Is it possible to miss a place you haven’t left yet? From what I’m feeling lately, I think so. This is our first house as a married couple. This is where our cats have grown up. This is where we know our grocer and our favorite barista by name. This is just home now. I know the bus numbers. I have grown to love Wonju and how it is half city half countryside. I love that there are still undiscovered gems to be discovered down alleys and back roads here. I don’t feel I’ve exhausted the possibilities in my small city. I surely haven’t exhausted the mountain trails, either.
I know that relocating to Seoul is the best thing to do for us. Kenny needs to be in the middle of things to find a job he loves and that he’s qualified for. We’re both tired of teaching and I know that this is a fresh start for us in so many ways. I am looking forward to it with that giddy excitement bubbling in my gut that I have before I ride a rollercoaster. I know that to enter a new place I have to leave the old one first. I guess that’s why change is full of beauty and sorrow at the same time.
I’m cherishing up all the moments I can here. We fly a week from today and when we return, our days in Wonju are numbered.
I’ve been thinking about the name of this blog, how it will no longer be quite accurate. But I’ve also been thinking that Wonju is the place I grew into my role as wife. It’s where I grew to understand what love looks like (I still claim it looks more like washing the dishes and cleaning the litter box than any grand gestures). It’s where I fell in love with so much of my life. So maybe, in some way, I’ll always be Wonju Wife. And in some way, Wonju will always be home.
