First Year of Marriage - A Roller Coaster

Dancing at our wedding

Yesterday, D and I celebrated our one year anniversary. The weather cooperated with us once again this year, and so we packed a picnic lunch (complete with a quaint basket) and spent the afternoon in the park where we got married.

It has been one roller coaster of a year for us.

In June, we got married and went on our honeymoon to Virginia and Washington, DC. In July, D started a new job, and I got laid off. In August, we celebrated the wedding of D's sister.

My grandmother passed away in September after a battle with ALS. The roller coaster hit rock bottom at that point.

In October, hurricane Sandy hit the Northeast, and my stepdad's mom's house was destroyed. She has been living with my parents ever since (there is just now finally some hope of rebuilding). We also started looking for a house to buy at around that time.

The next couple of months were all about family. My grandfather, having just lost the love of his life, visited me and my sister in our respective homes. There were a lot of firsts for him that month - first time on a train in the U.S., first domestic flight, and first time traveling on his own in this country. In December, we spent the holidays with our families: Christmas with D's family and New Year's with mine. So glad that this is one tradition we don't have to worry about splitting between families, as my family only celebrates New Year's, and his mainly focuses on Christmas.

The year 2013 promised a fresh start for us, and it didn't disappoint. In January, I finally got a new job (which I started in February), and embarked on a new career to boot. That was also the month we found out that we were pregnant.

In March, we made our first offer on a place, but it was rejected. Dozens of open houses and two offers later, we finally found our new home in April. And we also found out that we are having a girl!

Less than thirty days after submitting our offer, we closed on our condo and three days later, we moved in.

So to recap the roller coaster: in one year, we got married, lost a loved one, survived a layoff and a natural disaster, started new jobs, got pregnant, and became home owners. And at the end of the year, our relationship is stronger than ever. Here is to many more years of adventures together, to pulling through the hard times together, and to celebrating all that life has to offer.