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And there was Delaware.

Delaware is a very small state, 2nd smallest in the USA. Of course most people when/if they think of Delaware they think of the beaches. The beaches are at the very bottom of the state, Wilmington (which is the top part of Delaware) to Bethany Beach (bottom of Delaware) is over 100 miles, if there was no traffic it would take about 2 hours... double that if it is any point between Spring & Fall. Forget about actually parking anywhere, and forget about actually being on the beach.. the sea of bodies is endless. Delaware is mostly bank card businesses and shopping malls. Sigh.

I had moved to Delaware in 1990. This was a stop on my way to my ultimate destination... Maine. I, like most coastal folk, thought of moving as either north or south... or the other coast. My draw to Maine was the rocks, I was (still am) always drawn to rocks.

I was on my way to move again (finally) at the start of 1996. My 1st stop was to be Rhode Island. I had a couple friends who planned to go to college up there, and I planned to move up with them. While planning my move, I met my husband. He too wanted to move.. just was not sure where at that point. After we had talked about our plans, I took a closer look at Maine and my prospects up there would be limited at best. So we started eyeballing other places.. that led up ultimately to Colorado, but that move did not happen till the close of 2004. In the interim we lived in Delaware.

Prior to meeting my husband I bounced around Delaware between Newark & Wilmington, while it is a small state the traffic is maddening. Every time I moved to one side, my job would be on the opposite side! Just an annoying twist of fait for that to happen. I worked mostly in optical (optech, optical dispenser, optician.. the title varied but not really the job itself). I worked with a doctor at one point, but only to help him out.. it was a good experience.. it too was still in optical.

Early 1996, I met my husband.. all by a freak instance. I worked allot, if I was not working enough I would grab an extra job or two... at that point I did have 3 jobs..I just worked around the clock. I did not (still don't) drink or care for bars, or crowds, etc.. so I opted for just working. Some folks I worked near wanted me to join them at Rocky Horror, so I would make time between jobs to pop by. One night I met a guy, but quickly found he was slime (married, with several kids and one on the way)... so once I found out, I was determined to give him a piece of my mind.. exhausted, no sleep (from working non-stop).. I went and completed my task. That same evening I bumped into the man I would marry.. he asked for a ride home, and I never objected to giving anyone a lift (I know can be a dumb thing, but  I never had a problem.. thankfully). the two of us hung out, all night talking... into the next day (I actually had a day off).. and we were inseparable from that day onward.

It was still 1996 when he asked me to marry him, of course as he asked me I was thinking he was breaking up.. I naturally was trying to think of what I would do next, while he was still talking. Eventually he got to his point, and I was perplexed as he pulled out a ring. we then planned for a wedding in 1998, but my parents refused to even attend, they came up with a variety of excuses.. my favorite was them not wanting to leave their parrot alone.. I invited the parrot and gave them places they could stay at on the way to our place (Georgia to Delaware is not that much of a drive, but I wanted to give them options).. still excuses.. the finale was when the bird flew away (yeah bird) and they still had excuses!

Finally.. we did get married at the end of 1999. I kept delaying things, because I was still hurt by my parents. My hubbie let me know if I did not marry him by the end of 1999 he would drag me to the courthouse to get married. I planned a private ceremony for just the two of us up in the Poconos. Of course his family drove up there to be with us.. he has an awesome family! My parents vs. his.. total opposites. I am very thankful to have his family in my life! I am very thankful to have him. He made getting stuck in Delaware very worthwhile!

Shortly after we had gotten together back in 1996, we started looking at homes. He 1st wanted to check out existing homes, when he saw what the options (there were places we wondered if there were bodies were hidden there.. pretty sickening!) were there he decided new definitely was what he would prefer. Sadly most of the builders out in Delaware were horrible. The builder we ended up choosing I knew was horrible, but I worked right up the road from our home site, and I visited daily. Our home ended up having the least problems, and was built the best because of my constant visits. Of course there were still problems with the home, but thankfully they were minor. We did not plan on living in it forever, we knew we would eventually move, so I wanted to pick something I knew would increase in value. We moved in FINALLY June 1999, after having our date changed several times over (they were idiots!). We sold our home in 2004 for nearly twice what we paid because the housing market (for absolutely no good reason, seriously there was no reason for the houses to go up in price that much!) went hyperactive out in Delaware! Of course as of 2008 that market is now suffering from that jump. There is no way we would buy the house we sold in Delaware for the price we sold it at! Heck the folks offered more than we were asking! Go figure, but hey I am definitely not complaining, I was over-joyed!! The realtor we had was funny when he called to tell us of the offer.. he said I know this is an arm twister but they want a quick settlement and to offer you more than your asking price.. um, hum, YES!

What we don't miss? The unreal expense of living in Delaware (housing, taxes, utilities, etc), the pollution, the traffic, the rude people, the humidity (summer starts in March or April at the latest and can last till November.. YUCK!), and the lack of anything to do.

what we miss? We miss our friends and Chad's family.. sadly that is it.

 

 

Delaware Links.