Ironing is something my very good friend, Amy, has inspired me to do regularly. Well, maybe inspired isn't the right word. Let's say, Amy has heightened my awareness of the need of ironing in one's life. While ironing a couple of shirts recently, I thought about what the plan for the days nearing my June birthday had been several months ago. That plan changed dramatically and is still in flux.
It must have been 8 months ago, maybe more, when I was living in Nashville, and Amy brought up the idea of renting a beach house for a couple of weeks in June for a 30th birthday celebration with loads of people. I marked it on my calendar before even getting off the phone with her. Since she'd moved to Denver and I'd stayed in Nashville, I was more than excited at the idea of getting together in Charleston for relaxing and catching up on the beach. We were used to hanging our multiple times a week and missed the ease of conversation, laughing, and stress relief that resulted from those visits.
Months passed and lots of factors plated in to the conversation I had to have with Many, explaining that I didn't think I'd be able to make it to the beach house after all. I hated the sick feeling in my stomach that seemed a daily occurrence for weeks. Jeff's company was offering to relocate us to Honolulu for a while so he could continue on a great project but not have to regularly commute back and forth from Honolulu, which had been straining on him and our relationship for months.
Though I'm so thankful to be here in Honolulu with Jeff, I'm so sad that I wasn't able to take part in Amy's birthday celebration or hang out in her hometown in South Carolina. During the low-key weekend I had, there was time to contemplate what I was missing out on in Charleston while struggling to appreciate being in Honolulu, living aloha.
Spending time time with Jeff, in Hawaii no less, is incredibly important to me. Living apart for weeks on end with a 5 hour time difference between us was not a recipe for a healthy marriage. The opportunity to live on the island for a while is not something most sane people would pass up, not to mention some of the professional and financial benefits attached to it. I focus on appreciating where I'm at and reflect on wonderful memories with friends and family, hoping for future chances to spend time together. Amy, among many others, is welcome to visit anytime.
