5249 US Hwy 277 S #183 Abilene, TX 79606
That was a MOUTHFUL when trying to quickly rattle off an address for people to send graduation/wedding gifts and good wishes :)
Our very first apartment...From May 2005 to May 2008...a perfect one bedroom, one bath place for newlyweds to figure out post-collegiate / married life.
As you will see in posts to come, we move fairly frequently and I truly believe each one of our homes has served a very specific purpose. As I continue to practice counting my blessings, a greater appreciation for the seemingly mundane events has surfaced. Time literally slows when you are fully aware of each moment of blessing: hearing a dog bark, a baby laugh, feeling a cool breeze while standing in the sun, a car starting, a smile from a stranger. Each second is broken up into moments of peace, love, grace, thanksgiving.
This first residence was full of the mundane moments of the miracle of marriage. Two people becoming one. Leaving the homes of the parents and cleaving to each other and to the Lord. I learned how he liked his eggs; he learned how I like my coffee. This location was ideal in its distance from family! Family could come and go in a day. Perfect for newlyweds to have the security of the familiar, but still have space to learn and grow.
I dedicated a page in my scrapbook for this time...it holds pictures of us reading books, playing video games, making coffee, babysitting children. Moments of nothingness that all of a sudden take on special meaning when you have a 'buddy'. We've always been a low-key kind of couple. Both slightly introverted, we are refueled in the quiet times of just being together. These first three years helped us discover this about each other. He didn't need or expect the big fancy dinners; I didn't expect expensive jewelry. We learned what the other did expect and extended grace while we tried and failed to meet those expectations. Marriage is hard. It's beautiful and wonderful, but it is hard work. I recently received a gift from a dear friend: a gratitude journal. One of the first sections prompts you to list the teachable moments from the past that you are now thankful for. My first one is: arguing with Chris. :) It's not that these are pleasant memories...far from it. But through these times of tension, anger, frustration, we learn how to communicate with each other. I don't consider myself an expert in any sense of the word when it comes to marriage and communication, but I do know you want to ignore the words (we will always ALWAYS say the wrong thing at the wrong time in the wrong way when we're hurt and upset) and hear their heart. I don't know about you, but take any one of our arguments...whether they were about money or jobs or family...boiled down, they were us saying/screaming: "I love you." or "I miss you." or "I can't imagine life without you."
Side story: Upon graduation, I still needed to complete an internship to technically 'graduate' and qualify to sit for the board certification exam for music therapists. The first year of marriage, I worked in a daycare to help make ends meet. I loved my time there, but struggled with the question of whether or not I was 'living up to my potential'. The Lord provided ...living with my mother-in-law while completing my internship with the music therapist in Odessa. What a blessing! Who else has the chance to build that relationship with their mother-in-law?! I was able to get to know her and love her as my own. I will forever be grateful for her willingness to embrace me as her own. So, abundant blessings and opportunities to grow our marriage...living apart for the second year of your marriage is not ideal, but God was with us. He used that time to show us the importance of family...biological and spiritual. Imagine having a spat with your husband and then having to hang up the phone and sit down to dinner with his mom! Unique circumstance that taught me many valuable lessons. I think I can sum it up with this advice given to me by a good friend: always keep a picture of your husband as a young boy close by where you see it regularly. Remembering to see him through her eyes...through God's eyes...makes it really hard to stay mad at someone.
It's a good thing this first place was tiny; given any more space and we may have very well retreated to our own corners! But within those close quarters, we were stuck together, through thick and thin. So yes, I can genuinely give sincere thanks for that tiny apartment with the loud lady upstairs and for every one of our tear-stained arguments. Growing pains in our cocoon...we were being molded for the next step in our journey.
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