And then.
I remember it was November and we were in the "Tavern," the food hub on campus where you could use your meal plan to buy a cheesesteak or a Chick-fil-a salad (though the Chick-fil-a option had been taken back two years prior.)
We were standing in line when a friend approached me and Topher and asked us if we knew what we were planning for our embarkment into the real world in May. I had recently applied and been accepted to Teach For America and told her so. Boyfriend hesitated.
It was in this moment when I realized that Topher and I were about to enter a period in our life, and relationship, where we would be very much on different pages. While I was about to do the hardest- and the most significant- thing I could imagine, he wasn't sure what his next steps would be. He had a hope, an idea, a desire for what he wanted, and it didn't include grad school or a normal job just yet.
What he had planned and wanted was a common dream we shared, but one I postponed when I agreed to join this other great organization. When we first met, it was this path, this plan, this idea that cemented us even further together- it was another thing we had in common, illuminating the ever clearer truth that our life goals aligned nearly perfectly.
With me moving to another city, however, Topher (and I) deferred this dream, to avoid spending two years on separate continents, both battling what might be the most difficult challenges we've ever faced.
Now, I'm happy, overjoyed and incredibly excited to say that this hope and dream husband and I both shared is coming true.
To put it quickly, as my dearest friend Paige said, we're finally back on the same page. After two years living in separate cities and counting the hours to the joyful thirty we got together each week, and another two years spent driving off in opposite directions each morning working drastically different hours and making the most of our weekends, we now get at least twenty seven months sharing the same book and page.
We're moving to Cambodia. We've applied, been invited to, and decided to join the Peace Corps.
We leave in July.
Until then, you can expect regular posting as you've (hopefully) come to know and love, and if you'd like more consistent updates on life as we prepare to become Peace Corps Volunteers, please check out my Peace Corps blog HERE. I can't promise some thoughts or experiences won't overlap, but I'll mainly keep my ramblings over there.
I know some of you might not be looking to read the likely inconsistent (it's very unlikely I'll have access to regular internet in Cambodia) goings-on of a married woman learning how to speak Khmer, temper her feminist ways in a very conservative culture, and maintain a sense of humor as she learns to bucket shower and toilet squat. However, if you are, I hope you'll stick around, even after July.
I'm pretty much walking on cloud nine. Any questions or thoughts out there?
