Our Second Guamiversary

The calendar has somehow already rolled around again to the middle of July, meaning Nick and I have officially called Guam home for two years now! Each year on our Guamiversary, I have reread the very first post I wrote on Peyt's Island, First 24 Hours in "Paradise". Especially now as Nick and I are beginning to create our exit plan, it's fun to read those first impressions and to marvel at all of the things I didn't know then that are so much a part of me now. 

Our two years on Guam have far surpassed my expectations. Our initial hopes for choosing to go there was to spend more time together, to escape deployment (that was my goal, at least!), to take a few trips, and to do a lot of diving. On the diving front, Nick and I just got our Rescue Diver certification cards in the mail... (so I guess now we are certified to rescue each other). I was asked to write up a review of my Top 12 Best Dives on Guam for the Guam Guide, making great use of the many awesome photos Nick has taken over the past few years. I so love that the walls of our home are decorated in these breathtaking images of fascinating underwater creatures. Each colorful image has a back story of a time and place that only Nick and I know about when we see it. They are pieces of creation that the two of us discovered together in our own underwater fantasyland.

In terms of traveling... let me just say holy crap! I am so amazed at all of the incredible places in this part of the world we have been able to see, both separately and together. When we first moved to Guam, the only places I for sure had to go were Japan, Palau, and The Philippines. Tokyo ended up being my very first trip, and coincidentally where I am writing you from right now (yes, I got to go back!). Palau turned out to be my all-time favorite place of anywhere I have ever been any time ever (yes, it was that awesome). And the Philippines originally made the list because that's where I thought Nick would be going for work trips. Well, that changed as soon as he started his new job (he was assigned to India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka), and it turns out The Philippines is where I ended up going for trips with my job. Many of you know my experience in Manila and the road to get there proved to be a far more life changing experience than I ever imagined. In addition to my top 3 destinations list, I have also been able to explore countries I couldn't even have located on a map before, like Singapore and Saipan. I hiked the Great Wall of China and even touched down in North Korea (thankfully only for a few minutes!). 

In addition to traveling, Guam has afforded us the opportunity to have some incredible visits with friends and family that never would have been possible in the States. Both my dad and Nick's stepdad got SCUBA certified so they could dive with us here! My sister and I painted an entire mural together! Nick's brother got a passport and did his first overseas flight ever to come see us! We've had another handful of close friends come our way to see this place for themselves (thank you Annie, Jenny, April, Mary & Annika!). Each visit has been so special, so meaningful. It has brought so much joy to Nick and me to share the island with a familiar face and know we have stories to tell about this place together once we are Stateside again. 

While at our core we are very much the same people we were when we arrived here two years ago, it is remarkable how much we have grown in these 24 months. Together we have faced some of the highest highs (skydiving! babies in Manila!) and the lowest lows (pneumonia, unexpected tragedies and family funerals). Both categories have challenged our faith and forced us to redefine who we are and what lies ahead for us.

I could go on and on about the many ways our story has been richly blessed and shaped these past two years. But at the end of the day, at the end of that list, the most wonderful part of Guam for me has been the irreplaceable time that Nick and I have spent together, just being us. Whether it was taking the boat out on an adventure to discover new diveable seas, or hiking through the jungle to explore caves and climb mountains, or a lazy Sunday afternoon playing golf after church... Guam has been the perfect setting for us to spend our free time in wreckless escape. In May Nick and I hit the eleven-year mark of life spent together, although few of those eleven years were actually spent together. I am so grateful that during very much of these past two years (often for months at a time!) we were able to return at the end of the day to share space under the same roof at the same dinner table. It may have taken moving to the other side of the world to make it happen, but I would travel twice that far again if that's what it would take to recreate this sanctuary. 

Pop quiz... what does this sunset cloud look like??

When the winds of change breezed through last year, they diverted our eyes not back to where we came from, but on to a new arena to begin a new chapter. We know not what the future holds for us in Virginia Beach, but I'm not worrying about that now. There will be time for that later, just as there is a season for everything. But right now, this is the season to savor... our home... our island... our days spent together. I am certain that on the other side of our two years in Guam we will be blessed with even more moments of joy and triumph together. But I know there will always be a special place in my heart for this precious time of exploration and contentment and togetherness. All made possible by this little place I so precisely on our first day called paradise.

Paradise, indeed :)