Valentines Day Post

Well, I thought about posting the usual news and information that I always post...but at the last minute I have decided that perhaps that information can wait until another day - like tomorrow. Today is reserved for expressing love, so I will do my best…

Laura and I have been married for almost 8 months now. Of those 8 months, we have been here in Montana for over 6 of them. Now you have to understand when I was growing up I didn’t like being away from home. If I was away from home for more than two weeks I was getting VERY homesick. Part of that homesickness was my fault; mostly thinking that my friends would forget about me, especially two weeks for a child seems like half of an eternity. So when I found myself married and preparing to move I was a little surprised in myself – especially the fact that I was moving to a town I had never been to, a basement apartment we hadn’t seen, and we were moving everything on our own – no moving crew or U-haul, we were on our own. Looking back on the move we were exceptionally fortunate to make it here without any car trouble. Considering Laura was driving the Subaru and I was in the pick-up and we had everything we owned packed into the two cars, we had a recipe for disaster. The one thing about the move that stands out in my mind is on our second day, our trip from Cheyenne to Missoula. We left Cheyenne at 6:00 in the morning, twilight was just beginning and we had 800 miles to cover at a speed of 60-65 mph. I think it was the slow pace at which we traveled as we ventured down the Interstate to new places together, but with every passing mile I found myself thinking “every mile we travel this way, means another mile farther to get back home.” This thought sat a little heavy, but at the same time I could look ahead and see Laura driving along, a little scared and a little excited to see what was in store for us, and I knew we were doing everything together.

I think my point to my little story is that love can do strange things to people. Take me for instance, I was never leaving Kearney, never going to be too far away from home, actually if I could have had it my way I probably would have lived in the same house my entire life and been quite happy. So here I am 1,200 miles from home, not particularly enjoying the Missoula lifestyle, but defiantly enjoying who I get to spend my time with. So when it really boils down to it, I guess you can see it this way… Would I be happier in Nebraska, where things were ‘normal’ and without Laura OR would I be happier with Laura and be millions of miles from home?

I guess the answer is apparent.

Laura takes good care of me, she gives me a reason to get up in the mornings (even though I don’t want to wake up at the time) and she cooks every evening after she has been at the lab all day. I can’t ask for anyone better. Laura loves to be outdoors and go hiking, running, hunting, walking, geocaching, whatever we can find to do outside! Laura can put up with my fanatical crazes to have computers ripped apart and pieces lying all over the office area for days on end while I wait for a new part to arrive. She toughs out the cold and goes along when I want to go hunting, but don’t want to sit in the duck blind all day by myself. She always has a hug for me when we see each other after a long day or just a few hours. I think the thing that stands above them all is the fact that she can put up with me when I am 'weird' as she might say; being goofy and joking around. She gives me that look "you are the craziest person in the world" which I guess I would have to agree with on occasion. All and all, I am one lucky guy to have such a great friend and wife to be with me day in and day out. I LOVE LAURA! Happy Valentines Day!

Until again

-=Nolan=-