Today is May 29^th, 2013. I’m in a coffee shop looking out toward the busy street. There are scooters and shops and buses and dogs. It’s raining, but I guess that’s okay; it means I get to wear my giant rain boots that are this gorgeous royal blue. There is only one piece missing from this scene, and that is my husband. He’s considered missing because: 1) He detests going to coffee shops and 2) He’s at an Invest Ottawa Seminar till after lunch and 3) It’s our wedding anniversary today!

Four years married 🙂 Oh my goodness.

Technically, I’d say we’ve been together for just about 8 years this coming July 25^th, but we were married in a old church in Pakenham four years ago. The ceremony was led by a young Hungarian priest and given in both languages.  I had pink tulips, which are Zsolt’s favourite flower, and Zsolt was forced to wear a pink tie to match.

One of my favourite memories from that wedding (okay, there are many favourite memories, this one just happens to fit into my current mood) is waiting to walk down the aisle. The family had all walked down to take their seats, Zsolt was waiting at the front with his sister, my bridesmaid was just about to take off, and I was on the verge of panic behind the entrance doors, holding onto my dad’s arm. There was this little old lady floating around us and fixing my dress. And just as all this was happening, she gives me a nudge and points up at the ceiling.

High above us on the ceiling is a painting (a fresco, a mural?) and amongst the painted clouds is this big eye right in the middle. This little old lady says to me, “I’ve been coming to this church my entire life, and whenever we’d walk through the entrance, my father always had me look up at that eye. He said it was the eye of God watching over us.”

So together we looked up at the eye. At God. At the idea.

That made me feel better. And after that moment, at least in my memory, I got married to the man of my life.

Four years later, I’m here in a coffee shop and my husband is out trying to meet with other entrepreneurs for his business. Never in my life did I ever imagine I’d be a writer & social media ‘er’ professionally. Never. I didn’t dare dream those sort of things in high school or university. It was only after having had cancer that the life changed so much and somehow left me following the words: “I am a writer.”

And never in my life, in my whole entire span of knowing the man, did I imagine my husband would be starting his own business. Yeah – that’s right. When the world won’t give you space, you need to make it for yourself, and that’s exactly what he’s doing. I couldn’t be more proud. The Zsoltster is getting into patent analysis (focusing on prior art searches) with online work and consulting, helping inventors and businesses be confident of their idea before investing in their patents or prototypes. That’s why on our anniversary we’re prioritizing him going out and learning more, interacting, meeting people. It’s important. And we’ll celebrate our amazing marriage on the weekend.

Zsolt as an entrepreneur. Wow.

So is God still watching from up there on that ceiling? Four years later, have we arrived exactly where we should be? Cancer was the biggest test for both of us (and still is, frankly), but being unemployed, dealing with crazy people, and learning to stop comparing ourselves to others who have followed a completely different path has been hard too. (And we are still learning how to do that last bit.)

It’s so funny. I always said that it was heartbreaking to live between two families and be so far away from both of them. Every time at the airport when we say goodbye to Zsolt’s parents and his dad basically RUNS for the airport exit so we don’t see him crying – heartbreaking!

But wouldn’t it be something if we found a way to work from anywhere? This might be an answer.

We were in this little Italian mountain village not long ago, and the wifi was excellent. I said to Zsolt: “This is where we should come for a month and live. Just because we can.”

And you know what else is funny? Zsolt used to say when he was looking for work (the first time we arrived in Canada, which feels like ages ago now), “I wish someone would pay me just to search the internet!” (because he’s really good at database searching) – and now he’s starting a business that basically involves in-depth database searches and analysis.

Life is WEIRD.

Life is challenging.

Life keeps surprising me.

Thank GOD for certainties. I knew four years ago that without a doubt I wanted to marry Zsolt. I know for certain that he and I will be together for our lives. And you know what, I knew eight years ago when I first met him that this was the man for me, and nothing was going to stand in my way. Certainties are a blessing, and most of mine reside in the fact that 1) I love my husband and 2) I love writing.

And that is why, on my four year anniversary, I’m in here in this coffee shop writing a post to you. Bumpyboobs has been with me for three years. And through this blog we’ve been growing up and testing ourselves in ways that school never prepared us for. I am grateful for this space and the people who are kind enough to read it. Thank you for being part of this crazy, challenging, and weird adventure through life.

Cheers to finding your voice and vocation, and cheers to being flexible. Cheers to giving support. Cheers to finding friends. Cheers to getting older. Cheers to everything that makes this world so sweet (including the cup of tea beside me that has now gone cold.)

And most of all, cheers to my husband – who I love from a place that can’t exactly be described, except to say it’s deeply rooted. Happy anniversary, Babe. I love you.

~Catherine

P.S. My husband is now on twitter. If you can, please do follow him at @easypatent. Also, check out his website at www.easy-patent.com, and if you know of anyone needing some research and analysis (and may be considering a patent) on their great inventive ideas, send them our way 🙂

P.P.S. Oh my goodness, for the first time in 3 years, I’m not associating my wedding anniversary with discovering cancer. I mean – FRACK – that did happen, and now I’ve thought about it. But I didn’t really think about that connection for most of this post. Yay for progress. (And for a good scan at the end of JUNE)