“The call to adventure is the point in a person’s life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it or not.” – Joseph Campbell, The Hero’s Journey
Hello and Happy Sunday!
What a great weekend! It was way too short and stuffed with awesomeness. Tonight my husband and I were able to go on a movie-date and we so enjoyed it. It has been quite a while since we have been to a movie theater together. Actually, the last time was when I was four months pregnant. If you do get a chance, go see A man named Ove! Hands down one of the best movies we have seen! When we walked back to the car while holding hands I thought about our relationship and marriage. [You know those type of movies when you think a bit afterwards!] And I still so vividly remember the beginnings of our relationship like it was yesterday. This nervous anticipation during the first phone calls, Skype calls, restaurant visits and whatnot. This nervousness when I went to the bathroom to see if my hair still look okay. This was the beginning of our relationship and it was all so fresh, new and exciting. I have too many great memories from almost five years ago that are so freshly in my mind. The butterfly feeling in my heart is still present which is key.
His hand was warm and firmly held mine while we walked down the stairs of the movie theater, happy that we saw this great movie together. Happy to be together and being somehow reminded that life is perfect the way it is. This feeling that it all seems too good to be true and that everything is always falling into place somehow is fantastic. I used to question everything and searched for something weird or wrong with this relationship. There always has to be something negative, right? But no! I stopped, enjoyed and went with the flow. All this seems so far away already and then there are so many special moments we both remember in such crisp details. I do remember what he wore on our first date and I so love his leather jacket. His alarm clock wake-up song that is so cool, even at 5am. I am grateful to simply wake up next to him and start another day together. How fast could it all change? One second! Being reminded of this again today though this movie made me sensitive for those lovey-things again.
Memories of the French restaurant we had dinner at and he was weird the entire evening. Nervous? Something on his mind? Yep, outside he asked me to marry him – the moon and stars sparkled in excitement and in this way to comfort me that he is the one. Our apartment together, the smell of great food prepared in our tiny kitchen, unboxing things and packing others. This comfortable feeling of coming home after a long day of school and he waited for me with dinner. Binge-watching Band of Brothers, Pacific and The Unit.
Our wedding was nice and simple and everything we could have asked for. The little after-party with his brother on the rooftop of our building, unforgettable. [Bacardi coco!] How my husband’s face lit up when our son was born. Memories are a funny thing. Most of them change over time because they adapt to new situations or slightly shift. These small little segments of our day that goes by so quickly but we decide to keep – others dissipate into a grey hazy fog. I hold tight to little moments I do want to remember and I take a second or two to try to capture it all somehow.
While watching this movie tonight I have been reminded crystal clear of so many great moments we experienced together which I am so grateful for. We have been through good and bad times, vacations, road trips and so many tiny things that are important and make us stick together. Those paths that are still in the future but we both get a pretty decent view of them. They will lead to other paths and new adventures, people and tasks. While we walked down those stairs tonight I realized that all those various choices in our life brought us exactly to this movie theater tonight. To his hand that keeps mine warm and safe. To my smile that makes him happy. I am thankful for all these experiences and stories that I will tell my son one day while my eyes sparkle. I realize now what I have to look for in life and that it is pretty awesome to be exactly where and who I am. I am proud of what we accomplished throughout the last couple of years. There is just a distinct marker in my life. A before and after my husband.
We almost reached the car and he stopped and kissed me. Then he started talking about the movie and how much he enjoyed it. He did not let go of my hand. The stars and moon up in the sky.
