Losing Kate

Everyone thought we were crazy when my husband and I said that we wanted to do a Christmas Honeymoon in Ireland. They wondered why we didn’t go somewhere warm. Why we didn’t go somewhere all inclusive. Why we didn’t go somewhere where the sun was in the sky past 5:00PM.

The answer is that we are in fact a little crazy, and even more sick of the warm south weather. With that said, we didn’t have the typical honeymoon experience, or even the honeymoon we expected.

We had both envisioned idyllic landscapes dotted with sheep, reading in cozy sweaters, and nights in pubs full of live music.

While we did get the sheep and the sweaters (even if I did damage my new sweater in a moment of carelessness and Bailey’s on the rocks), it wasn’t relaxing.

We had to rent a car because to really explore the country, you need to be able to travel down dirt roads through scenic drives. The more rural parts of the country were also mostly shut down for the off season and the various holidays.

So there were no cozy coffee shop reading sessions. Not many leisurely strolls through shops to browse for knick-knacks. And there were a couple meals made out of rushed grocery store runs.

But I think what we got was more valuable to us.

I have been with my now-husband for four years, and he is and has been my best friend since we started dating. We’ve been through the real shit, but he has always made it better.

Our relationship began with us having to adapt to things that weren’t ideal. And we did that on our honeymoon too.

It wasn’t ideal that the plane was a boiling tin can on the flight in. It wasn’t ideal that I was sick for the first two days. It wasn’t ideal that we arrived at 5:00 AM on Christmas Eve.

But it was fun, and adventurous, and romantic, and special.

It was our honeymoon. And it will always be one of my favorite trips.

I wanted this to be perfect, but now I’m glad it wasn’t. Even though I married the perfect husband, we will never be perfect people, and we will never have perfect lives. But we are good people, and we lead good lives.

There is very little we can count on in life, but after traveling with my husband, I know I can count on him to make the mishaps enjoyable.