JOINED AT THE HIP

Art and I like to tell everyone that we’re now joined at the hip. This is partly because I don’t drive in Italy, so where ever I want to go, Art has to drive me. Of course the fact that it’s just the two of us also forces us to spend most, if not all, of our time together. As we talked about this the other night, we realized that our move to Italy isn’t really the cause of this situation.

When we were working, both of us had strange hours. I usually worked from 5 a.m. until around 10 a.m. Art worked at the Post Office from 5 or 6 a.m. until early afternoon, then he usually went to work at the track. Sometimes, depending on the time of year, he would come home for a few hours, usually to take a nap before going to work around five p.m. Although the track started out as a seasonal job, over the years it turned into a full time one. Art never seemed to mind…he always said that working at the track wasn’t like working at all.

If he wasn’t’ working late at the track, we were usually in bed before 9 p.m. This was mostly because of me…I need at least eight hours of sleep, and nine hours is really my preference. Although I’m really a night owl by nature, having to get up at 4 a.m. just forced me to go to bed at a reasonable hour.

Art was always able to get by on much less sleep than I. I honestly don’t know how he managed all those years, especially when he had to drive long distances in the dark while he was still half asleep. I think if left to his own devices, he would have stayed up much later than 9 p.m. Of course I would have found him asleep on the couch, but he would have put up a good fight.

The reason that he went to bed so early was because it’s something we’ve always done. Because Art worked so much, we always tried to spend as much time together as possible, even if we were just sleeping.

Also due to our weird schedules, we had no social life. We went to the movies in the afternoon on the day Art was off from the track. Because of my schedule, I was able to get all my running around done in the afternoon. I could go to the grocery, stop by Target, visit my mom, whatever I needed to do. For some reason I have never liked going out at night after supper, even to go to the grocery. My schedule gave me lots of free time without having to miss spending time with Art.

So even if we weren’t exactly joined at the hip while we lived in the states, we did spend almost every free minute together. I never went out with the girls for the evening, and Art never stopped off to have a beer with the guys. When we had the chance to be together, it just seemed natural that we would take it.

Amazingly, we still feel the pull and the attraction to each other. Now we have a history together. We’ve shared so much over these past sixteen+ years. Art introduced me to Hawaii and Florida. I showed him around England. Over the years we’ve visited about sixteen states and have explored sixteen countries together. Every trip has been an adventure, every moment a wonderful memory.

Maybe this is why we haven’t had too much trouble adjusting since we’ve moved. Maybe we’ve been preparing for this move all along. The fact that we’ve been so in synch with each other every step of the way can’t just be luck….we must have been destined to be together…soul mates from previous lifetimes who finally found each other again. Isn’t it wonderful when your best friend can also be your spouse?

Friday will be our fifteenth wedding anniversary. We’ll celebrate in grand style by going to Ternana’s for a pizza. We probably won’t be able to have gelato because Stefania’s may still be closed for the winter, but I think we can come up with some other ideas for dessert…..