Wednesday, February 9, 2011

If I close my eyes really, really tight... I can see it.

My first visit to Boston, May '08. Our 'one year anniversary' trip.

This is the hope that I'm holding on to.  This is what I am picturing in my head when I'm out running in the single-digit temps on icy sidewalks.  This is what is giving me hope that Boston really is a cool city to live in.... because right about now, I'm thinking that moving to Boston in the middle of winter was a really baaaaaad idea.  Winter is isolating.  Especially when you move to another city on another coast in another time zone where you know no one.  It is really, really isolating.  And it's hard not to feel sad.  But I'm trying.  I'm trying really hard to give this city a chance.  I know it is a great place to live, I really do.  I just don't think winter is where Boston shines as a city.   I'm hoping that with the awakening season of spring comes a realization that I am going to love living here.  I keep telling myself that because I think it is true.  I think once those tulips start blooming and those bright green leaves appear on all the trees and the sun starts shining later and later in the day I'm going to realize just how awesome it is to be a Bostonian. 

I think I am going to go to yoga tomorrow.  I think I need to get out and socialize.  As much as I love running, it is also very isolating as I always do it alone.  I'm not expecting to meet BFFs at yoga, but at least I'll be out of my apartment for a bit.  In warmer months I doubt I'll spend nearly as much time inside as I do right now... it's just very hard to motivate to go out when it's only 12 degrees.

Lee has been gone for the last few days and he's coming home tonight.  I can't wait to see him.  It's nice to have some time away from each other because it makes the reunions that much more sweet.  Lee and I did the long-distance relationship thing for over two years and, although it was worth it, I definitely don't recommend it.  Distance is tough on any relationship and it can often be a deal-breaker.  I am a true believer in this quote:

Absence is to love what wind is to fire. It extinguishes the small and inflames the great.

I believe our long-distance relationship strengthened what we now have as it forced us to build a strong base of trust.  If we hadn't trusted each other while he was living in Salt Lake City and I was living in Los Angeles, our relationship would have crumbled rather than thrived.  It was difficult but it made the time we spent together so much more precious.  I'm glad that chapter of our lives is over but I'm also glad that we went thru it as it has made our relationship what it is today.   

Who'd have known that 3 years later I'd be married and living in Boston? Not this girl!

Does the cold winter weather get you down (please tell me I'm not alone)?  What do you do during winter months to stay happy?  Do you hate it when your husband/boyfriend/fiance/friend-with-benefits travels?

Garmin stats: 7.5 miles/60 minutes.  I used the Yaktraks for the first part of my icy run but they wouldn't stay on so I changed my running plan and cruised down the relatively ice-free sidewalks on Beacon.  Good call on my part.

5 comments:

  1. Yes, this winter is awful. One of the worst ones that I have experienced here in 20 years. Yes, I get down and out about it. But wait until you go thru the energy of when spring hits here in Boston. People go nuts! And it's so much fun. It starts with the Red Sox Opening Day and then the Boston Marathon. Less two months to go. We'll make it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello!.....I just happened along your blog.... I'm a Montana girl who went to ultrasound school at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence....I definitely know the feeling of isolation being a newbie. I always thought it was strange how I could feel so isolated, when I was around Soooo many people throughout the day (crazy busy hospital!). Plus I was doing long distance with my husband ( fiancé at the time) who was in dental school at u of Michigan. last May he took a job in rural Alaska.....so now I REALLY know isolation. Haha. He does village travel quite a bit....he's been gone since last Friday....and I definitely agree with you about absence making for a nice reunion ;). Sending you warm thoughts......from chilly Alaska.....I just keep telling myself..." suntans and flip-flops!!!"

    ReplyDelete
  3. found your blog through jenn's. I love it!! wishing I was in boston right now.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yeah, I def. get the winter blues. My solution? A well-timed vacation. The great thing about being on the east coast is that we are so close to Florida which is ALWAYS warm. Even a weekend can be a huge rejuvenator. As for husbands traveling, Evan is in Africa til mid-March, and he'll miss Valentine's, Caroline's 1st birthday, and our 8 yr anniversary. So, yep, it sucks, but like you said, distance really strengthens a relationship. It forces us to communicate and makes us appreciate each other more. Hang in there baby. Love you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. yes, Boston is very difficult in winter. I agree. And you certainly got unlucky with a winter like this.

    I also like little bursts of travel. my military wife friends say that is why their marriages have lasted, ha! all the travel and deployments.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...