One Year Reflection

On this day last year, it was Josh’s very first day at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside hotel. Yesterday would have been our first night in our new home, Norfolk. Though living at the hotel at the time, we felt the comfort that a home would give and an overwhelming range of emotions.

Taking in the area, one which we have never even heard of before, I hit the pavement running wanting to learn everything about Norfolk: where to go, what to do, and most importantly where to live. Flowing parallel with all this was a finding an outlet for my writing career to begin.



Josh and I felt quite overwhelmed—to say the least—but we were not going to let a new area, a new job, the distance from our friends and family, along with an infinite list of unknowns consume us. Little by little we introduced ourselves to Norfolk and allowed it to introduce itself to us. We met so many people, many who have remained close friends.

As Josh went to work during the day, I aggressively searched for what would be our first home. In doing so, I felt sad that our Keep Left road trip was over but was so excited that we were creating a new beginning for us. Over bottles of wine Josh and I laid out our plans, crunched numbers, and talked endlessly about here and now, and tomorrow; but looking back on all of those conversations we really could not have known it all. I was in search for a modest home on the beach. The thought had me teemed with delight, a house on the beach—how unforeseeable for a girl from Toronto. Thank goodness the first beach cottage fell through—it would have been a disaster. Instead we found a home that has two raised porches providing an unobstructed view of the Bay giving us sights of dolphins swimming through lulling us with its crashing waves at night. Not to mention second and third floor wood burning fireplaces—many long nights, romantic dinners, and so much more in front of them.

Oh and the blah, blah, blahs with our exes—like a pebble in each of our shoes. They tried so persistently to invade in our life with their juvenile plays and conniving attempts, awaiting the demise of our relationship. There are far too many instances to name, but they present a good laugh every now and then. We continue to wish them well in hopes that they will find their own happiness.

One year later, we could not be more in love. We continue to learn from one another and with each other and feel so fortunate to have found each other. As Josh always says, “Life could not be better.” Reflecting about the year that has passed last night, over another delicious dinner—experimenting with kale: tomato and red onion salad to start followed by kale, mushroom and blue cheese lasagna. It certainly works to our advantage to share the same pallet and willingness to experiment and invent new recipes—we realized how lucky we are. Our woes were resolved and our problems are minimal. We’ve learned to focus on our life and future together distancing ourselves from who or what could pull us down. We have truly learned to enjoy life and have executed that mantra each and every day. If you were to tell us one year ago that we would have all this, we probably wouldn’t have believed you, but we wouldn’t have put the idea past us. Coincidentally enough, just as it was last year, we are in search for a new home and are enthralled about buying our first home together. We initially gave ourselves a year in the area, but have realized that a couple of years invested into Norfolk will fetch a more than decent return—not just financially.

So as we cheers to the year past and the year to come, it’s been real—very.