Where Does the Time Go?

I've been meaning to blog about this for almost a month now.  On September 6th we celebrated our 5th anniversary.  I can't hardly believe it has been 5 years already, but apparently it has.  It seems like just yesterday I was in Ohio with my ear glued to my cell phone, while Bivins was in DC with his ear glued to his hatching a plan about when we would get married.  I knew at the time that marrying him wasn't a mistake.  It was something I knew without a shadow of a doubt, more than I ever knew anything else before in my life.  I was supposed to marry this man.  There are times my heart sings and times that it cries, but I'm always glad I married him.  My life wouldn't be the same without him.  I wouldn't change a thing.

This new song by Rascal Flatts Why Wait reminds me of our "Augtember" plan to get married.  I first heard this song on my commute to work.  I really love the song, but I don't really like the video at all...could be because it is so cheesy and ridiculous.  I get it, but I wish it wasn't so cliche.  Still, I'm glad we didn't wait and have been married for 5 whole years.  I have so many memories I cherish from these five years.  I'm trying to file them away for future reference while still leaving room for new memories.  Our anniversary was spent with dinner our at Cheesecake Factory.  My absolute. favorite. restaurant. ever.  (Thank you Pailin and Shannon for introducing me to this for my farewell to DC dinner.)  We get to eat there about twice a year-anniversary and my birthday-and any more than that and I would need new clothes because it is so yummy!  I could eat my body weight in cheesecake...over the course of a month or so anyhow.  Yummy.

My original thought for my anniversary blog was to choose 5 memories that are some of my absolute favorites from the last 5 years...we recently spent a night sitting on the tailgate of his truck, looking up at the stars, and sharing some of our favorites-although they were categorized by cities/states.  (This is how I make timeline distinctions-life in Ohio, life in DC, life in NC, and now life in AL...)

So in no particular order here are some of my favorite memories of our first five years together.

1.  Moving in to our very first home together.  Our apartment in DC (technically it was VA) was wonderful...although my memory tends to gloss over the ugly parts.  Who could forget the u-haul being stopped on the national mall?  Or the fact that there were air fresheners plugged in to our sockets before we even had boxes moved in?  Or all those lovely closets?  I had a closet just for the boxes we saved for the next move!  Our first apartment is where we learned how to live with each other.  It sounds ugly...and sometimes it was...but other times it was too amazing for words.  I will forever cherish those times spent together, building a firmer foundation for our relationship that would get us through so many times spent apart in the coming years.

2. The 22nd MEU.  I'm pretty sure it was anti-together, but we made it through a six month deployment.  A little weathered, a little stressed, and a lot of longing, but we made it through.  Through the deployment experience it reminded me that even though I am capable of taking care of myself I really do need my husband.  I think we both were able to remind each other through cards, letters, videos and pictures that we truly care about each other.  I have all of them saved in a box...now if I could just remember which box...and they are some of my favorites.  Distance did make our hearts grow fonder.  I don't think either of us will soon forget the welcome home hug (really the sobbing Wizzel attack) when I finally spotted him after six long months apart.

3. Anniversary Beach Trip 2008.  This one was cut short due to a hurricane, but really did we expect anything less on our anniversary?  I mean we did get married in the height of hurricane season.  This trip was a fantastic way for the two of us to "get away from it all" after moving back to Alabama and beginning the adjustment to civilian life.  (Which by the way, is it really ever possible to adjust to this?  Nope.  I didn't think so.)  I loved our walks along the beach.  They reminded me of our freezing cold walks along the beach in NC when I would beg to go to the beach in December (or somewhere around then.)

4. Moving into our own place in Alabama...well our own rented place anyhow.  We truly have tried to leave a lasting impression on this new place.  We have remodeled some of the rooms-well repainted anyhow.  I have enjoyed turning our home, into a colorful home after our bland white and beige rentals from DC and NC.  My husband has an eye for paint, let me tell you.  Although I'm still trying to talk him out of painting the outside pepto bismal pink.  Just kidding.  I don't always understand where his visions are going, but he makes great choices and they turn out beautifully.  I look forward to some day owning a home of our very own and adding our own personality to it. (Hopefully I can train him not to shoot holes in the floor...another blog for another time, lol.)

5. Blogging while he is sleeping, er sleeptalking I mean.  This would actually be several different memories that add up to big laughs, from cleaning supplies to cardboard to speaking what I am certain is Russian-although he will neither confirm nor deny this, the man makes me laugh.  He just mumbled something about "blank this, deuces!"  Lovely dear.  Just lovely.  I love him.  It's a good thing too cause "hold still, [he has] a flashlight."  Lol  (If you are confused about this memory grouping you probably need to read some of my other blog posts, but I can't honestly tell you which ones.)

I'm hoping that the future brings many more fun memories.  Among them I'm hoping we are able to visit DC again soon, take a trip to Ireland, and spend lots of quality time together.  These years post USMC active duty life have been the most challenging, but I've learned a lot and loved a lot too.