Life Under Construction

Posts Tagged ‘Rhode Island’

It’s Monday again, the start of a new week, and this week actually feels different.  All my days and weeks have felt the same for months now (what with me being unemployed and all) but I know that change is coming and it feels like a good change.  It’s a change I’m ready for.

This Friday I’m making my ‘temporary’ move to Mississippi.  I’ll be living down there for about a month and a half before Walter and I fly back up to Rhode Island to move all my stuff down (read: the actual move).  That will take place sometime in the beginning to middle of May.  Before my birthday, which is in 69 days.

My wedding reception will be *fingers crossed* May 9th.  I realized afterward that that particular Sunday is Mother’s Day, but it’s really the only weekend I can have it.  I think.

I did a lot of shopping at the mall on Saturday, and by a lot of shopping I obviously mean that I bought underwear.  Because it’s been too long since I bought underwear.  I should have looked into buying new sneakers, but I didn’t think of it.  Blast!  I suppose Walter can always take me shopping for new sneakers.  *shrug*  Yesterday I had breakfast with Jean and we went to Walmart and I bought stuff I’d need for the move.  Because I like to come prepared, like a good Girl Scout.  My old troop leaders would be so proud.  I just have a few more things to pick up before I pack my bag, like a pillow and some sunflower seeds.

In other news I’ve been watching Stargate SG1 because all 10 seasons are online.  I swear, I half expect Colonel O’Neill to spit out a piece of gum and pull a toothpick and rubber band out of his back pocket to fix whatever problem they’re encountering.  He obviously doesn’t do that, but it’s still awesome.  I <3 Richard Dean Anderson.  It’s almost hard to believe that they came up with enough material for MacGyver to last 7 seasons… but then I remember that he’s MacGyver.  He can do anything.  DUH!!!

Speaking of MacGyver, I’ma watch some more Stargate now…

How was your weekend????

It seems like everyone is moving these days, doesn’t it?

Back in 2003 I moved to South Carolina to be with a boy I’d only known for 8 months.  A boy named Josh who, after less than five months together, asked me to marry him.  I’m pretty sure people in my family were taking bets on how long I’d stay down there.  The move lasted a whole 5 months before I called my dad and asked him to come get me, which he promptly did.  Needless to say, Josh and I never got married.

I was impetuous.  I didn’t think everything though before I said yes to moving 1′000 miles away.  I didn’t think anything through, for that matter.  I agreed as if I had nothing to tie me down, nothing to hold me back.  In all actuality I think I just wanted to run away, and he simply presented me with the opportunity.  I didn’t realize at the time how much I still needed my family.  I didn’t realize at the time that the things I did could have the kind of consequences they’ve had.  I only thought about what I was doing, and not about what would happen down the line.

It’s been nearly 6 years since I moved back home from South Carolina, and I’m going to be moving again.  But this time?  This time I’ve weighed all my options.  I’ve taken all of the important things into account (and a whole lot of unimportant things, too) in making my decision.  Sure, there are some loose ends to tie up but I know I’m moving this time for the right reasons.  I’m not running away from anyone or anything.  I’m running to someone.  And that makes all the difference in the world.

I’m sitting here in my room with a cup of hot cocoa watching large flakes of snow fall fast past the kitchen windows.  This is going to be my last winter in Rhode Island for a few years, and I love that it is snowing so fiercely outside.

I’ve got Autumnsong playing in the background as I read and write.  Tom Milsom is very talented.

I had the chance to meet him in Central Park last summer where he put on a small show when Lauren and I went to NYC for a blogger meet-up.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’ll be moving away soon, so I wanted to share with you some of the things I love about where I live:

• My family is here.  I’m very close with my family.
• Nothing is really too far away.  The closest grocery store or WalMart is five minutes from my house.
• There’s nothing in the world quite like the peaceful feeling of being snowed in by a good old fashioned blizzard.  Wrap a cozy blanket around yourself and curl up with a book or just watch the snow fall… it’s calming.
• We get the best of all four seasons here.  In the spring everything turns vibrant and green with the rain.  In the summer we have the beach and the glorious sunshine.  When it’s autumn the leaves take two weeks to turn and the streets are lined with the most magnificent colors Mother Nature has in her bag of tricks.  And in the winter?  Everything is covered by a blanket of white while the Earth is sleeping.
• Del’s Lemonade.
• The Washington County Fair.
• The Providence Place Mall.
• Ninigret Park.

I think mostly I just love the feeling of home, the good and the bad.  I learned everything I know here, I’ve had 97% of my life experiences here.  This the a place where I became me.

What’s something you love about where you live?

I just want to play this video for you, because if Walter and I had had a big ceremony with family and food and a DJ and dancing and all that, this probably would have been our wedding song.

Now, after having watched that lovely video (plz, that movie is so awesome!) I’ll tell you a little bit more about my wedding day.

‘Cause I know if I don’t, I’ll probably get beat up.

Walter has so kindly shared what he experienced (sort of) in his blog this morning, I think like a Jellyfish.  Please.  Go read it if you haven’t already.

*****

So people have been asking me what happened, as if my getting married was a surprise to them.  I didn’t see it as a surprise because, to me, it’s been a long time coming.

Walter has been my best friend since some point in 2005.  I can’t pinpoint the day, but for a long time not a day went by where we didn’t talk on the phone for hours.

