In the beginning of our courtship (I feel so old using that term but don’t know what else to call it!), Domenick and I were still living in separate states, with a six hour drive between us. We tried our best to see each other as often as we could, though it never felt like we were getting enough time together! As time passed, we realized that to live out our relationship in the way we felt God leading, it was time to live in the same city after almost a year apart. As hard as it was, I quit my job, packed up my things in a moving truck, and Dom drove it from my parents’ house in Grand Blanc, MI six hours to Kenosha, WI.
Left: My sister Allie and Domenick with our first of many things in the moving truck; Right: Dom and me on a walk by the lake right after moving to Kenosha
It was April and I moved into the cutest, coziest one bedroom apartment in downtown Kenosha. I loved it SO much and still kind of wish I could visit it every now and then. It was situated within walking distance to Lake Michigan and cute downtown restaurants. I decided that it was time for me to put my college degrees to work, now that I had so many extra expenses (like rent, utilities, and food, compared to living at home like I had been!). I landed a teaching job at St. Anthony High School teaching freshmen English. And being that that job didn’t start until August and I was here now (April), I worked retail full time at Anthropologie.
There were so many fun, hard, and exciting changes throughout this time, but the best was being able to live more intentionally in my relationship with Domenick. I wasn’t going to uproot my whole life for just anyone. It was made clear to me months before the move that he was “the one.” This wasn’t a secret in our relationship either. There was a lot on the line for both of us in terms of his career and my big move- as I previously mentioned, we both (together and separately) went through intense discernment of where God was calling us personally before we started dating. And because of this, after we had been dating for just a short time I felt so affirmed that he was it and this was it and so what was I waiting for, let’s move to Wisconsin! So I did. And once I got here I kinda just felt like…so, when are we getting married?
Ready to read what happened next? Here’s Part VII!
[…] The summer before I started my first year of teaching, I worked in retail— at Anthropologie, to be exact. And as most Anthro-lovers reading this are currently thinking, yes– I mostly did it for the discounts! If you’ve set foot inside Anthropologie before, you know that there’s many things about its ambiance that really inspire and cultivate a sense of art in what you’re looking at. The textures of the clothes, the scent of Blue Volcano wafting as you pass by, the art fixtures the visual directors just finished installing– it’s no wonder many people akin Anthro to a museum of sorts! […]