Friday, May 29, 2009

Two Years

This weekend marks the two-year anniversary of when Ibis and I moved to Zihuatanejo and into our condo. When I say I never thought we'd be here that long, that's a mild understatement. We assumed all along that we'd be in Mexico for a year and a half, maybe two years, but when we moved to this town, Ibis had already been in Mexico for six months and me for three.

We've had some amazing experiences since moving here -- enough to fill a book or two, some might say -- and I know we'll take those memories with us wherever we end up. I just really hope we can move on to the memory portion of the deal soon. I'm ready for a change.

A question for you: is there a time period or event in your life that you knew -- while it was happening -- that it would forever influence your life?

We have our nephew again for the weekend so I may not get to your comments as quickly today, and I'll probably skip posting for tomorrow.

22 comments:

Amy Sue Nathan said...

I moved around when married, mostly knowing the stops were temporary. I always figured I was lucky to live somewhere else besides where I grew up since my entire extended family never left there. I knew each place would impact me, as much for the experience of being somewhere new as for the people that would pass through my life, albeit briefly.

Penguin said...

Yep, all of my life.
Well there was this one time in Colorado that was just so much fun that I cannot compare it to anything as it makes all the rest of the things I have done seem so small.
Shame you had to leave so soon on that trip, I really was having lots of fun.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Amy, I've moved a lot throughout my life and I'm definitely a stronger person because of it (I make friends easily, for instance) but this stretch is getting ooooooooold.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

LOL! That WAS a fun trip! I'm just glad you didn't make me snowboard there.

Penguin said...

You would not have gotten a headache.
Personally I think you would have had an easier time learning, and had a softer landing when you made a mistake.

erica m. chapman said...

I can't believe you've been there 2 years. Wow. Let's hope you get to the next stage in your life soon.

Great question!

My husband and I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina when he graduated college (I had 6 credits to go, I later took them and graduated), stupid move because we had no jobs and only $1,000, but somehow we made it for over 2 years, then I missed my sister and wanted to move back; so we did. While in NC I went through a deep depression and that changed my life forever.

Another key worthy move was when we moved back to Battle Creek, Mi. I was unemployed and started writing my first book... It's funny how things work out.

Have a great time with your nephew :)

Erica

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Penguin, perhaps. Ibis LOVED snowboarding in Tahoe -- he said it was so much better than in the Midwest (obviously...).

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Erica,

(gah, I just realized I was calling you Erin the other day -- that's what happens when you go by initials -- sorry!)

I can totally relate to what you went through. I'll just leave it at that. :)

This move got me writing again, so for that reason alone I will never regret it.

JLC said...

Moving away from home after my mom passed away. It was the first real act of independence. (I just turned 20)

JLC said...

Have a great time with your nephew! :D

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Turkey, that's HUGE. I'm sure nothing was the same after that.

erica m. chapman said...

Oh no worries Melanie, I don't think I put my name on here. When I signed up for google I didn't think I would use it much... LOL my bad. :)

It's crazy what gets you to write isn't it? sSomething like moving or being unemployed for a long period of time... Fate works in mysterious ways :)

Erica

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Yes it does.

And thank you for not hating me. I'm so embarrassed.

erica m. chapman said...

Oh man. I think I feel worse than you. I didn't mean to make you embarrassed... Really no biggie at all :) You are such a nice, cool, person. I would never want you to feel bad about something like that.

Enjoy your weekend!

Er

Robin said...

I so hope this "little stint" ends soon.

I lived in North Carolina with my husband before we got married, while I was in med school. That was a huge eye opener for me. I'm originally from Boston, and I had a snotty easterner mentality. That was shot down pretty damn quickly!

Nadine said...

For influencing my life, moving to Hawaii was pretty huge since I'd never been more than an hour away from home, including when I went to college.

I knew by going on this adventure I would never be the same (in a good way).

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Robin, going to school first in Maryland and then Virginia after living in Michigan my whole life was quite a switch too. I'm glad you got your snootiness knocked out of you -- I like you the way you are. :P

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Nadine, to me your move was scarier than mine because I at least knew mine was coming. Yours was pretty spontaneous, no?

It's amazing how much these adventures can change our lives, isn't it?

colbymarshall said...

yes...and it's the years I'm going through right now. I've branched out into things I've always wanted to d and met some incredible people, and I just know I'll always remember where I'm at now.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Colby, I think it's cool when people can recognize that their current condition/status/whatever is impacting their future and shaping who they are. So many people get caught up in reaching for the future that they don't stop and see what's going on today.

Jen said...

Hey, Mel! You know, as soon as I started reading this post, I started laughing. Because my newest short has at *least* two instances of alliteration in it (and I've got less than 2k words). All I need is a little onomatopeia, and I'm all set. LOL!

Is there some sort of Alliterators Anonymous we should join?

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Jen, did you mean to comment on this post? Anyway...

Now that it's on my mind, I'm sure I'll find a lot more instances of alliteration. It's just too ingrained in me not to appear here and there.

Someone suggested an AAA -- but I forget what the letters all stand for, lol.