the sound of green

Beth reads all of my posts before they go live. It’s not something that has always been the case, but of late I’ve either handed my laptop to her, or sat her down at my desk to gauge her thoughts before I hit post. I’m not even entirely sure why I do it – it’s not like anything I’m writing oversteps boundaries, or over shares any information in our marriage. But after two and a bit years of marriage, I’ve gotten used to getting her opinion on things.

Our relationship is something that from the outside may seem a bit quirky, but it’s the most special thing to me. We have our own way of doing things, our individual way of journeying through life together, that sometimes makes others scratch their heads. But they don’t know us as well as we do, and they have every insight into how we function.

Eight months after our wedding, we headed down to Inverloch with my family for a few days away – an attempt to reclaim some form of a family holiday. We shacked up in a beach town during the middle of winter – not smartest of ideas, to be entirely honest, but the heater kept us warm. I remember waking up each morning before Beth and reading out in the lounge, leaving her to sleep in peace. When she did wake, I made our breakfast, and we ate together.

I remember my Mum looking at me as I made breakfast each morning, not entirely understanding what was going on. Whether it was bemusement, or trying to figure out just how we worked, I distinctly remember thinking that no matter what she was thinking, she didn’t know our relationship’s dynamic. We have our own way of doing things, we have our own method of going about life. If that’s different to everyone else or not, I don’t care. It’s what gets us through.

Recently we’ve both been noticing how we have a tendency to say the same thing at the same time when in a group of people. Sometimes it’s a reaction to something that’s happen, or an (attempted) witty comment. It’s happened enough times of late that now we laugh at it. Before we tied the know, It may have been a sure fire sign that we spent too much time together. Now, I see it happening and I’m proud. I’m proud we get to spend so much time together. I’m proud we enjoy each other’s company so much that we still want to hang out with each other every day. I’m proud of the way we live our life.

A colleague of mine commented for a while about how she loved that Beth and I take off together, whenever we can. Whether it be a week on the beach, some time with friends interstate, or just a night in a hotel, we grab any chance to stay somewhere new with both hands. My colleague commented how she loved that we both prioritised going away together, and did it as much as we could, both in financial and scheduling sense. It is one of my favourite things to do with Beth – to the point where we’ll drive two hours to have lunch in a restaurant in Portarlington.

Time together is something that doesn’t grow old. I work from home each afternoon, sharing my work hours almost equally between the office, and our study – and I love the fact that I get to be home with Beth during the afternoons. She works from home as well, and although we may not be constantly talking, there is something about sitting in the same space as my wife that gives me a peace. The ability to work from home is something that I am unimaginably grateful for – and I’m sure that will only grow as Bop is born, and we begin the next journey together.

I’ve often claimed that I would love to be a stay at home dad. I would love to be around as much as I can with our kids when they are growing up (yes, I said kids. We want more than one!). And what I once thought was going to be a lofty dream, a reality only if we put off having kids until we were in a place where I could work for myself, we find ourselves in the situation where it’s as close to being a reality as we could ever ask an employer for. Safe in the knowledge that my afternoons will be spent being on-hand to help Beth with Bop, I am all the more excited for this baby of ours to be born. And all the more excited to be with Beth as we go through it all.

We thrive on time together. It’s how we function. It’s why I’ve grown so used to having her around, and all that she brings to everything in my life. She helps me dealing with clients. She gives me input on designs for work. She helps me schedule shoots both for work and for James Burke Photography. She critiques every wedding I shoot, and that is something that continues to grow and stretch me as a photographer, and to make me strive to be better at my craft. She bounces ideas off me, and I bounce my ideas off her. We talk, plan, and dream together. We discuss issues that come up on the website we’re both a part of. She even laughs at how tacky and lame certain Wii games can be while I’m playing them. That’s why she reads my posts. Because I love her insights, love her thoughts, and love that it’s one more thing that we do together.