Three Days and Counting

Well, I can't believe it's finally here! Eighteen months ago Dean left Pensacola for a job in his home town growing up place that came to him over-night. I said, "Go, you go! I'll Follow when Clay gets home." Clay came home one year later and six months after that we are finally making a move.

When Dean kissed me goodbye on the January day in 2008 I felt like I would never see him again. It's difficult to fly to Utah for the weekend due to cost and time. Over that first year we saw each other six times. Two weeks after he left he flew back to get me so we could go to Norway for our nephew's wedding. In May Dean came to Pensacola for my gallbladder surgery. In October I flew to Utah because my sister, Lisa, passed away suddenly and I went again at Christmas for a good old-fashioned family Christmas. In January 2009, Dean came back to Pensacola to help me welcome Clay home and I went to Utah in May to paint and repair an old home for us to move into. It is August 2nd and we are moving this week - - 18 months after I said, "You go, I'll come later!"

Never did I imagine we would be apart this long. I've learned one thing and that is you can say you are going to do something but unless all things fall into place (unless the stars align themselves in the right way) all kinds of things can change your plans. We learned we had to be patient and happy with what we had and wait for what we wanted.

I know many people who have made this trek across the nation to Utah and the west and all of them took approximately two years to make the change and realize the culmination of the journey. They planned for a period of one to two years and then left. Our experience was upside down in that Dean moved and THEN we had to plan which took one to two years for us too! So we're not really that different, we just did it in different order than most folks.

There have been other major events in this two years like two surgeries for me and one for Dean. I went to Missouri to spend time with our daughter and also to Seattle to visit her a few weeks ago. I was laid off from my job which came as a surprise and shock but actually helped me move our plan along with a lot less energy and interruption. Being laid off was definitely a blessing!

Today I am on crutches due to a new knee injury and I fully expect more surgery after I get to Utah and I actually fear (a little bit) the drive from Florida to Utah for this reason because of the pain I am in almost constantly. I have an orthopedic surgeon who is waiting to meet me when I get there. I'm sure he is not as excited about meeting me as I am him. Life is defintely what happens when you are busy making other plans and this has become my mantra.

There is no one more important than my Dean is to me. I almost couldn't endure the last two weeks until he came to get me. I came to know that this seperation was approximately 2 weeks two long because it really did become quite unbearable. He's been here for two days and I just stare at him which makes him a little nervous but I can't believe he's actually here.

Once in a lifetime you meet someone special
Your lives intermingle and somehow you know
This is the beginning of all you have dreamed of
A life you have longed for, a Love that will grow.
Thirty years later, we know so much more.
We've gone through so much that could dampen and soak, but
OUR love we wore as covering and cloak.
We stood shoulder to shoulder, side by side, face to face.
We have come to know meaning of forgiveness and grace.
The small phrase, "I love you" means much more to us now.
A kiss, touch, a gift of service means more than things.
Who could have known that love feels like this all those years ago.
I wish my friends who broke up would have waited and worked through it.
I never would have dreamed that this is love. I knew so little then,
I know so much more now than I did ten years ago;
I know in five more years I'll know even more about love and life and sharing it with one someone special.
I'm so glad I didn't put off being married until I had my career in order, or until I was 30 or 40 or 50 like some people do. I have a definition of love that they will never understand because of the years invested in it.
Once in a lifetime, you meet someone special
This is the beginning of all you have dreamed of,
A love that has flourished, a Life that has grown.