There's no place like home

 Week 3

Right on schedule hubby is starting to miss home and all things familiar to him. Although I understand and try not to take it personally sometimes it's hard. Especially when I think about all we went through to get him here. I've lived in both places and there are things I like about both places but this is my home. So I get it. There are plenty of things he likes about being here but at the end of the day there's no place like home. Here's a collage of pictures of both houses.  The top two are the house in the Dominican Republic and the bottom one is the house here in PA. 

Since I lived there with him for a period of time I knew ahead of time some of the things that would be different and more difficult for him to adjust to.  For example my neighborhood is very quiet. There is absolutely nothing quiet about the neighborhood there. The houses are very close together and everyone yells across the street to each other day and night. I can go weeks without seeing my neighbors close enough to speak to them.

My husband knows basically everyone in Puerto Plata. As he sat outside on our porch there was a constant stream of Dominican greetings. When I see my neighbor I honk my car horn and or wave. Occasionally we might ask how are you doing? Everyone stays in their houses or yards here.  He's always asking me where are the people when we drive down the streets here.  He's accustomed to more people being on the streets, literally walking along the roads etc. 

So week three was a difficult week for us both. As he's been getting more comfortable in the house my comfort zones have been challenged. I'm a bit anal or obsessive compulsive about how things should be so I've had to work through some things.  I've given up on my living room not being lived in as it seems to be his favorite place to hang out.  Thank goodness we learned how to communicate during the pandemic because we are both works in progress as I like to say.  Although at times we face challenges or have differences of opinions we still find a way to talk through things eventually to resolution. 

This past weekend we went on another road trip.   We went to visit my family in Maryland and we also did a mini tour of Washington, DC with a brief visit to Virginia due to a wrong turn LOL. We visited Black Lives Matter Blvd and got as close to the White House as they allow right now.  Here's a picture of us by the White House. 

He also got a chance to visit with a friend of his from his hometown who now lives in Maryland very close to my family.  Our road trip was a success and I love how happy is always is to return home.

Let's see what week #4 will bring. Stay tuned friends for more from team Martinez.

Milestones

 Week #2

The most important thing we did this past week was take communion together for the first time since we've been married.  Although it was done virtually it was still very special. Although he doesn't understand everything he listens to my pastors sermons and  he says that he can tell that he's a very dynamic and impactful pastor.  All of which is very true.

We're settling in to an offbeat rhythm.  I say off beat because there's still so much to figure out in this process. Big changes for us both and we both knew it wouldn't be all rainbows and unicorns. We're both making adjustments and trying to find our new normal.  Of course there's some frustrations at times on both our parts but we do still talk through things and try to compromise or just agree to disagree.  He's already working which I think is helping a lot. He is accustomed to being very active. Sitting around the house all day isn't his thing.

Since he's been here the weather has been a bit bipolar. We've been as low as the 40's and as high as the 90's. All within a 14 day timespan.  In general he's cold no matter what the temperature is outside because when it's hot outside I have the air on in the house. In this picture it was actually 90 degrees outside and he's dressed in long pants and long sleeve shirt.  On this particular day we ventured out to the local park and also rode around the neighborhood a bit.  He actually drove which was pretty scary for me lol. If you've ever been to the Dominican Republic you know that lanes, stop lights and signs mean absolutely nothing there.  He's got a lot to learn about how we drive here. 

Last week was the last week for the parenting classes which are facilitated by Life Esteem.  I work as the site coordinator there and hubby went along with me the last night to help me get the site shut down for the summer. It was nice to have him there cheering me on from the sidelines as I cleaned (rolls eyes) BUT he did take the trash out for me. 

There are so many little things to take care of but things are moving along. I was pleasantly surprised that his SS Card arrived 10 days after he did. Wow that was fast.  We opened our first joint account another milestone for us.  Our first overnight trip this past weekend.  We went to Kalahari in the Poconos for my grandson's birthday.  It was quite the adventure.  I think we were both a little overwhelmed by the number of people there and nobody was wearing masks. He was pleasantly surprised to find that there were many Spanish speaking guests and workers there.  We actually met a young man who just arrived here in the USA the same day Raulin did. Neither of us was comfortable participating in any of the waterpark activities. He did enjoy himself in the arcade though.  All in all it was a good trip but we were both happy to be back home. 

He continues to be shocked by how expensive things are here.  We finally made it to the cell phone store to figure his phone out.  Fortunately we were able to just get him a new phone number and didn't have to buy a new phone.  The one he has is only a couple of months old.  We did have to buy a new screen protector and he had sticker shock when he saw the prices.  

I think this week he really started to miss home a little more.  I know how he feels.  There are so many little things that you never really thought about before that you miss once they're gone.  So many little things that we take for granted in life.  

