It's been a busy year (literally I think it's over a year from my last update) sooo what's changed?
I guess, pretty much everything.
Last year, around this time Baros and I traveled to Turkey together for the first time. I got to meet his parents in person and we celebrated Baros' and his father's birthdays in person all together. I got to see his home town and the absolute beauty that is Istanbul. We took a mini vacation within our vacation and spent a few days in Bodrum, otherwise known as a peaceful haven on the Mediterranean.
After getting back, I interviewed for a promotion and got it! So I'm the Team Lead of my amazing squad at work. It's been crazy and busy and hectic but very worth it. It's probably a lot of the reason I stopped updating the blog because I was just working a lot and adjusting to my new position and all the demands that came with it.
6 weeks of training with the visiting Italians. Eventually, I'd like to go train with them in Italy. But I suppose it will have to wait for the moment until the world calms down.
We traveled down the shore to spend time with my Mom a few times over the summer. We went to Philly to visit Andrea and Inch.
We celebrated Burak's birthday with a mellow visit. We won some Broadway tickets so he could see his first musical with Baros.
I low key celebrated my birthday. Honestly, it was so low key I barely remember what I did. At work, they surprised me. Baros got me beautiful roses and somehow I got even more lucky. I won tickets to see Phantom of the Opera on my birthday.
I went to the Renaissance Faire twice. Once with Baros, Ang and a friend. And once with Jeremy and co. I love the spirit and fun loving atmosphere and can't wait to go back. The costumes and camaraderie are incredible.
Halloween was fun. I was a mermaid at work and organized a costume contest! When I made it home, I de-mermaidified and we watched Hocus Pocus. Unfortunately the weather was just crap so we couldn't go out. I probably remember this because Halloween has always been my favorite holiday.
Thanksgiving was fun. We spent Thanksgiving day with my brother's girlfriend's family. We ate too much and had great conversation. It was weird not hosting but lovely just the same. And then the next day Mom made Thanksgiving anyway. She can't help herself.
December was busy. We threw Andrea a surprise Baby Shower at mom's! It was small but so much fun. We told Andrea it was an early Christmas lunch and actually succeeded at surprising her. We "showered" her with love and food and unicorns! (Well, Jeremy supplied the unicorns, but they were there).
We spent Christmas at home since I worked on Christmas Eve and chilled out with Baros' brother, Burak.
New Year's Eve was also spent at home with the boys, but we made a feast and watched the ball drop with Raki and delicious foods. At midnight, Burak and I jumped on the couch like kids! It was already broken so all was well.
January was mellow.
February was hard. So very hard to process.
It started off well enough, searching for apartments and just being us. But then, Baros' mom passed away and I don't know where the rest of February went. It was unexpected and shocking and just about the most difficult thing I've dealt with.
There were tears and sadness and anger and confusion. We found out on Sunday and flew to Turkey Monday.
We made it to Istanbul at 7am Tuesday morning and walked into a living room of memories drenched in sadness and regret. We jumped into funeral arrangement and went to the morgue. We said our goodbyes and navigated family and friends. For me, all was done with minimal understanding because my Turkish is just not good enough. I was the hugger, the arm, the person watching facial expressions trying to be in the right place at the right time, to not be in the way.
We went just about 38 hours without sleeping. To the point that I was falling asleep while standing up.
It was a difficult week with trips to the cemetery and difficult/impossible good byes. Anaconda (Nuran) will be missed everyday. She was a wonderful person who's life was too short. There was still so much we wanted to share with her.
The rest of February was nothing. Just living.
March was crazy. We started the moving process. We took the whole month to move our tiny apartment to a larger place in the same town. It was back and forth. We walked about 75% of our belongings and got help from my mom and our friends Ernesto and Bihter.
We stubbornly folded our mattress in half and walked it across West New York. We built 10 pieces of Ikea furniture! We still love each other through it all! <3
And through it all, Corona started sneaking into our lives more regularly. It was on the news. Suddenly, restrictions popping up. Listening to talk of Pandemics. Public Transit changing schedules. New Jersey and New York practically shutting down except for Essential businesses. Working from home. Unpacking. Organizing. Trying to pretend it's just a vacation. But people are dying and there's nothing we can do but stay home and wait it out.
I haven't seen Mom since the beginning of March and my brother since well before that.
Good news though. We've finished unpacking. We got our Kitty! His name is Maestro and he's a little love that follows us around wherever we go. He's our little baby and I'm so glad we have him around us right now! He's definitely going to be a super spoiled kitty!
The world is crazy and I guess I need to get back to writing on here so I can process the world around me. I need to write down the good and share some pictures from last year and from this year. And continue documenting this journey that Baros and I are on.
Life is an adventure. It's different and a little scarier than expected. But we're going to get through it together as best we can.
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