30 days of gratitude: day 18 – the grants – define liminal : finding the space between

day 18

dear grants,

what a blessing it has been to get to know each of you more and more over the past four years. when you find someone you love, you’re not always guaranteed to love their family, but you are all amazing! i cannot wait to continue to grow my relationship with each of you, and potentially become an “official” grant one day. (no pressure ryan.)

i am grateful…

for the time i completely fell off of my bike, skinned my elbow and knee, and had a super wet bum the first time i met steph and dale (and they still accepted me)
to have witnessed the amazing transformation/renovation of the tugan units (wish ryan had gone in on that one…)
for our first hawaiian new year’s eve celebration at the outrigger club, especially our on-stage dance routine and seeing travis hungover for the first time in my life
for the first several months, where i didn’t get that everything out of gordon’s mouth is leading to a punchline (boom, boom)
and for the endless amount of bad “dad jokes” that i now know (i might regret saying i’m grateful for this…)
for heather’s deep love for her three wonderful sons and her adopted daughters
for the time dale let me beat him wrestling, only after informing me he was going to kill me
that steph and dale let us crash their mini-moon and adventure on fraser island with them
and that steph was there to save my life as the spa jets sucked my hair into them (no thanks to ryan)
for that time i tried to keep up with the boys in darwin and drunk dialed dale to tell him i liked him better than ryan (i still do dale)
for the endless similarities in every grant boy and their unique differences
for the two years we’ve spent in hawaii and the time growing closer to travis and blair
for heather’s anzac cookies, perfectly timed cups of tea, and loving hugs
for steph’s signature dance move, intense hatred of horses, and extreme love of dogs
that both grant brothers married such amazingly beautiful, strong, smart, and supportive women that i hope to call my sister-in-laws (aka SILlies) one day (including carly)
that i now know that travis is entertained by literally anything and thinks the smallest things are absolutely hilarious
for steph and blair’s understanding of what it means to date a grant
that blair was the first american to steal a grant (made it a little easier for me to do the same)
for getting to spend the first year of hugo’s life by his side and ensuring he likes to dance
for all the boys’ lively, carefree, simple, fun, and hands-on approach to life
for all the amazing accomplishments that have landed each of you the “best grant award”
for gordon’s delicious brekkies and seafood cook ups on the barbeque
for the amazing friends of all of the grants (seriously, what a fun crew!)
for room beers and slope adventures in niseko with steph, dale, and that awesome crew
that there is another baby grant to call me auntie on the way (fingers crossed for a girl)
for that time gordon couldn’t process that my mom doesn’t drink, “are you sure i can’t get you a wine sherry?”
that i know i have a home in australia and a home in hawaii no matter where we are
for every time that all the grants get to reunite in one place, even if only for a few days
for the fact that heather and gordon were in the circus back in the day (like for real, best story ever)
that my someday in-laws are all people that i love, respect, and adore