I felt bold on leaving Concord, but I confess I find New York rough and strange, and myself strange in it. Mrs. Kirk believes I am here for a brief interlude of sensational experience before succumbing to a matrimonial fate...but I hope that any experience I gain will be strictly literary.- Jo, Little Women (film)
When I began writing this blog two years ago, I laughed to myself about the specific context of the title. I had just been on a first date - the first date I'd been on in long time. And as much as I liked the guy, I was eagerly anticipating a semester in Guatemala. Well, we went on a second date (I really, really liked this guy) and four days later I boarded a southbound plane. When I got off the plane four months later, he was there with flowers, waiting for me. And that was the fifth time in my life that I had ever seen him.
Sometimes I smile when I think about all those early memories. The first weekend we met (and this was on a church retreat, mind you), when we stayed up late just sharing funny stories - I'll never forget the image of a tiny Kevin (his brother) climbing a dinosaur at a museum. Four months later, when we got artery-clogging burgers at Five Guys and talked until dark. And six months after that, when he took me out to my first brewpub - and gave me my first hangover (which mostly just shows that I was a lightweight). Before he was my boyfriend, he was my good friend. And before being my fiance, he was (and is) my best friend. I could not ask for a better man and a better life's companion.
So I must admit (as would Jo, I’m sure), that I’m glad my experience has not been “strictly literary.” My grandma keeps telling me that I need to quench my adventuresome spirit and settle down. But I know, as does Paul, that I will never be done having adventures. Only, from now on, they will ours – our simple days, our struggles, our joys – our adventures.
