this guy i know – Hi, I'm Caroline.

The week before last, we dropped the kids off at sleep-away camp in the middle of the woods for six days of screen-free adventures. Then the grown-ups set off on a mini-adventure of our own; two nights in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Charlottetown, PEI.

It’s funny (to me) that we’ve lived up here for several years, but never made a point of exploring the eastern provinces that are relatively close by. In contrast, we’ve visited Boston and points south many times.

We crossed the U.S./Canadian border at our usual spot and let the Trans-Canada take us where it would. I re-upped our Audible subscription so we could listen to The Stand on the way (Tim has never read it, a travesty) and when we got tired of that, we talked about grown-up things and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Poutine in Moncton
Welcome to Nova Scotia!
Lamb stew
Canada <3
Halifax waterfront
Side by side
A delightfully creepy Ronald McDonald

Halifax seems like a nice l’il city. We made our first stop the mall, because: LUSH. And an Apple store. And a bookstore. We’re starved for modern shopping options where we live, and it shows.

With our consumerist itch scratched, we headed to the waterfront for dinner at an Irish pub and a little walk around. I’d love to go back when we have more time to explore the city. It’s small enough so as not to feel overly chaotic but large enough that there are plenty of things to do. It reminded me of Portland.

The next morning, we made a pit stop in Dartmouth to check out the IKEA. Tim had never been, so I showed him the wonder and glory that is Swedish-made household goods and showrooms. I’m happy to say our marriage survived the trip intact. Our bank account did, too.

We crossed the big bridge to PEI that afternoon. Someone told me PEI is a lot like Aroostook County, and I agree; it’s northern Maine, but with an ocean around it. Farms and potato fields for miles, red soil against the blue sky. I felt right at home driving to Charlottetown on the narrow two-lane highway.

We stayed at a bed and breakfast called the Eden Hall Inn, which was within walking distance to downtown and the boardwalk, and spent the afternoon walking around Charlottetown. I had tasty vegetable curry at Merchantman, and ice cream from Cow’s for dessert. My favorite part by far was Victoria Park; I spent a lot of time enjoying views from the waterfront.

Our last day in the Maritimes was spent on the northern part of the island, in and around Cavendish. Anne with an E on Netflix re-ignited my interest in Anne of Green Gables, so we visited the Anne of Green Gables Museum and the Heritage House provincial park.

I really can’t wait to bring the kids out to PEI someday. Ellie has expressed interest in Anne of Green Gables, so we’ve started reading it together before bedtime. Soon I’ll have an excuse to revisit the museums!

We capped off the trip with a visit to Richard’s Fresh Seafood for fish and chips before the long drive home. This was such a great way to spend a few days together as a couple. We’ll celebrate 12 years of marriage in mid-August, and it made for a perfect almost-anniversary trip.

This guy and I have been married for the big ten as of August 17th. We’ve reached the point where he’s been in my life longer than not, and in honor of our 17 years together, I thought I’d write about how we met.

In 1999, we went to the same public boarding school – him from the coast and me from the County, mixed with a bunch of wild and too-smart-for-their-own-good teenagers in the middle of northern Maine.

Tim was incredibly shy and quiet, even more than he is now, and he blended into the background (which is funny, since he’s 6’4″ and built like a football player). I distinctly remember saying “Hi” as we passed in the hall, and the look he gave me reminded me of that scene in Inside Out where alarms are sounding and the kid’s emotions are flailing all over the the place because a girl looked at him.

Anyway, we had a few classes together, but I didn’t notice Tim until we had a night class in our second semester. He was cute, and he usually held the door for me on our way to the dorms after class. It took me the better part of two months to work up the nerve to talk to him.

(And when I say “talk to him”, I mean I pinged him on ICQ with a group message to a bunch of other students on Valentine’s Day with a generic “Happy Valentine’s Day” message. He wasn’t the only shy one.)

Amazingly enough, he took the bait. At the time, he was kinda interested a friend of mine, but the feeling wasn’t mutual. We talked mostly on ICQ, with the occasional “hello” in class, and eventually we started hanging out in person.

We weren’t really a couple, though. There was a lot of back and forth, a lot of working up the courage to ask the right questions. He was hesitant because he’d be going to college in the fall, and it seemed fruitless to start a relationship when we only had a few weeks to get to know each other. At some point, I got tired of the will-we-won’t-we game and decided to move on.

A month or so passed, and then on prom night he messaged me again, to tell me he regretted that he hadn’t asked me to prom, that I’d looked beautiful in my dress, and that he missed me. He was so genuine and sweet, so we started talking again.

On a Friday night shortly thereafter, he called me on the phone (from the lounge in his dorm wing), and we talked non-stop for six hours (and now you know how I got my internet handle!) Despite his soft-spoken nature, he was easy to talk to, and we never ran out of things to say. When we finally hung up at midnight, it was clear we were smitten.

That was the call that seemed to solidify us as A Couple, and in that short span of time, he went from hesitant about our future to full-on, head-over-heels in love, and I followed him down.

He’d tell me he was going to marry me; I’d tell him he was crazy, and that back-and-forth continued for seven years, until I finally (and happily) relented.

When I think about all the things that could have broken us up in those first years — a year and a half of long distance, sharing tiny, crummy apartments in college, family tensions, school and work stress — I continue to be amazed that two kids from opposite ends of the state who had no clue what they were doing stuck together and made it.

We’ve faced everything together, and thankfully something in our personalities made us grow together rather than apart. I couldn’t name it (luck? good humor? work? love? a combination?), but I know that since we’ve been together, I’ve always felt at home.

There are a lot of challenges ahead in the next ten years. Teenagers! Middle age! Ongoing mental health drama! But we’ll be in it together, whatever comes.

Tag: this guy i know

Nova Scotia/P.E.I.

Ten Years (or: How I Met Your Father)