so…i didn’t mean to cause quite the stir with my “changes” post yesterday. i guess from an outside perspective though it seemed quite mysterious what was going over here!

i questioned whether a blog post on this was even neccesary. however, a big part of this blog is sharing my personal life with you all- which includes my crazy married/husband stories. so, if all of the sudden i stopped blogging about my husband and the craziness that is our marriage, i feel like not only would it raise questioning but also not be in line with what i created this blog for. which was to be a very real, honest look into my work, thoughts, dreams, and photography journey.

so, a little bit different than my usual posts, but here goes…

chris (who is “husband” since i rarely use his name on here) was offered a new job- one that will require him to be gone for 5 months in Kansas and then another 9 in Afghanistan. yup, do the math and that is a hell of a long time! crazy, since we have been together for almost 7 yrs now and never been seperated for more than 2 weeks. well, i didn’t want to say anything until it was all official, but the paperwork was signed this morning and he has accepted the offer.

so now, the questions. it seems everyone has them. the many many looks of understandable confusion that you get when trying to explain this. (he is not in the Army anymore so this was very much a choice not a mandatory deployment).

yes, this was a decision we both made. yes, i am in support of this. no, i will not be going with him to kansas.

the biggest question seems to be how i am okay with this.

simply put, i have no idea. but i do know that we have always been a very non-traditional couple with non-traditional roles (hell he does my laundry! or used to :(  ) we are both strong believers that we should grow not only as a couple, but also as individuals. yes, we have “our” dreams. but i also have my own. and he does too. neither one of us ever wanted to be the whole “two hearts becoming one soul” or whatever creepy thing they say happens when you get married. he is extremely passionate about the work he will be doing while he is there. and when i turned the tables, i know that if national geographic asked me to get on a plane tomorrow to cover stories for a year, i would want to do it. and he would support me. so really, i can’t blame him for wanting to do the same.

so what does this mean for me? well this decision does have it’s benefits. i have basically been given the unique opportunity to take a year to focus on me. this will be the only time i am 28, with no kids, no husband, with a job where i make my own schedule, have an “off” season every winter, and basically have no real obligations to anyone other than my brides and grooms. so…in case you haven’t already figured it out yet…lots of travel is on the horizon :)  i would like to do some personal projects. documentary work. explore new types of photography. attend more photography workshops. if i can’t be with husband, then i think it’s the perfect way to spend the little time i have left in my 20s :)

so there you have it. much more information than you probably needed- but as i’ve often said in the past, sometimes these blog posts are more for me, my family, and my friends. it will be an interesting journey, but i promise i will share with you as much as i can.

me, 21. him, 24. and for any potential brides reading this blog for the first time- yes, we are being silly ;-)