“I’ll tell you how it works,”
said Josh. “Out.” That was the night before we closed on our house, and
as I fit myself and computer into some space amid everything we own,
the various projects going on, and all the tools for said projects, I
try to have faith that this mess will somehow clear, all plans will be
set and we will in fact wed not even three months from now. In essence,
that it will all work out.
For those that do not know, it’s been quite an eventful first few months of 2013. In the time between getting our offer accepted and getting the keys to our first home we got pregnant, got engaged, miscarried, healed, chose a wedding date, kept full time jobs and continued on with daily life. We closed on Friday, April 19th, just three days shy of our third anniversary together and it’s been pretty hectic but a lot brighter ever since.
I thank you yet again for your support and patience as I have so few answers about our wedding except that it will happen August 10th! The important stuff is taken care of, but the details are many. I would love to send out real invitations, but that will have to wait a bit, right now I just hope to be fully moved into this place by the end of the month.
For dear friends and family that know either Josh or me, but not us together, here is how “we” came to be:
In early December 2009, a matter of days after returning home in California after two years in Morocco as a Peace Corps Volunteer I flew half a world away yet again to see about some farming apprenticeship positions. I met Josh at Moon in the Pond Farm in Sheffield, MA, or rather, I met a very furry faced, heavily layered new farm apprentice leaning cockily against a shovel as he was tending coals for a smokehouse. I thought, well I guess I won’t be getting distracted by any boys this summer.
Josh had arrived at Moon in the Pond two months prior after being a summer camp counselor in North Carolina, an outdoor science school teacher in California, an English teacher in Japan, etc. etc., though he is originally from Kentucky. We’d both been away from home for some time.
Over the coming cold months we got to know one another very well and became close friends. In practice we seemed very much like a married couple; waking up, doing chores, cooking for one another, making plans and executing them, combining ideas and creating new solutions to the many problems that arose at the hectic farm, and we were always too exhausted for any kind of romance. We had similar dreams, goals and now experience about how to live life more sustainably, how to grow vegetables without tilling, how to raise animals with little work and a lot of freedom, and how to treat people we care about.
Come early spring layers were slowly shed and a neighbor and dear friend gave Josh a proper haircut (but only after Josh sheared his beard) and I saw skin on his face for the first time. In mid-April my ma came out to visit just as a peculiar vibe started between Josh and I. Upon return to the farm after an overnight away with my mom before her flight home I literally ran the good half mile to the back field, I missed this weird guy terribly, and wanted . . . something (those that know Josh know he gives some of the best hugs in the universe so more than once I wondered if I was attracted to him or just his hugs). Well luckily he had a smile to welcome me that nearly sealed the deal, and we talked (stalled) a long while in the cool evening grass. A couple hours later he finally kissed me and we’ve only gotten happier ever since.
Romantic eh? Well it hasn’t been without its difficulties. That November I bought a car, a few days later Josh taught me how to drive it and a couple weeks later we left our crazy first year of farming for our respective homes. In Kentucky I met his wonderful family and had a blissful week before we bid goodbye and I continued on to California. The month we spent broken up and apart was one of the most painful of my life, but made it clear that this was not going to be over till it was over. With difficulty I moved away from my family, yet again, and arrived in his arms just two days shy of 2011.
It's been a crazy but wonderful first couple years in Kentucky and I don't see us leaving anytime soon. Josh is just wrapping up his first year as a middle school math teacher, and I am working as a licensed massage therapist. Through all the experiences we’ve had, good and bad, our relationship has remained solid and the love continues to multiply. We look forward to celebrating our union with dear friends and family this summer and building gardens, raising animals and rearing children in the near future in our first home.
Much love and big hugs,For those that do not know, it’s been quite an eventful first few months of 2013. In the time between getting our offer accepted and getting the keys to our first home we got pregnant, got engaged, miscarried, healed, chose a wedding date, kept full time jobs and continued on with daily life. We closed on Friday, April 19th, just three days shy of our third anniversary together and it’s been pretty hectic but a lot brighter ever since.
I thank you yet again for your support and patience as I have so few answers about our wedding except that it will happen August 10th! The important stuff is taken care of, but the details are many. I would love to send out real invitations, but that will have to wait a bit, right now I just hope to be fully moved into this place by the end of the month.
For dear friends and family that know either Josh or me, but not us together, here is how “we” came to be:
In early December 2009, a matter of days after returning home in California after two years in Morocco as a Peace Corps Volunteer I flew half a world away yet again to see about some farming apprenticeship positions. I met Josh at Moon in the Pond Farm in Sheffield, MA, or rather, I met a very furry faced, heavily layered new farm apprentice leaning cockily against a shovel as he was tending coals for a smokehouse. I thought, well I guess I won’t be getting distracted by any boys this summer.
Josh had arrived at Moon in the Pond two months prior after being a summer camp counselor in North Carolina, an outdoor science school teacher in California, an English teacher in Japan, etc. etc., though he is originally from Kentucky. We’d both been away from home for some time.
Over the coming cold months we got to know one another very well and became close friends. In practice we seemed very much like a married couple; waking up, doing chores, cooking for one another, making plans and executing them, combining ideas and creating new solutions to the many problems that arose at the hectic farm, and we were always too exhausted for any kind of romance. We had similar dreams, goals and now experience about how to live life more sustainably, how to grow vegetables without tilling, how to raise animals with little work and a lot of freedom, and how to treat people we care about.
Come early spring layers were slowly shed and a neighbor and dear friend gave Josh a proper haircut (but only after Josh sheared his beard) and I saw skin on his face for the first time. In mid-April my ma came out to visit just as a peculiar vibe started between Josh and I. Upon return to the farm after an overnight away with my mom before her flight home I literally ran the good half mile to the back field, I missed this weird guy terribly, and wanted . . . something (those that know Josh know he gives some of the best hugs in the universe so more than once I wondered if I was attracted to him or just his hugs). Well luckily he had a smile to welcome me that nearly sealed the deal, and we talked (stalled) a long while in the cool evening grass. A couple hours later he finally kissed me and we’ve only gotten happier ever since.
Romantic eh? Well it hasn’t been without its difficulties. That November I bought a car, a few days later Josh taught me how to drive it and a couple weeks later we left our crazy first year of farming for our respective homes. In Kentucky I met his wonderful family and had a blissful week before we bid goodbye and I continued on to California. The month we spent broken up and apart was one of the most painful of my life, but made it clear that this was not going to be over till it was over. With difficulty I moved away from my family, yet again, and arrived in his arms just two days shy of 2011.
It's been a crazy but wonderful first couple years in Kentucky and I don't see us leaving anytime soon. Josh is just wrapping up his first year as a middle school math teacher, and I am working as a licensed massage therapist. Through all the experiences we’ve had, good and bad, our relationship has remained solid and the love continues to multiply. We look forward to celebrating our union with dear friends and family this summer and building gardens, raising animals and rearing children in the near future in our first home.