• Falling asleep on the phone?  Check
• Webcam chat induced giggles?  Check
• Paying literally hundreds of dollars to Sprint twice a month because I went over my minutes?  Check
• Not getting enough sleep at night because I was on the phone long after I should have been asleep?  Check

I’m pretty sure that everyone in the online community we were a part (yay Illarion!) of was either convinced we were dating, or that we would be eventually.

When I told Kenneth that Walter and I were getting married, he said “I always wondered why you dated other people with him around“.  I replied with “Yeah… I always wondered that myself.“.

So anyway, I met Walter online.  Not through some dating site, but through playing an MMORPG in 2004.  I’m sure I’ve told people that before, that I met my best friend online.

YES.  Dork that I am, I met my husband in the nerdiest way possible.  And I’m proud.

In 2005 he came to RI to visit Alli and I on his Memorial Day 3 day weekend from AIT in Oklahoma.

In 2006 I went to MS to visit him.  I met his family, his friends, fell in love, and denied it.  I wanted more than anything in the world to stay right where I was, in Mississippi, with my best friend.  I’m not going to go through all the details of that visit, because three of us (Walter, Ben, and I) were utterly brokenhearted when I left and I’d rather not relive that.

For the last five years, since I met Walter, I’ve been dating and dating other guys.  I liked them, even loved a couple of them, but they never worked out.  He says I’ve dated half the state of Rhode Island (what does he know?).  I’ve unintentionally had boyfriends jealous and suspicious of Walter for years.  And all that time, in this little part of the back of my brain, I imagined what it would be like to really marry him, instead of just joke about it.

And that brings us to about where we are.  He was leaving for Iraq and I couldn’t let him go without telling him how I really felt because… what if?  I’d just broken up with Sean and I wasn’t ready to be in a new relationship, but Walter wasn’t a new relationship.  He’s always been there.  It’s like we’ve been together forever, emotionally, and now we’ve just made it official.  It’s like this is where we were headed all along.

So we got married.  Neither of us wanted to wait until next year and he was already here.  So he called his mom, booked her a flight up here, took care of her hotel and flight costs since it was so spur of the moment, and we got married.  In my grandmother’s living room.  And then we went to dinner with our family, and went on our pre-honeymoon honeymoon to Boston.  And then he left to go back to Iraq.

People keep asking me, “How does it feel to be a married woman?”  I don’t know how it feels.  I mean… I know how I’ve always felt, and it feels just the same.  It’s hard to FEEL married when the only thing in our situation that has changed is that I get rings on my fingers.  He’s still thousands of miles away.  But he won’t be forever.

Ask me next year how it feels to be a married woman.  I’ll be able to answer you better.

In the mean time, watch this video Sarah took of the ceremony.  Plz don’t comment on how fat I look.  It’s just the dress.  It wasn’t very form fitting, but we were going for casual.

You’ll have to turn the volume up, it’s rather quiet.

I spent my day yesterday slowly doing laundry, and watching a bunch of television shows.  And a movie.  And I ate half a package of cookies.

What?

It’s happening tonight.  Walter will be in Rhode Island.  His plane comes in at midnight.  Can I just tell you that I’m excited beyond belief?  I’m so excited, I don’t even know how to show it.  He hasn’t been in Rhode Island since May of 2005.  And this time?  This time he’s here for more than three days, and he’s NOT sleeping on my dad’s couch.

We’re going to Clyde’s.  The Boston Museum of Science.  Hanging out at the house.  Watching movies.  Cooking together.  It is going to be glorious!

I did zero cleaning yesterday.  That means I’ll be cleaning today, Danny Tanner style.  Then going shopping because it’s what I do.  Then I’m going to my mom’s for dinner because she’s making me pork chops.  Then I’m going to sit in my room and wait until I can leave the house.  And probably finish off the cookies.

There’s gonna be so much kissing at the airport!  OM NOM NOM!

I LOVE…  that I got to talk to Walter for over an hour this morning.  OVER AN HOUR.  And it was beyond glorious.

I LOVE…  old school Michael Jackson.  Kids these days don’t understand.

I LOVE…  taking pictures.  One time I took this picture of a slug (I know, I’m weird) but it came out so good!!!!!

I LOVE…  living in Rhode Island.  Don’t judge me!

I LOVE…  all the Harry Potter books.  I’m half way through Deathly Hollows, and I can’t believe it’s so good!

I LOVE…  playing WoW.

I LOVE…  chocolate ice cream.  I could eat it every day!  Oh wait, I pretty much already do…  :D  He he he.

I LOVE…  the burn marks in my front bumper from my major jump start failure.  I’m so proud of them.

I LOVE…  hanging out with Sarah at the end of the day.  She’s so awesome.

I LOVE…  Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.  And Sully.

I LOVE…  you.  For real.  I’m in such a good mood!!!!

What do you love today?!!!!

…especially when you’ve already waited almost 3 years to see somebody.

And when you only have yourself to blame.  >.<

Not for the first time, I find myself wishing Mississippi and Rhode Island were closer together.  I feel like it’s a whole world away.

And that’s lame.

I get more excited and impatient every day.  I have no books to read at the moment until I get the first Harry Potter book in my possession, and I have very minimal distraction in the form of television since I don’t have cable and only watch a few shows on The Interwebz.

I’m ready for my vacation to start.

I may have giggled a little too much after this textversation yesterday:

Walter:

mississippi is beautiful. :)

Me:

So is Rhode Island. :D