These Last Five Years

Five years ago, Jared and I moved from California to Virginia.  After one very important year of living on the Golden Coast, I was ready to get back east. 

Cardiff By The Sea, a piece of my heart is still right there. 

Right after Jared got back from patrol, and just before leaving for the Virginia, he surprised me with a trip to Temecula Valley. It’s about an hour drive passed beautiful rolling hills and vineyards to Temecula from San Diego. It was beautiful and we talked the whole way.

While we were there, Jared asked me a very important question…

This is the spot!

Of course I knew my answer right away =)

In early June, we drove east towards Virginia, stopping in places like Memphis along the way.

Unfortunately, Northern Virginia did not offer the warm welcome I was hoping for. It was fast and rude. Not a great place for girl from sleepy Homestead, Florida. Initially, I thought it to be a sad place, filled with snooty, self-promoting people.  In some ways, I still think that’s true, but I was able to find my happy and together, we made a life for ourselves in that fast-paced world.

We hung out with friends…

We made lots of trips to Long Island…

 Tennessee…

New Jersey...

and Florida... I went a few more times than Jared. I can't be away from my state for too long!

Jared and his buddies went on a ski trip each year and this year I finally had the guts to join in!

We even went to school. Jared got an MBA and I got a Master’s degree.

Virginia has all kinds of biking and running trails. So I ran a lot and we got a couple of bikes to ride. Of course, my favorite trail had some pretty flower gardens. 

We signed up for a few races and I learned how to push my body just a little harder and farther than I ever thought I could.

Really, there is a lot of beauty to be found in Northern Virginia. And of course, lots of history.

And in a small elementary school I met a group of kids who would forever change my life. These kids tried my patience, and tested my sanity daily. Some had written themselves off and accepted that academically, they just weren’t cut out to be successful. Their everyday indifference brought me to tears more times than I can count. But I wasn’t going down without a fight. Over time, with a lot of hard work, we became a community. We began to trust one another and depend on each other for support and encouragement. Compassion overruled hostility and love thrived where it was once missing.  They learned from me and me from them. In the end, I think those kids needed me. As self-doubting and insecure as I was. But not as much as I needed them. They forced me to look inside myself and find my strength. Strength that was buried under so much self-doubt and fear. In just one year, these kids brought such fullness to my life. My little darlings, you will always have a place in my heart!

I taught at that school for four years after that. It became a home to me. More of a village, really. I did a lot of growing there. Leaving a place you love is never easy, but my memories have traveled with me and I will always remember the place where I found myself.


Jared and I got married in the summer of 2007. I know it sounds cliché, but it was my happiest day yet. It’s been nearly 4 years since that day and nothing has topped it! 

Marriage is definitely an adventure. It’s a journey of discovering how to form one solid unit from two separate lives. We learn every day and every day, we get better. Sometimes I still wonder how God decided that Jared and I would become “us”.  Opposites. Hot and cold. Night and day. My grandfather said that the Lord works in mysterious ways. I know that he was right, because somehow in finding Jared, my opposite, I found my joy.

These last five years have been huge. I have found my confidence. I discovered my voice. I know who I am and I have learned how to love myself.  Good bye, Virginia. Thanks for the memories!