We've come a long way in 3 years

Today is our 3 year wedding anniversary and when I think about that beautiful day in St. Thomas, I am reminded of everything we've been through to get to where we are today. "Through sickness and in health" were the vows that choked me up because I knew that upon returning from our honeymoon, I would be starting chemotherapy. It was strange to feel like the happiest and luckiest woman alive but at the same time, scared out of my freaking mind. I knew we were going to embark on a journey that could possibly be one of the hardest in our lives and with the support of our family and friends, we made it - through 3 months of chemo, 3 surgeries, and countless crazy mood swings. Paul made me laugh when I needed it, hugged me when I didn't want it, and took vacation days with me when I was sad. That all seems like ages ago while at the same time it feels just like yesterday.

As I reflect on the last 10+ months, I am amazed at the places we've visited, the things we've seen, the cultures we've experienced, and the people we've met. I try to remind myself everyday, especially the travel days that require us to wake up at 4:30am or walk around for hours with our packs on looking for our hotel that we are incredibly lucky and blessed to have this opportunity to travel. Our bank account is dwindling but we are living our dream of traveling and seeing the world. And, if you asked me 3 years ago where I thought we would be and what I thought we'd be doing, traveling the world was far, far from it.

Deciding to leave New York to travel wasn't the easiest decision despite what some people may think. Leaving the comforts of the home we built and the money we saved was very hard, but breast cancer at the age of 32 changes your perspective. It's hard to believe that we left almost 11 months ago. When we set off on our journey across the States towards California, I really didn't know what to expect. I was scared and excited for what was in store for us. When we left the country in January, we only knew for sure we would be going to Fiji and New Zealand. The rest wasn't planned so we weren't sure exactly what countries we'd see. My goal was to at least make it to one country in Africa because it's somewhere I've always wanted to go (Paul's goal is to make it to Antarctica). We are currently in our 19th country, Ethiopia, and I'm just so happy that we've made it this far (I'm a bit behind in posting about India and the UAE but I will catch up soon).

We have at least a few more months on the road, if not more - Rwanda, Tanzania, Namibia, South Africa, and Brazil are all planned out and I can't wait to see what's in store for us. I'm thankful for so much in my life - most of all the best husband and travel partner a girl could ask for. To celebrate our anniversary, we'll be watching the video we played during our reception.

October 22, 2010

At The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas

Honeymoon in Barcelona was so much fun!

After eating at the best restaurant in Barcelona - Dontell

Barça - 5, Sevilla - 0

Family came to NY for Christmas in 2010 - this is one of my favorite pictures of me and my sister Lil with my bald head - many thanks to my brother-in-law, Anson for the great shot!

Bald head = fun with wigs!