Had you asked me ten years ago if I ever had an inkling to move to the Midwest, the answer would have been an emphatic "No".
But then, I fell in love. With a boy who had all but signed the official papers to move himself to Madison, Wisconsin for the next five plus years.
I wasn't ready to move at first. We had been dating less than a year and I thought that moving half-way across the country was too big of a step at that point. So we did long distance.
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| My first visit to Madison in September 2006 |
After a year, I took the plunge. I packed myself up and drove on I-90 and I-80 from Boston to Wisconsin. We moved in together. We adopted two kittens.
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| Layla and Rufus at 5 weeks old |
On New Years Eve of 2007, in our brand new apartment (literally, we moved in that night), Mike asked me to marry him. I told him that nothing would make me happier.
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| Raise your hand if you remember this photo! It's my favorite of our engagement photos taken at a park in Madison, and it adorned the header of my blog until March of this year. |
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We were married at the church on the Villanova University campus in April of 2009, and arrived back in Madison after our honeymoon. Not two years later, Carina was born.
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| Carina est. 12/28/2010 |
Madison will always hold a special place in my heart because it is where we became
we. First, me and Mike. Then, all three of us. Since Mike and I have been here together we have gotten engaged, married, and added a member to our family (okay, actually three members) ;)
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| We. Here. |
So with a {slightly} heavy and hopeful heart, we leave in 36 hours. I will likely shed a few tears while I board the plane. Not necessarily tears of sadness, but more for the nostalgia I think I will always feel for this town, this state. Where
we began.
And to be truthful, oh my goodness will I miss the cheese and beer.
