When life gives you lemonade...HAVE A PICNIC!

I can't talk about this past year without getting gushy and sappy and gross, so you were warned...This is a long post that openly shares the way my life has transitioned from darkness to sunlight this year. I hope you read with sensitivity and an open mind.

At the end of February, 2013, I defended my thesis and received my M.A. in International Studies from the University of Washington. My topics were South Asian Political Economy and Human Rights. I focused on human trafficking between Nepal and India.

The years leading up to that moment were quite dark. I remember them as something akin to Seattle winter: sunlight so sparse that when it appeared, all concern was thrown to the wind and life was celebrated for those brief moments.

A blog is not where I care to revisit those memories, so the only details I wish to share are that I felt alone for much of that time. I had physical problems that required surgery, I got divorced, I dropped out of school, I declared bankruptcy, I suffered frequent and intense anxiety attacks. I felt, repeatedly, that all the major life decisions I had made were bad ones, and that I would be perpetually prevented from meeting my goals, no matter how hard I worked.

In many of the darker times, I made crazy decisions that seem, even to me, disconnected from the person I truly am. I think back and wonder how I did some of the things I did. The simplest answer is that they came from an insanity of hopelessness. I don't justify them. But neither do I identify with them. They were the actions of an unstable person. A person who did not know where to turn for emotional support when the traditional means were removed.

But that season is past. As I left my thesis defense with a High Pass, I prayed. I prayed: God, it's been a rough 8 years. If I could, please let this next year be one of peace, stability, and happiness. I just need a break. I know other difficult seasons will come. But just give me a year of joy.

I have had exactly that year.

After I graduated, through a friend of my family, I was introduced to the organization Strategic Applications International. They hired me as a consultant, and through that and two other contracts, I have been doing work that I love, and that keeps me financially stable. I decided to live in the less expensive city of Richmond, since I could work from home. While the city itself has not grown on me much, I have loved my freedom, my work, getting back to writing, being physically healthy, and, to top it all off, having a partner that supports and empowers everything I do.

This is the first picture ever taken of us. We're arguing, naturally.

Here's the story of that: Two years ago, I spent a quick weekend in Las Vegas to catch up with my close friends, Shea and Mike. Many of their other friends were there, as well, and I was introduced to one of Mike's classmates: Haz. Despite instant chemistry, I wasn't looking for romance, he was living on the other side of the country, and I considered that that. My young Sri Lankan suitor was not so easily dissuaded, however. When he found out I would be in Kansas City a few months later, he flew out to spend time with Mike, Shea, and me. Then he flew out to Seattle. Four times.

Though I resisted the idea of another relationship for a long time, there came a day when I asked myself what kind of stupid idiot I was to pass up clearly the only man in the world who could match me. We are not just romantic. We are playmates, we are besties, we are partners in adventure, we are collaborators.

We have about four active projects in the works, and we have completed an online video campaign.

What I'm trying to say is: I live in the kind of crazy bliss that I did not believe was real. It's not just Haz, though he's clearly a contributing factor. But besides this wonderful man, my life is living, moving evidence of grace. I have left that gray, bleak, place, for one of sunshine. I look forward at life with enthusiasm, not dread!

Since this is a travel blog, I am posting the photos of our travel and adventures below. But the smiles you see in those photos are inseparable from what I have described above. This is a season of joy and discovery. It's not Tahiti, sure. But if you can't tell by these smiles how crazy happy we are, I don't know how else to say it. Check out my highlights from the last twelve months:

Waiting for Bill Cosby to enter

Seeing Bill Cosby live in Richmond

Conquering the Falls in Shenandoah National Park

Hiking Brown's Gap in Shenandoah National Park

A little after-work shenanigans

Lincoln Memorial. Despite Napolitano's ill-informed claims, he's still a hero. (Washington, D.C.)

Adventure is out there! (Appalachian Mountains)

Whale Watching with Mom and Dad! (Puget Sound, WA)

We gradimicated! (Seattle, WA)

Shea and Mike get married, making us all incredibly happy! (Kansas City)

Singing Chariots of Fire theme as I slo-mo run on Virginia Beach

One of many water park days.

One of many birthday parties (this one is Katie's 30th in Richmond)

Doggies loved all the hikes we took (Somewhere in Appalachia)

Attacking the best Thai food in the U.S. (Monsoon Siam in Charlottesville, VA)

Hiking to the top of falls I forgot the name of (somewhere in Virginia)

Paddleboarding the Colorado River (Austin, TX)

Swimming in Hamilton Pool, TX

Swimming in the man-made but all-natural waters of Barton Springs (Austin, TX)

Schlitterbahn (somewhere in TX)

Pompano Beach, FL

Breakfast on the beach (Beachcomber Resort, Pompano Beach)

Lunch on the beach (Beachcomber Resort, Pompano Beach)

Reading on the beach (Pomano Beach, FL)

Napping on the beach (Pompano Beach, FL)

Playing on the beach (Pompano Beach, FL)

Yoga on the beach (Pompano Beach, FL)

Silliness on the beach (Pompano Beach, FL)

Loving the ocean (Pompano Beach, FL)

Picking apples on my daddy's shoulders (Farm in upstate, NY)

Thanksgiving (Knoxville, TN)

Thanksgiving involved a lot of Wii "Just Dance" (Knoxville, TN)

Christmas Tree Lighting: Erin and I "Oooh!" (Knoxville, TN)

People who make my life better (Knoxville, TN)

My babies (Keats on left, Byron right)

Sledding in a blizzard (Henrietta, New York) 

Spending Christmas Eve with the Ames (my sister's family) Henrietta, NY

Spending Christmas Day with Parakramaweera's (Haz's brothers and sister)

Christmas lights at Lewis-Ginter (Richmond, VA)

New Year's in Fort Macon, NC

Curry cook-off with one of my favorite people this year has brought into my life: Rangika (Bear, Delaware)

Snowy walk with Kate, a former Oxford flatmate and her two kiddos (Philedelphia, PA)

Reuniting with Kristin, another Oxford flatmate I have not seen in 10 years! (Mesa, AZ)

I thank God for honoring my request for a peaceful year. I thank all those who stood by me when I sank to the bottom. I am so grateful to have the hardened parts of me ripped open, so that I could experience the fullness of life. Haven't had any lemons for a while, but I have plenty of lemonade. Who wants a picnic??? On the beach, perhaps?