One year together

Today is the 1st anniversary of MM and YY living together. A year ago, we met at Chicago airport and continued our trip together to Australia.

I still remember that moment of reunion. MM sat there facing toward window--it was not too difficult to find him--he is big and fuzzy and he also carried an old-fashioned umbrella, something he couldn't fit in his luggage. My body flooded with relief and happiness the moment I saw him. Instead of screaming and jumping onto him, I managed to calm myself down and patted his shoulder from behind and said, "Good Day, Mate!"

I don't think he picked up my Aussie greeting. Didn't bug me. We were together after all and nothing could bug me anymore!

We maintained a long-distance relationship for about two years before that reunion point. It was so hard that I decided to do whatever it took to be with MM when I got my PHD, even that means I had to be jobless/a desperate housewife. In the end it was MM who bit the bullet--he quit his tenured professorship and gave up his within-reach US Green Card...

MM claimed he was tired of being an academic and he wanted to do something different for life. I claimed it was just mid-life crisis. But deep-down I am grateful for his sacrifice. I do complain about my life being a trader's partner sometimes, but I have to admit, I admire his courage of trying something new in his 40s and I love him more for his bravery.

MM does talk about getting a full-time or part-time consulting job these days. We'll see. I wonder what our life will be like a year from now. That is probably the best part in life: to wait and to hope.