We Were on a Break

I just logged into my Blogger account . . . . having felt this yearning to write that I haven't done in some time.  I looked at the posts from this past year - I posted 4 times.  When we started the blog, the goal was to post once a week.  But, shit happens.  Life happens.  The point of this blog for me, from the beginning, was an outlet for me to express myself.  Its never been about the amount of followers or likes or comments that I get, though in all honesty and with deep humility, every acknowledgement that someone read something that I wrote is gratifying.

So, shit happens, life happens.  Well, shit and life have been happening.  And, I'm sitting here grateful and happy and feeling blessed beyond measure.  So, I haven't had shit to write or time to write but that's all good.  The thing is "Life" has very much been happening around us for about a year now.  The "Sometimes life gets in the way" kind of shit, the "Tough times don't last, tough people do" kind of shit. This is only for the ones that appreciate Friends and can appreciate the fact that "We Were on a Break" is the epitome of the life of this blog - Our Boozy Life - over the past year.

It was around the same time last year that I posted a picture of a field on Instagram and said, "We're going to make this place our Home."  At that time, it was a dream.  But a dream that we were intent on living.  Long story short, we've had the opportunity to purchase land that had been in the family since the late 1800's.  So, that dream of owning land that had such a significant meaning to us, meant Ronnie deciding to put in papers to retire from the Navy after 20 years.  We literally had no other plans other than going to 30 years in the Navy.  But, it meant another ship, more deployments.  And, we both felt that we had done our share of those.

For two people to have spent the last 20 years solely on our own, the decision to come back home was a difficult one.  Ronnie and I literally grew up together - he in the Navy and me in my career with The Virginian-Pilot - but we literally grew up solely together.  We felt proud and strong of our independence, all the while torn about being so close and reliant and secure in the relationships with our families.

When you face those tough decisions, all I can say is that you must follow your heart.  And, your mind will fuck with that - because it will remind you of all your fears and hidden insecurities.  But, you must have faith in love and family.  Have faith that your heart will lead you to the right place.  I learned what I thought to be an impossible lesson and relinquished my fears to what my heart and soul felt was right.

And, here we are.  Living on a "Farm" in the smallest, coziest home I could ever dream of.  With family so close by, I never worry about feeling alone.  I look out my windows and I see nothing but woods and forest and land, and I feel like I'm in my own little world.  And this, this is peace and comfort and security - that I never thought I would appreciate until now.

So, "We've been on a Break" from the normal adventures, but we have much to share.  We've remodeled a home over the last year that now is our own. We wake up every morning and see deer and we expect snow very soon.  And we truly believe Riley has reversed "Benjamin Button" aged - because life is so good here for him. Our old arthritic Boxer has become a young adventurous Boxer with energy to spare.  Someone said - the mountain air does us all good.  Well, we're breathing in the fresh air and we're not on a break anymore. Stay tuned for more boozy adventures!