That One Summer

My husband and I were in a long distance relationship/engagement/marriage for a total of five years. Looking back, that seems crazy! We were young when we met and we both were pursuing important and interesting things during those years, and that time apart really did make us closer. Nevertheless, it wasn't easy.

But during the summer of 2009, we had a slight reprieve from the aching longing and missing that we had gotten so used to. Our lives overlapped and we spent a blissful summer together in New York! I had an internship at a publishing house in Hoboken, New Jersey, and my husband was working in Jersey City in the financial district. I was staying in NYU housing on the Lower East Side and his apartment was across the river in New Jersey, so we still had to travel to see each other, but I can't explain how lovely it was to live in the same area for a few months. We really made the most of it.

We met in the park outside my office building for lunch on most days, where we had glorious views of the Hudson River and the West side of Manhattan. We had tons of picnics and went bike riding and saw outdoor movies. We went to a Mets game one night, visited museums, and my husband took me out on the town for my 21st birthday. It was all so much fun.

I was just reminiscing and going through some of my photos from that summer and thought I'd share a few. It's amazing to remember how giddy I was all summer long, and how wonderful it is that now this man is my husband and I get to see him every day! I sure am blessed.

Hanging out in Central Park.

Being silly at the Met.

Sitting on a park bench together after work. I like this one because I remember that I had something else going on that night, so we met at a bench just to say hi and talk for a few minutes. We couldn't get enough of each other.

We went out to the beach on Long Island one weekend!

Reading the paper and drinking coffee in the park. I remember feeling like such a city gal!

A bike ride down to lower Manhattan.

Dinner in Hoboken.

This was taken near Madison Square Park, where we spent a lot of time together.

That one summer really gave us strength, and fuel to keep going, and gave us a glimpse of what our lives would one day become. If you've ever been in a long distance relationship, I'm sure you can understand just how precious and restorative a few months together in the same city can be!