It was one year ago today...

I moved to DeKalb.

Tim and I had spent the day before packing the truck, my brothers nowhere to be found. We'd had dinner at Vincent's Pizza Park, then back to his place for a few hours sleep before driving overnight to my new home.

It'd been a month since I'd seen Julie, and I missed her so much. When we got off 88, we stopped at the store where she worked and she was so happy to see me. We got there earlier than expected. She still had to work, while Tim and I went to my new home.

Tim grabbed a few hours sleep on the couch while I took Cory to the store to get a gift for his girlfriend. I was still running on pure adrenaline and wouldn't crash for another 12 hours. By the time we got back, Julie was off work, and her and the rest of the troops were there to unload everything. What took me a day to load, just the two of us, everyone got done in a matter of hours.

The party that night at Fatty's was a great time.

In the year since I've moved here, there have been a number of firsts. Julie and I watched the first African-American President elected. We celebrated our first Christmas and New Years together. I was there for the birth of Julie's first grandchild. I made her eggs (something I have no stomach for) for breakfast, cooking them for the first time. I got a job after being out of work for a year and a half.

I buried my mother.

Even today, we still have firsts, although, as Julie said, those firsts are fewer and farther between. I made her muffins yesterday, for her lunch at work, and I've never made muffins before.

There's still so many more things we have to do. Cory and Hailey's graduations. Jessica and Brad's wedding. Our wedding. Moving...somewhere.

There will be good times, but there will also be bad ones. Her cat, Rico Suave, one of the finest models I've had the good fortune to photograph, is dying, and will likely be put down tomorrow. It's better than his suffering, I know, but it won't be easy on Julie. I will be there with her, by her side, as we say goodbye to one stubborn cat.

I hope there are many, many more good times than bad ones. The future is still wide open ahead of us, but for now...it's just been one year.