Love at first sight?

I do remember being in awe of the beauty that surrounded us as we drove through roads surrounded by woods and not much else. Our last trip before my declared "necessary sabbatical" took place in November. It was cold, Southern Virginia cold, not Pennsylvania cold. But cold enough that moisture on the trees and grass had frozen and the fog made made it appear like we were driving through some mystical forest. I remember thinking, "this is what Narnia must have looked like.". It was truly spectacular. But this was only the fourth property we were looking at this trip, we had planned for nine and I felt like the best were yet to come.

Narnia was the second largest of the parcels, and also the second least expensive. It was one that I had proposed more than once, but it was also the farthest south and bare. I didn't anticipate Andrew's reaction at all. I didn't even get out of the car. He and Sailor walked a short distance into the land and I remember sitting there in the heat wondering what in the world they were looking at. Andrew just stood there with his back to the car for a good five minutes, Sailor sitting by his side, as they both just stared off onto the property. It took me a minute to recognize and compute his shift in energy when he got back in. When we arrived at Narnia he was tired, a bit frazzled and a dash of frustrated. Now he was just calm, with a cheeky little smile on his face. That's when he told me he loved it and my mind immediately went "oh crap". This place is in the middle of freaking nowhere. I wanted a quieter life, not one void of human interaction!

Luckily this was only day one of our two day trip and we still had five more properties to look at. We spent the night at what I believed was the closest hotel, 40 minutes away and disgusting. Ate horrible room service and had a restless nights sleep.

The next day we headed out early and started west towards the Blue Ridge Mountains. Right away Andrew knocked two proposed properties off our list, after seeing Narnia they weren't even worth entertaining. That was fine, I held out hopes for one just outside of Roanoke.

As we drove west we entered one of the weirdest towns I think I will ever encounter, Trump Town. If you aren't familiar, Google it.

Property one, no good. Property two, can't compare to Narnia. Property three, the last one, the one I really thought might be the one, was an absolute bust. I felt defeated, frustrated and to be honest, a little heartbroken. I thought for sure we were going to have to rewrite our whole plan and resume the search that spring.

But as we drove Andrew kept talking about Narnia. How it was something special. How much he really liked it. Narnia was big and private, quiet and could really be something beautiful. Everything I disliked about it was a bonus to him. We talked, I voiced my concerns, comparing it to the property we'd tried to purchase a month earlier. "It's so far away from everything", "There's nobody around", "It's the total opposite of the property we last put an offer in on". That's when he told me. He hadn't liked the last property, but I did. I asked why in the world he would have agreed to live there then and he simply stated, "because you loved it and I love you." And that was that.

He had secretly disliked that the last property was close to a town and on a larger road. He's disliked the layout and how the surrounding area was developing. He hadn't actually wanted to buy it, but he knew it made me happy so to him, that was worth it.

That's when I knew that even if Narnia wasn't what I had pictured, and that it would take A LOT of getting used to, I'd be happy there because he was with me. I'm by no means a romantic, and I am fairly unwavering in my plans, but this was an emotional turning point for me and my marriage. The moment I realized that we'd pretty much do anything to make the other happy. It felt good, so Narnia felt good.

An offer was made and accepted and as we waited for our closing date I absorbed his contagious excitement as he planned and dreamed up all the things he could do with this land. A wood working shop, a shooting range, a tree house and a hammock by the stream. He talked about how he couldn't wait to get back there for the peace and quiet. He was eager to get away from all the people and chaos and to just be in the nature. And as I listened I started to see what he saw. I started to get more and more excited.

The next time we visited, we stood there together and I felt it. I felt the peace, the decompression, the quiet and simplicity. And together we sighed as we looked out onto the rolling hills with a dog by his side and one in my arms.

Since then we've committed to preserving this piece of nature. To appreciate it for what it is, to develop and change the least amount possible. We want to keep her safe and pure.

I especially look forward to sharing our Narnia with the people we already know and the people we meet along the way, watching our guests as they let out their own healing sighs.

TTFN,

P