I think this may be my profile picture for the rest of my life. The reason may seem obvious to some, but I assure you there's a lot more in that picture than the Mediterranean Sea and me looking good in the glow of the evening sun.
That trip to Greece was what I had planted in my head as a ten year old girl living in Newfoundland. I must have seen a picture and it looked as glorious to me all those years ago as it does today. But that is just the beginning of the story of my profile picture.
Barry and I had decided as a 20th anniversary gift to each other we would go to Europe. As we researched all the millions of things we wanted to see and do, we quickly realized it wouldn't be a trip like that. We didn't want to be running from one thing to the next, and I couldn't physically keep up to that pace even if we had wanted that. The more we looked into the Greek islands and the history of mainland Greece, the more intrigued we became. History mainly for Barry, and the islands for me, but were happy to accommodate the other. So it became a trip to Greece.
As we continued to research we found the picture I had in my mind's eye of Greece all those years ago. It was Santorini and in particular it was Oia. We found a place and booked it then planned the rest of our trip from there.
Barry and I would turn fifty within a year of each other during this time. The combination of that and our 20th anniversary was a perfect time to celebrate. As we planned the trip we also planned our youngest entrance to university. Being alone and empty nesters for the first time we had a beautiful distraction; we were going to Greece!
When I look at that picture of myself I do see the beautiful sea, the sun on my face and the glorious surroundings; but I mainly see a satisfaction and contentment of having accomplished some of life's important goals. Hadn't we raised two beautiful girls, who were both in university, we had a marriage that was solid enough to want to travel for three weeks alone together and we're looking forward to it. We each were turning fifty, with no midlife crisis in site. All of that despite living with me being an incomplete paraplegic and living with chronic pain. What you and I see in that picture is a woman satisfied with what life has dealt her; who has found a way to make it work. I'm happy with myself, the choices I have made in life and look forward to what is yet to come. That's why I love that picture, and the view isn't bad either!
That trip to Greece was what I had planted in my head as a ten year old girl living in Newfoundland. I must have seen a picture and it looked as glorious to me all those years ago as it does today. But that is just the beginning of the story of my profile picture.
Barry and I had decided as a 20th anniversary gift to each other we would go to Europe. As we researched all the millions of things we wanted to see and do, we quickly realized it wouldn't be a trip like that. We didn't want to be running from one thing to the next, and I couldn't physically keep up to that pace even if we had wanted that. The more we looked into the Greek islands and the history of mainland Greece, the more intrigued we became. History mainly for Barry, and the islands for me, but were happy to accommodate the other. So it became a trip to Greece.
As we continued to research we found the picture I had in my mind's eye of Greece all those years ago. It was Santorini and in particular it was Oia. We found a place and booked it then planned the rest of our trip from there.
Barry and I would turn fifty within a year of each other during this time. The combination of that and our 20th anniversary was a perfect time to celebrate. As we planned the trip we also planned our youngest entrance to university. Being alone and empty nesters for the first time we had a beautiful distraction; we were going to Greece!
When I look at that picture of myself I do see the beautiful sea, the sun on my face and the glorious surroundings; but I mainly see a satisfaction and contentment of having accomplished some of life's important goals. Hadn't we raised two beautiful girls, who were both in university, we had a marriage that was solid enough to want to travel for three weeks alone together and we're looking forward to it. We each were turning fifty, with no midlife crisis in site. All of that despite living with me being an incomplete paraplegic and living with chronic pain. What you and I see in that picture is a woman satisfied with what life has dealt her; who has found a way to make it work. I'm happy with myself, the choices I have made in life and look forward to what is yet to come. That's why I love that picture, and the view isn't bad either!
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