I used to think of us as a dynamic duo. We were not lavish nor were we thrill seekers, but I always felt like we were having an adventure. In the beginning of our relationship, we did travel quite a bit. We didn't go off to far off lands, most of the travel was closer to home, but we were very active. We made day trips to Boston just to walk around the city and to Toronto just for a Yankee game. He lived in South Carolina for a few months and I flew down to visit. We began kayaking together and would travel to the Finger Lakes and the Adirondack's to kayak, to camp, or just to enjoy the peacefulness of being outdoors. We mostly did all of this traveling and these activities alone (with the exception of our dogs) simply because we just enjoyed one an other's company.
After our first year of marriage, we moved down to Virginia. We moved for a job and knew no one. We were hundreds of miles away from our families and friends. There we were, just the two of us on another one of our adventures. We lived in Virginia for a total of four years. However, during our time spent there, we never really established close friendships. We did have friends. But they bordered more on the line of acquaintances. We went out with them, talked with them at work, but they weren't heartfelt, emotionally tied friends. So, we relied on one another a great deal. Being so far away from our families made it difficult for us and for them to travel during the holidays. We spent quite a few Thanksgivings, Christmases, and Easters alone. Just the two of us. We began our own little traditions and in many ways those quiet, intimate holidays were nice. They were special.
I had mentioned in a previous posting that Virginia never felt like the right place to be, but we did try to enjoy it as much as we could. We lived near Norfolk and Virginia Beach and appreciated the military influence that the naval base and air force base brought to the area. We loved Williamsburg. We loved taking our dogs to the beach and swimming with them in the ocean! We also experienced the highs and lows of buying and later on selling a house. We loved our house. It was from 1929 and it had so much character. We had this glorious bathroom that was actually bigger than our bedroom. There was a claw foot tub that my husband refinished for me. We put alot of money and sweat into that house. But it was ours and we were proud of it. That house felt like home, it was just located in the wrong place.
Our last stop ended up being here, in New York City. Brooklyn to be exact. Why NYC? We didn't know where else to go. We didn't plan on staying here long term, but figured that it would be a lively and fun place to live for a bit until we decided where we really wanted to settle down. New York turned out to be quite an adjustment. We moved from a big, single family home to a small apartment and a storage unit which held half of our possessions. We told ourselves we could do it though and in the back of our heads were thinking that this was just for short term, so why not enjoy it?
When I look back at our lives together, I don't think back and regret things that we didn't do together. I have not once said to myself, "I wish we had..." Sure, I would have liked to have seen more of the world with him, but we were active and busy and enjoyed that. We moved alot. We lived in some very interesting and fascinating places. We bought a home and made it our own. We also sold that home and grew from that experience. Even in our younger years, we were able to see each other graduate from college. He helped me through graduate school as well. In our 13 years together he lost all of his grandparents and I, my uncle. We also experienced our own great loss when I had a miscarriage. We later experienced together the most beautiful and miraculous of gifts in the birth of our son. I feel that in our 13 years together, we lived. We lived a lifetime of experiences and created a lifetime of memories. I am thankful for that. However, saying that doesn't make it any easier that our lifetime was only 13 years. He was only 35 and I, 32. We had so many more years to look forward to and to build on.
After our first year of marriage, we moved down to Virginia. We moved for a job and knew no one. We were hundreds of miles away from our families and friends. There we were, just the two of us on another one of our adventures. We lived in Virginia for a total of four years. However, during our time spent there, we never really established close friendships. We did have friends. But they bordered more on the line of acquaintances. We went out with them, talked with them at work, but they weren't heartfelt, emotionally tied friends. So, we relied on one another a great deal. Being so far away from our families made it difficult for us and for them to travel during the holidays. We spent quite a few Thanksgivings, Christmases, and Easters alone. Just the two of us. We began our own little traditions and in many ways those quiet, intimate holidays were nice. They were special.
I had mentioned in a previous posting that Virginia never felt like the right place to be, but we did try to enjoy it as much as we could. We lived near Norfolk and Virginia Beach and appreciated the military influence that the naval base and air force base brought to the area. We loved Williamsburg. We loved taking our dogs to the beach and swimming with them in the ocean! We also experienced the highs and lows of buying and later on selling a house. We loved our house. It was from 1929 and it had so much character. We had this glorious bathroom that was actually bigger than our bedroom. There was a claw foot tub that my husband refinished for me. We put alot of money and sweat into that house. But it was ours and we were proud of it. That house felt like home, it was just located in the wrong place.
Our last stop ended up being here, in New York City. Brooklyn to be exact. Why NYC? We didn't know where else to go. We didn't plan on staying here long term, but figured that it would be a lively and fun place to live for a bit until we decided where we really wanted to settle down. New York turned out to be quite an adjustment. We moved from a big, single family home to a small apartment and a storage unit which held half of our possessions. We told ourselves we could do it though and in the back of our heads were thinking that this was just for short term, so why not enjoy it?
When I look back at our lives together, I don't think back and regret things that we didn't do together. I have not once said to myself, "I wish we had..." Sure, I would have liked to have seen more of the world with him, but we were active and busy and enjoyed that. We moved alot. We lived in some very interesting and fascinating places. We bought a home and made it our own. We also sold that home and grew from that experience. Even in our younger years, we were able to see each other graduate from college. He helped me through graduate school as well. In our 13 years together he lost all of his grandparents and I, my uncle. We also experienced our own great loss when I had a miscarriage. We later experienced together the most beautiful and miraculous of gifts in the birth of our son. I feel that in our 13 years together, we lived. We lived a lifetime of experiences and created a lifetime of memories. I am thankful for that. However, saying that doesn't make it any easier that our lifetime was only 13 years. He was only 35 and I, 32. We had so many more years to look forward to and to build on.
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