SaraInRealLife

Today, as we did on 8/18/19, we listened to the CD recording of our wedding, while driving back to our new home which is now a 3.5 hr drive from the beach where we honeymooned two years ago.

Our second year of marriage brought the heartache of another academic rejection cycle, as well as that one hopeful “yes.” Not the one we had idealized, but a step in the right direction.

We saw 2 musicals: Dear Evan Hansen in NYC, and Wicked in Atlanta. We had dim sum for the first time, NYC bagels and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. We celebrated our birthdays in isolation but also with friends via Zoom. During self isolation, we had a dinner and a movie date night. We dressed up and had a nice dinner of mahi mahi, spinach, and scalloped potatoes, followed by a preview reel from YouTube and flourless brownies with ice cream for dessert while we watched Queen and Slim with the lights off, like a real movie theater.

We supported each other through some family things and my mom’s traumatic brain injury (she’s ok). We prioritized communication, including and especially, difficult conversations.

We said “see you later,” to SBBC and FBCD, as well as “goodbye” to a few members who will wait for us on the other side. We watched Hamilton 5 times and counting on Disney+.

Existing relationships deepened. Some friendships were rekindled, some rebuilt. I truly love Reese the Cat now (it’s been a journey, but we are besties).

We packed up our Stone Mtn apartment and our GA life and loaded it into a U-Haul, SANS DOLLIES because they were out. Andrew got to see what happens when sciatic nerve damage from a car wreck flares and you have to push through. We survived it all, plus the apartment not being ready on move-in day, together. We hired movers to unload the boxes into our new home, and began building a life in our new town, Durham, NC

We celebrated our anniversary coming home refreshed from our Myrtle Beach getaway, with Peruvian rotisserie chicken, a nap, meal prep for the coming week and our nightly tea time.

Bittersweet endings, navigating life’s curveballs, and new beginnings. That’s two.