Living Apart...

Hey everyone!

This post is kind of long overdue... but we must admit that things have been very busy and new in our lives lately!

First things first - we have our next adventure to add to our 'List'... we are living separately. It has been one week now, well more like 10 days that we have been apart and it feels EXTREMELY strange. It is so hard to describe, but it's just a unique situation and no one can really know how it feels unless you're a twin. Of course, things are fine, we're surviving and getting through it. We obviously knew that one day this would happen and that we wouldn't always live together - we do both want to have our individual lives and families in the future!! But, this separation and move came so quickly that we didn't have a ton of time to prepare for it. Who knows, maybe that's a good thing!

Here's how it happened:

Melissa got a job in Ottawa working for Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Basically, after going through interviews and tests starting in February, she finally got an email at the end of September asking her if she was interested in a position. Of course, she couldn't turn it down! So, in the midst of a family wedding, visitors and a crazy, busy household for about a week, she had to finalize an apartment, pack and then, move to Ottawa. Since I work part-time retail, and didn't have a job in Ottawa, it didn't make sense to move there too. I didn't want to follow and just go without any sort of income just to be there as well. So, with that decision, we ended up having to separate. And now, we're over a week in.

That's how it happened and how do we both feel about it? Well, that's a toughy. It was a rough drive home from Ottawa for me... I stayed an extra 2 nights and left Tuesday - which was nice to spend the extra couple days together, just the two of us, helping to set up the apartment and make it a little more cozy/homey (and also be the designated cable/internet person!).  But, that drive home alone was just that, lonely and quite teary. But, I knew this was a huge step for the two of us and that we would both get through it. I was so happy for Melissa to be starting a new job, a career job, with the government - what a proud sister I was! Even prouder maybe, that she managed to get on the right bus and make it there on her first day!! But on top of that, I was upset and sad for Melissa, knowing that she would get home from work every night and be alone. You see, we both didn't really know what it was like to be alone - that's what we'll admit to be one of the best things about being a twin - we never had to be alone. Until now - and it was hard at first. I was guilty leaving her behind as I was leaving her alone somewhere new, yet I was going back to somewhere familiar. Anyways, the amazing thing about cell phones is that we can easily communicate throughout the day and text or call whenever we want. This makes the separation that much easier! And for all of those people who thought we'd never get cell phones - well we're happy we did and use them non-stop now! Obviously, I have my moments...Just the other night driving home from work in the evening I was thinking to myself, I wish Melissa would be there when I got home to watch our nightly tv shows with... but she wasn't. It's moments like those that make you appreciate more the time that you do spend, in person, with someone, although texting is great, their presence is irreplacable. But, that's life, that's separation and that's a lesson that we're both really learning right now! This was bound to happen at some point and I know I'm proud of us both!

So, this is the next item on our 'List'. Unfortunately though, it feels like we've somewhat hit a 'road block' on our Drive as we haven't written in so long. We're sorry about this! We will be posting really soon about this 'road block' and detailing our next steps... so stay tuned! We're getting back on track now and are ready!