Dreaming of the country together

Well, friends, it's over. The wedding is over. And we are married! Trae and I keep smiling over those words: husband, wife. That's us! As his sister remarked, that ring looks mighty good on his left hand. Now, after the hoopla and excitement, after the celebrations and planning, I keep thinking about what it means. Marriage. Love. The long haul.

One thing that Trae and I do well together is dream. We have a lot to think about, a lot to look forward to. A lot to live for. And we're both dreaming about what's next for us. Both of us have worked a variety of jobs (although I think Trae's list far outnumbers mine -- some of his include: butcher, blacksmith, farmer, security guard, forester, teacher, office assistant, dishwasher...the list goes on) and we both want to get out of the city and start something new. The questions are: where, what.

So friends, we are dreaming. We are dreaming of a piece of land, we are dreaming of the food we will grow, the sounds we will hear when we wake up in the mornings. We are dreaming of the tools Trae will forge and the songs I will sing. We want to be in a place where "neighbor" could refer to a person three miles away whose company we treasure, instead of the stranger who lives on the other side of the hedgerow whose name we keep forgetting.

Trae and I both grew up in the country, and we are ready to return. We're not sure exactly where that will be (probably not too far from Chattanooga). We're not sure what we will do. But we are ready to go. Life is too short not to chase your dreams...

(Thanks to my Aunt Cathy for these photos!)