If you follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook, you may have noticed (not sure how you couldn't) the string of various pics since June of my new coast and the accompanying hashtag #weliveherenow. The genesis was pretty simple. As John and I finished our cross-country trip from Philadelphia to Santa Barbara, as we drove the final stretch around the coastline between Ventura and Carpinteria, John looked out at the ocean, then back at me, and said it. "We live here now."
If you want to see where I live, "our beach" in Carpinteria where John proposed to me...click on this link and scroll down. See that beach, just past the tree on the far side of the field? That's the spot.
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| Just another day in Carpinteria |
Four little words that meant such a dramatic change in my life. It meant I was taking a real job where I wouldn't be the boss for the first time in 5 years. It meant that the ocean was on our west and not our east (you would not believe how disorienting it STILL is sometimes.) It meant that WE had made this trek, this decision to blend our families, and we were embarking on an even bigger adventure...living together. It meant that every day, I would see the ocean, the mountains, the palm trees...that I would be living in one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.
For the last six months, I think I've lived in constant amazement that I am HERE. Not just here geographically, but also at this place in my life. And so we started using the hashtag to remind ourselves that this was real.
We live here now. WE live here now. We LIVE here now. We live HERE now. We live here NOW.
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| Sunset on our beach |
It was never meant to gloat...it signified my thankfulness. My gratitude. My newfound contentment. My happiness.
I'm retiring the hashtag now because this is the new normal. Yes, we DO live here now. I'm sure I'll still post pics (I haven't stopped being thankful), but I'm going to stop being amazed because this is my life now. Every beautiful, amazing second of it.
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| Our family |
Ok, maybe I'm gloating just a little :)
"WLHN" has meant so many things at different times. From the first time I said it, it is so much more than four words.
ReplyDeleteI remember asking the locals if they ever get numb to the marvelous scenery. They said that natives take it for granted, but that transplants never get tired of its beauty. It is my own declaration that I will never take our surroundings for granted. I remember where I have been, and how we got here. WLHN.
I love finding new things for us to do and experience. We have the rest of our lives together to explore this wonderful new home of ours. We don't need to rush around to see everything there is to see right this second. We can enjoy life, because even if we miss the cemetery tour this year, we can see it next Halloween. WLHN.
We don't watch television. We are busy between kids, and dogs, and jobs, and life. Sure, there are a few shows I like to watch. But we don't have time to waste, as our schedules are filled with life. And even if we do have a few minutes to spare, I'd much rather sit on our Craigslist Victorian couch and curl up with you any night. WLHN.
It's also my own personal "As you wish". We do live here now. Together. It's my way of saying "thank you"... my way of saying "I love you"...and my way of saying "I am all yours". We made some sacrifices along the way. We made some leaps of faith. Sometimes it's hectic. Sometimes it's hard. But at the end of the day, I come home to you. And no matter how difficult life gets or how hard we have to pinch pennies, we are together in this amazing epic adventure, with our family. And I cannot imagine another place I would rather be.
We live here now.
*I can't guarantee that I will stop using our hashtag. I may shorten it to #WLHN