Flickr Favorites (week 12)

1. Life Saver rope macro, 2. Nova scotia light house Cape D'or, 3. New England Coast, 4. Nautical Abstract

This is a really important flickr favorite to me for two reasons. 1. I refrained from any and all yarn related objects. 2. It reminds me of the future.

So I know what you are thinking. Nautical photos remind you of the future? I'll explain: 

When I was a little girl I was convinced that I would one day live in a lighthouse. Not next to one, but in one. I was certain that it could be done, and I would be the one doing it. As I grew older I modified that dream to first living NEXT to a lighthouse, and finally living within view of a lighthouse. (though I must admit, given the chance I'd probably still live right next to one) 

I'm just a coast loving person. Not the hot tropical beaches of the south, but the New England coastal beaches up above. I have long since dreamed of the day when I could wake up smelling the salty sea. In fact about 3.5 years ago my then boyfriend (now husband) and I were gearing up to move from landlocked Pennsylvania to the coast of Connecticut. As soon as I earned that diploma we were heading north! And then it happened. 

We came back from our first vacation together and he got sick. Real sick. And I knew at once what happened. He lost complete use of his kidneys. 

At this point in our lives I lived on one side of the state, and he the other. While I drove the 6 hours to get to his bed side I thought a lot about my future. Our future. I thought about the little things. What kind of new diet would we be eating? How many pills a day will he need? I thought about bigger things. What would life would be like when he needed to get dialysis treatments 3 days a week for a minimum of 3 hours at a time? Will he get even sicker? Will he die? 

And I also knew that our dreams of a life by the sea were gone. He needed to stay with his doctors, and with his job that had flexible enough hours to adapt to his new life. 

And I am happy to report that life is quite good. Three and a half years later he is still waiting for a kidney transplant, but we enjoy local travels, and times with our two puppies. We eat most whatever we like (no pork, or grapefruit though!), and dialysis takes place so early in the morning that I am asleep and unaware of what is going on (him too most often!).

And while our futures as a 24 and 27 year old couple are slightly different from the average person, we often talk of the day when everything will be okay and we will get to live in our house by the sea. And sometimes that is all you need to make it through a difficult time.

Want to play along? Head on over to Mitsy's blog!