... and on. Things change.
I haven't posted anything since Marc's memorial, over two years ago. My life has continued on...
In October of 2008, Ania's K1 visa application was finally approved, and on December 29, 2008 she interviewed at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw. She was granted a fiancée visa, and on January 22, 2009, we both flew from Warsaw to Chicago. Despite a 4-hour delay, a missed connection to Albuquerque and one of the worst episodes of back pain I've endured, it was one of my proudest, happiest days. Finally, a moment I'd gone over literally hundreds of times in my head and heart was here - she was in! The surreality of getting off our final flight and getting into our car in the parking grage was intense. It was really over. But, like anything, one end is another beginning, and the flood of immigration bureaucracy was soon upon us. We weathered that storm too, and in May, Ania got her greencard. Phew!
We'll soon be spending our second St. Valentine's Day living together. We were married in a civic ceremony on March 20, 2009, which means our first wedding anniversary is quickly approaching (along with my 37th birthday, but I'm trying not to think of that).
I think it's safe to say that our first year as a married couple has worked out wonderfully. No such arrangement is without its little hiccoughs, but I dare say we've done well by each-other. Everything it took to make it possible was worth it.
Life feels "normal" now. Maybe too normal at times, as I've lately found myself floating through some winter doldrums. My body is showing signs of neglect, and I'm embarking on a course to change that. At nearly 37, it's not as easy as it used to be.
