A Life Shift

When I was little my parents used to say to me, “I love you as big as the world” and my interpretation was to repeat “I love you how big is the world!” Close enough, I think, as a sentiment for Braden on our one year wedding anniversary. (Yes, I also know I’m posting this late; no I didn’t forget our anniversary date!) One year of marriage has flown by and has been the most exciting and adventure-filled year of my life so far…by far! Braden and I leapt from our wedding vows on the beach in Mexico last December back to Vancouver for a few quick weeks and then on to Hong Kong. He moved first and I stayed back to finish my job, pack the house, sell the house, sell the cars, and…and…and…! Meanwhile, he was finding his away around Hong Kong and adjusting to living in a tiny little space. Thankfully we’re in the same place now, but schedules, individual trips back to Vancouver, and work travel has punctuated our year. I ran some quick numbers and figured out that we have spent around 40% of our marriage apart! In the remaining 60% we have set up our apartment, settled in to our new work schedules, made friends, found our way around our Hong Kong neighbourhood and traveled to so many amazing places.

We knew that a legal marriage in Mexico would be complicated, so we opted for a small, intimate ceremony at my parent’s house one week before our Mexico wedding. It was lovely to gather with our immediate family only and celebrate together.

To continue with a year of rolling with the unexpected, we celebrated our Fam-iversary in a fairly random fashion. And why celebrate only once, when you can stretch it out for a whole week! So, one year after our Vancouver ceremony, we found ourselves in Seam Reap at the end of our running / temple / ATVing / exploring weekend. Actually, we celebrated in three countries: Cambodia in the morning, Vietnam on our layover, and Hong Kong when we got back home. Fun!

We knew we wanted to celebrate our wedding anniversary with a special night out, but we also knew I would be traveling for work on our (what we consider) “official” anniversary, where we exchange vows in front of our friends and family, so we celebrated early. For a wedding present a group of friends gave us a gift certificate to one of THE NICEST restaurants not just in Hong Kong, but in Asia. We are talking absolutely incredible food and experience. We hadn’t planned to wait a year to go, but with our travel schedules we weren’t left with many good dates to really enjoy it. And the closer it got to December, the better the idea to go for our anniversary seemed.

Our dinner at Amber was an incredible experience. It was totally indulgent and special, and we had such a nice evening reflecting on our wedding a year ago and everything we’ve done together since as a married couple. The food was exquisite and unlike anything I have every experienced before. We loved it. What a night!

Through our meal we talked a lot about our time in Mexico with our friends and family. It was such a special time to have so many people that we love gathered together. Spending the week with our closest friends and family was absolutely unforgettable. I can’t believe a year has flown by.

It wasn’t the anniversary we probably would have planned, but work is work, and it was totally fine to have our celebratory dinner a couple days early. We did squeeze in a little anniversary FaceTime while I was in Brisbane. Not quite the same as being together, but still great!

Our relationship has always been an adventure based on friendship and the shift to having a ring on my finger (and still trying to convince Braden to wear his!) has felt easy. It is a wild and enlightening adventure every day. I have found it really challenging to explain to friends and family what this experience – our decision to move to Hong Kong as we started our marriage – is like for us; I think this video perfectly captures the spirit of our past year and outlook moving forward. Click the blue link above to watch and enjoy!

I love the part in that video where he says, “the routine is the enemy of time; it makes time fly.” In many ways, this year has flown by. I can’t believe it’s almost been one year since Braden moved to Hong Kong. However, I can’t think of a year with more memories or specific days that stand out. Of course we have established our own routine here in Hong Kong, but I think we have done a pretty good job of interrupting our “life routine” by moving here and surrounding ourselves with a stimulating and exciting day to day experience. We are having so much fun discovering Hong Kong together and, as a result, discovering more about each other and our relationship.

Braden, it has been a fabulous 365 days of marriage and I love you how big is the world. I’ve loved you in Vancouver as we celebrated the first weeks of marriage before we moved. I’ve loved you as we have explored Wan Chai and got to know Hong Kong. I’ve loved you in the Philippines even though you insisted jumping off the 8m platform during our honeymoon. I’ve loved you in Singapore as we stumbled upon their 50  year anniversary military show – one month early, somehow. I’ve loved you even when we almost got mugged on a scooter in Malaysia. I’ve loved you even when you were covered in another man’s snot in Macau. I’ve loved you as we ate banana nutella crepes off a street cart in Thailand. I’ve loved you even though you made me run 10km in the frickin’ heat in Cambodia (more to come on that). And I’ve loved you every moment in between. Lucky for us the world is a big place, so loving you how big is the world won’t be hard.