – if you wanted to make a phone call…you had to go home!!  My children have been born into a completely different world…a world that, even when I was in high school, I was still just learning about.

Every day, I’m amazed by technology.  I’m amazed at how small the world has become…how close we all are…and all the while, how lonely it can make all of us.  We judge our success by how many friends we have on Facebook instead the people we share our weekends with.  We send email instead of holiday cards.  We spend more time with Google than we do with our families.  It almost makes me feel like we’ve been given this great power that we haven’t entirely figured out how to use.  The imbalance frightens me sometimes…and {as I sit with my laptop, in a giant leather chair, using Starbucks’ wifi to type this very post!} I’m just as guilty as the next person.

But there are also times in which technology brings me to tears.  Times when the advancements that we’ve discovered remind me that there genuinely is good in everything…

Vanessa and I first starting chatting just a couple of months ago.  Me, here in Ottawa.  Her, at her computer in the Philippines.  It started with the story of how she fell in love with Canada and then shortly there after, a boy named Dustin.  Vanessa and Dustin got engaged…moved to the Philippines…and were now coming back to Ottawa for the holidays.  After some long discussions regarding international logistics, they also decided to have their wedding while they were here.  After a few more international logistics, the two of them arrived in Canada, were able to choose a date…and we were on our way.  With only two weeks to plan everything out {and Christmas break smack in the middle of it}, we chatted on the phone, passed a few more emails between us and shared one final coffee date before the big day.

When their beautiful snowy day finally rolled around, we met up with a handful of their closest friends and family at City Hall to finally seal the deal…to finally make these two lovebirds husband and wife!  But for all of the joy and for all of the excitement, there was still one vital piece of the puzzle missing to make the day complete.  Vanessa’s parents.  They were still in the Philippines and in turn, unable to be a part of the official wedding day.

This is where the glorious trumpets of technology sound…

With the help of all hands on deck…Vanessa’s parents joined the ceremony from the Philippines {at 5am!} via Skype and Facetime.  It was amazing…and touching…and so beautiful to witness.  A small thing in our day and age…an incredible thing in the grand scheme of things!

It’s been a whirlwind relationship for Vanessa, Dustin and I as they are already packing their bags to head back to the Philippines…but it’s been amazing to document this part of their journey for them.  To share this story across continents…to come together for a brief moment in the midst of the adventure…and then to part ways again with a whole new perspective on how close we really all are.

Congratulations, my new friends!  Let’s be sure to keep in touch…we certainly have the means to do so!!!