August

August 3 marked one year since we moved to Boston. It was surreal to board that plane with two suitcases a piece, our car and household packed into a truck somewhere to be seen in a couple months, and to know that we were more or less starting over entirely. We knew pretty much no one. We had no idea where we would live beyond temporary housing. I think I would have been more nervous if not for the exhaustion of waiting from October 2014 to August 2015 in anticipation of the move.

But here we were, a year later. On August 4 last year, our first full day in Boston, we had no one but a hotel receptionist to take our picture.

On August 4 this year, our dear friends Jordan and Katie met us at the river to take our picture.

Along the riverside as we walked, we also ran into our pastor, Colin, on his way home from work, and our friend Netanya walking back from the swimming pool. So at least we've made some friends in a year :)

The first weekend in August we went to Connecticut on a little overnight trip for our anniversary. We visited Mystic, CT and went to the Mystic Aquarium. But honestly I think the best thing that happened that trip was we found this Peruvian/Bolivian restaurant in Providence called Julianna's Restaurant. Listen, that's probably the best thing I've eaten since we moved here. We might drive to Providence just to eat it again sometime.

I'm sure we took some pictures but I can't find them right now.

The rest of  August was mostly eaten up by Patrick's participation in the Red Bull Flugtag. I took some pictures but of course these are better :)

Other mid-August highlights included finding a quilting shop in Cambridge, meeting Al and Amanda's baby girl for the first time, working on my cooking technique for frying okra, as our okra plant finally started yielding. My okra cooking skill up until this point has been hit-or-miss, but my friend Lauren wants me to make her some sometime, so I wanted to get good at it before making it for company.

The last week of August we went to the Esplanade with some friends from church to listen to the Longwood Symphony Orchestra.

That was so nice that we decided to head out to Tanglewood the following weekend  with some friends to enjoy a rehearsal of Beethoven's 9th. (I probably took pictures then too but can't find them either.) But what was nicest about that trip was the night before. We stayed at a hotel a couple towns over. When we got out of the car...it was quiet. It was dark. You could see stars and hear crickets chirping. I could just feel my heart rate dropping from its usual frenzy into a state of relaxation. We sat outside in the pitch black just enjoying the quiet and dark, and we slept so hard that night. 

Living close to a city means never quiet, never dark, and never alone. I suppose if you've always lived in a city you don't know anything different. But I still wake up with traffic noise, I miss hearing crickets and seeing stars, and sometimes I wish I could sit on my front porch for a couple hours without seeing another soul.

Another year of marriage and a full year of work made both of us reflect on the way life is going. I think overall, we came to the conclusion that things are okay. Our jobs are hard. But work is always hard, in one dimension or another. 

We both miss the friendships that we built over months and years, the kind of friends you can pick up the phone and talk to, and they're aware of years of context about you, your family, and your worldview. But each of those friendships had a day one many years ago, and I have confidence that we're building those kinds of friendships now. (Plus, our decades-long friends are only a phone call away :) )

Boston isn't home. But if even if we returned to Clemson, or to Rock Hill, or to Fort Mill, or to Blythewood, it wouldn't be the home we remember, in a lot of ways. Even so, our minds haven't yet changed--we'd like to make it back closer to home within the next four years or so. This has been a great adventure but we'd really love to be within driving distance to our families. But we've signed a lease until next July, so in all likelihood we'll be here for at least another year, and we're okay with that.

We miss you all. Until next time!