Today is my one year anniversary. One year ago today, I
stood across from Dan on a slightly chilly Sunday afternoon and exchanged
rings, vowing to spend the rest of my life helping to fill our lives with
happiness, humor, and challenges. The wedding itself was, to this day, the best
day of my life. All of my closest friends and family were there and the dance
floor was never empty. I felt loved and beautiful and full of hope and
excitement for our future.
So I thought that I would reflect on our first year of marriage
here. I’m the type of person who loves looking back at my life, remembering how
I felt about certain memories and situations, so I think that in 30 years, when
I want to look back at how the first year was, I will have this entry to
remember. (Also, I will probably print this out and save it. I hoard this kind
of stuff. I have a huge envelope filled with nostalgia.)
Less than a month after the wedding, my loving husband went
on our honeymoon without me. He was sent on a mission to HAWAII for a week,
leaving me to freeze my tuchas off in New Jersey. In November, we had a lovely
Thanksgiving with my extended family in New York and I participated in Black
Friday for the first time. In December, we celebrated Hanukkah with my family
and then celebrated Christmas with Dan’s family and friends. We had a quiet New
Years Eve, preferring to watch the ball drop together. A couple days later, Dan
deployed for the second time. This deployment was worse than the first, for me.
The first time was the previous summer and I had just started a new job and was
busy busy busy planning the wedding. I went to my parents house a lot and the
days just flew by. This time was different. It was cold. There wasn’t a wedding
to look forward to. And I hated my job. I was sad and lonely and ate my
feelings. Dan and I decided it would be better for me (and us) if I quit that
job. I quit my job the Friday before Dan came home and I felt two gigantic weights
lifted from my shoulders. In case any of you are wondering, I have still not
regretted quitting that job. (The girl they hired to replace me quit less than
a month after I left. Not surprised.)
Less than a month later, he came home announcing that he was going to Spain for
a month! I was happy for him and we talked about me going over to visit. By the
time I got my expedited passport back, he had gotten a better handle the goings
on over there and didn’t think he’d be able to spend any time with me at all. And
I don’t speak any Spanish, so I didn’t want to be wandering around a foreign
country alone. So I passed on the trip. Dan deployed again on July 4, meaning I
was going to miss celebrating his birthday for 4 years in a row. This was also
a tough deployment (though not as bad as the second time) as I wasn’t working
and was bored out of my mind. But I made it through. Soon after he got back, I
decided to take the GREs, so I signed up for a Kaplan Prep Class. I was also
offered a temporary position at Campbell (which I’m hoping turns into them
hiring me) which I am now working at and, thankfully, enjoying.
Dan has also been on other trips and I have done other
things, but these are the key events that I know I would want to look back on
and smile about in the future. If anybody has read through this, thank you for
your interest!
