Lately I've had a lot of strange feelings in regards to the passage of time.
I think it's probably due to the fact that the move totally shook up my daily routine that I had established back in Maine and forced me to develop a new routine here. Once again I have the chance to consider the beauty of each step in our day and the glory of each individual moment, rather than letting it all sort of blur together in a haze.
For the first 5 1/2 years of our relationship, until we moved in together, Rob and I never spent longer than 2 consecutive weeks together at a time. The idea of living together and spending more or less every waking moment staring at each other was absolutely inconceivable. In our letters, emails, phone calls, and infrequent visits we would daydream about the day when we could find an apartment together, cook and clean together, drive to the store together, just the mundane everyday nonsense that everyone takes for granted. When we finally moved in together in 2008, it was like a magical switch had been turned on. All of a sudden the worry and fear were replaced with snuggles and happy and it was amazing.
After a few months it turned into a happy routine and the days sort of blended together in a normal fashion. It wasn't a bad thing, just a normal thing. It's easy to take someone who is right in front of you for granted.
Packing up and moving cross-country totally reset everything that we'd established over the last four years in the best way. Planning a move, finding a place, and getting settled in here together has only served to remind me of why I fell in love with Rob in the first place. Most days I feel like that giddy teenager all over again. The other night I was laying in bed and I honestly felt like I had closed my eyes as a 16-year-old and woken up to this amazing new life, as though the Army-college-separation thing never happened at all. I can't tell you how many times I find myself looking at Rob hardly believing that I somehow got so lucky as to get to spend my life with him, that for some reason he chose me and keeps choosing me every day. It defies logic, but I suppose the best things in life always do.
All in all, this helps remind me how important it is to appreciate the moment and to not get complacent with life. I may feel bored on some night where we don't do anything remotely productive, but it's important to always remember that 16-year-old me would've tap-danced naked through a room full of Johnny Depps to get to spend every day doing mundane bullshit with the one I love.
I'll let that image set itself firmly in your mind.
I'm so happy I have this space to share all of this with you guys. I've said it before but thank you for reading and commenting as much as you do.
Also, today is Cypress's 4th birthday! Tuna and vanilla ice cream all around!
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ReplyDeleteYour post is such a good reminder to appreciate what we have. Thank you. :) Now I'm going to go and give the Mister a hug, just because.
ReplyDeletegreat post. it's so easy to fall into the "routine" of things and sometimes love can be taken for granted. you inspire me caitlin. thanks for sharing this little glimpse of your love for rob ;)
ReplyDeleteand happy birthday cypress!
that first paragraph was really beautiful cait. actually the whole post was. i'm surprised that you didn't have any problems when you moved in together - even if you had been waiting for it. it's so hard!
ReplyDeletei like to think that i LIKE complacency but one of the best changes in my life was moving across the country so...
You should never take love for granted. You are so lucky.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to the beast! Charlie's birthday is on Saturday... yay for pet birthdays!
ReplyDeleteAw, so happy for you! Good things always come out of moving, I think. =]
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Cypress!
That image IS firmly stuck in my mind - I love it!
ReplyDeleteAnd happy birthday Cypress!
I love this so much! I went through something similar with my hubby. We met in Dallas, did the long distance thing for a year (as he was in the Navy in Chicago), then we got hitched and finally lived together for the first time. Not gonna lie, it was very different than the see each other once a month, but we got through it. We've lived in a couple places, been through many deployments, but have made it through. Five years and going strong!
ReplyDeleteThis is insanely beautiful, girl. Seriously, love is so wonderful and you write about it so eloquently. Especially that imagery of naked you tap dancing through a sea of johnny depps. so funny.
ReplyDeleteLove is awesome and people that chose to love each other every single day.. yes.
I like you. obviously.
I love these little tidbits about you and Rob. It gives me hope that *one day* I'll find someone who makes me feel the way Rob does for you. You two are so cute! It's so great that moving has brought you guys CLOSER together and not farther apart, which I know can sometimes be the case. You guys have been through so much, it's just really nice to see that it's possible to make it work no matter what. :)
ReplyDeleteWell said!
ReplyDeleteThe Hubs and I went through a little rut this past summer where we had to talk through it and realized we had let things get a little too routine. We've been working on it and things are back to awesome all over again :)
Yay for marriage and wonderful men!