Anniversary

On Saturday I decided to surprise Dan with a trip up to South Boston for our anniversary. I know Southie doesnt sound like a romantic place to go for your anniversary, however it has always been "our place". When I met Dan I was living in NH and had only seen him 3 times before leaving for Europe for the summer. When I can back from abroad, I moved to Southie. This is when our relationship really began to blossom. He was still living in Providence, RI and we would get together 1-2 times a week. It was often during these times together we would take walks around Southie. The place that we always went was a beautiful area called Castle Island. It is a one mile loop that goes out and around the bay. We would go there and walk around, talk, and just be together.
So, I thought what a great place to go back to after 5 years of marriage. He did not know where we were going so he was pleasantly surprised when we ended up at Castle Island on a beautiful 75 degree day. I am sure it was not what he had expected, but he also understood why we were there. I still believe that Castle Island is where our relationship truly began.
I remember walking around and sitting out on the bay, under the stars with him. His arm around me, watching the stars reflect off the water. There was no place I had rather had been. We would talk about all the years to come and all our hopes and dreams. It seemed like a place where we could be honest and talk about anything. The topics usually led to marriage and kids and our future together. I can still remember talking about my dreams of growing old together.
So, here we are 9 years later, 5 years of marriage later... many ups and downs along the way. But there we are, walking around Castle Island again. All the conversations we had 9 years ago.. had come true. We had gotten married, had kids, and are growing old together (31 is not old, but we met when i was 22, so it is growing old). It was almost a surreal moment, sitting down, watching the waves, with his arms around me again. Still the same people, but yet completely different too. Even though there were times when I didnt think we would ever make it to this point and we have changed so much from those 2 people... I am still so happy that all those conversations came true. It just showed to me that hard work in a relationship, a relationship that has dreams and hopes, and a lot of love... can really be all you ever wanted.
I know that we dont have a fairy tale relationship, but I will take US over any fairy tale anyday.