This past week had some challenges but we figured things out. Our next adventure will be this coming weekend. We're going to Maryland to visit my family there.  Stay tuned for more from the Martinez's 

 

He's finally here YAY!!!

 Written on May 28th, 2021

Today is the beginning of something new and exciting in my life.  For the past 907 days I have been alive, but I have not been living.  Each day I would wake up and thank God for allowing me to see another day and then I would also pray that this would be the day that would change everything. 907 days ago was the date of our first interview at the embassy for my husbands visa. The process had moved smoothly up until this point.  We were prepared and my expectation was that I would return to the United States for the Christmas holiday with my husband by my side. As it turns out we would spend our 2^nd Christmas as a married couple apart. Our thought at the time is that it would only be this one Christmas apart and we could handle it.  As it turns out we have missed three Christmas’, 2 anniversaries and some birthdays too.

Until you wake up everyday with the hope that this would be the day only to sit on the side of the bed each night disappointed you could not understand this pain. Although I had 907 disappointing days, I still remained prayerful that the answer will come the next day.  About a year and a half ago I had a breakthrough. I knew that there was a purpose in my wait. I made peace with it and my prayers became different.  Each day I still thanked God for allowing me to have another day and I continued to remind myself that in the end his will would be done, whatever that was.  My prayer was that he give me the strength to endure whatever the answer was.  I prayed for strength and peace.

I didn’t recognize it at the time, but my prayers were answered on a regular basis.  Whenever I felt too weak to carry on somehow, I found the strength.  In the middle of so many terrible storms I found peace.  Now being reunited with my husband is the ultimate peace.  I honestly did not realize how heavy the burden was of us being separated.  I feel at least 25 pounds lighter now (if only the scale reflected that too LOL)

He’s finally here and it’s difficult to put into words how I feel.  I’m so very happy and he is excited also.

What’s next?  Stay tuned for more.

A new journey begins

 So he's finally here, like right here in the house with me. OMG I'm so happy, I feel so blessed. I've been smiling a lot and staring at him like a creep LOL.  I find myself wondering, is this real or am I dreaming?

Okay so it's real because  my space has been invaded BUT this is a welcomed intruder AND I've been mentally preparing for this for the past three years.  We've lived together before so he's familiar with my crazy BUT I fear that  my United States crazy is a little different than my Dominican Republic crazy.  I guess time will tell.  I will say that the wait and what we've been through the past year has given me an entirely different perspective on life in general.  There are so many things that I've decided to just let go because it's just not worth the fight. I feel that we've lost so much time waiting for this journey that I don't want to waste any minutes on things that just don't matter.  Sure there will be disagreements, there always are but we will figure it out. 

1 week in.....

So things are going well for the most part. I'm sure he's experiencing a lot more newness and discomfort than I am right now.  I am trying my best to be sensitive to that. Although we lived together before it's different here because for example he's an early bird. He is always up by 7 am.  I like to sleep until at least 8 when I don't have to work.  This was not an issue when I was there because he could get up and go and do whatever he wanted and leave me alone to sleep.  Here it's a bit different. He can't go anywhere yet and he's still learning the house and how things work so he kinda needs me to be up and assisting him.

A funny to share.  I have a pocket door in my bathroom. Apparently he's never experienced a door that slides side to side versus push or pull.  So he went into the bathroom and I closed the door behind him.  When he was ready to exit he couldn't figure out how to open the door.  After rolling around on the bed laughing hysterically for a minute or so I finally helped him and opened the door. 

Many things are different, door knobs, light switches and faucets all work a little differently here. The first few days were a little dicey but one week in and I think he's mastered all of those things.  His absolute favorite thing, besides me of course is the shower. He likes the different settings for the water and also being able to change the temperature of the water is new for him.

The first time he saw a rabbit in the yard was pretty funny as well. He knows what they are but was surprised to see so many of them hopping around the yard.  He turns to me and says "Bueno comida". I laugh and say "No we don't eat those here, well at least not in this house.". He's also pretty amazed by the squirrels.  I'm not sure he's seen those before of if he's just surprised at how many there are.  He enjoys watching them chase each other around the yard. 

He loves the house in general but especially the enclosed patio and the deck off of the master bedroom. Those seem to be his favorite places to be when he's not watching the NBA finals. 

He has already started working and  he has started one official home improvement project, painting the deck.   

He has plans to do many other things around the house and I am all for it. The house is in decent shape but could use a little TLC. 

On Memorial Day we had a few family members over and cooked out on the grill.  It was so nice having a real grill master here instead of me trying to do it all.  

I'm still floating on cloud nine and am looking forward to an enjoyable summer season with my hubby here with me.  One our first planned outings is coming up next week.  We are going to a waterpark for my grandsons birthday.  Stay tuned for more from the Martinez's.