Thursday, August 18, 2011

Year One

Hubs and I were in Knoxville a few weeks ago and happened to be in the vicinity of the very first apartment we shared as husband and wife. We're in the area every now and then but rarely in this particular part of the city so we decided to drive by and see how it looked. We haven't been by this apartment since we moved away in 1985 and surprisingly it looked pretty much the same.

Sadly, we do not.


Or not so sadly, depending on your point of view. I must talk about this picture for a minute because I am struck by a couple of things. Firstly, look at our BIG SMILES!! Can you tell we're newlyweds? We are unpacking the bedroom of our brand new apartment and I guess parents were there helping us move in because somebody took the picture. What goes around comes around doesn't it?

Let's discuss me for a minute. I'm wearing a t-shirt. As I looked at this picture it occurred to me that I no longer wear t-shirts unless I'm hiking or going to/from the gym. Or maybe vacuuming, but never as an everyday article of clothing. There is an age where that is cute and there is an age where it is not and I am now in the 'not' category. Great hair, sun kissed skin, and a tiny waist on the other hand, look good at any age and I would love to have mine back.

Naturally, being the good blogger that I am, I got out of the car and took a quick picture of the apartment as it looks today-


Of course we didn't have the ginormous satelite dish on the tiny balcony because hello, cable tv was still a baby in 1984. Our tv was also not the size of a room and it sat on an ugly wooden crate as opposed to do it yourself Ikea furniture or some great hand me down armoir from family like so many young marrieds seem to start out with now. We bought our first piece of furniture, an oak table and chairs, when we got married.


That table moved with us all over the country and most recently resided in Daughter1's apartment. I believe when she relocated in April the table went to the fraternity house and its probably best if I don't think too much about that. Or the fact that I am wearing yellow cuorduorys. I know it's hard to believe but they were not out of fashion in 1984.

We didn't have a washer and dryer right away but the complex had a laundry room and I hauled the laundry to and fro every week. I remember how exciting it was to come home from work one day to discover hubs had surprised me with a washer and dryer. Do newlyweds get excited about these sorts of things today? I feel like my kids have had nicer furnishings in their college apartments than we had in the apartment you see here and we both had jobs.

I wish I could remember more of the details of our first year of married life. I know I used to put a juice glass in the freezer every morning when I got up so my hubs could have ice cold orange juice in a frosty glass for breakfast. When did I stop doing that? Pretty sure my mother in law is smiling at this. She thought it was fabulous but somehow she knew it wouldn't last. Why didn't it last though? It was a small thing but a nice thing. I am now mentally making a list of nice things I do around here today. I think my list in 1984 may have been longer.

When we were first married I had a job I loved working in a multiply handicapped preschool setting. Hubs had a job too but there was zero travel in that role. We had some friends in town and that first fall we spent weekends in Neyland Stadium cheering on the Vols. We didn't really travel but we did meet up with our college buds often in the various cities where we'd settled. Nobody was too far away yet. We spent our first married Thanksgiving with hubs family and our first Christmas with mine. Nine months after we were married hubs interviewed for a new job and we moved to Virginia.

I didn't have a blog back then (or internet for that matter) but I did keep journals off and on and they're full of life's little moments. And while I don't remember too many of the details of the apartment year I do remember being happy. And feeling like a grown up. And ready for whatever lay ahead.

19 comments:

  1. Ah, those were the days weren't they? I remember fondly moving into our first apartment with hand me downs and being totally excited about it all. You are absolutely right about the kids now having so much better furnishings that I recall even in the second house! I suppose that's our fault (too). :)
    P.S. I love your corduroys!

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  2. You definitely have the newlywed smile! What a beautiful couple. I love the idea of the frosted glass for OJ- I may have to try that.

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  3. It's good to look back now and then!

    Hugs,
    Cath

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  4. Joyce, I love hearing about your earlier life. So nice. You guys look so cute and so happy. Hubby and I lived in a basement 1 bedroom apartment when we first married. We didn't have a washer & dryer but fortunately the complex's were basically just outside our door.

    Thanks for sharing and bringing back some of my own memories in the process.

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  5. Y'all are just the sweetest couple! Then and now! I so very much enjoyed this post!

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  6. I'm so glad you're writing all this down! I can't wait to hear about the next 26 years! I love that we were both newlyweds in Knoxville; it was a wonderful place to start married life.

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  7. I don't think that newlyweds have the same issues that we had our first year. Our first place was in the 70's so our bathroom had bright red tub, sink and "Jon" with peach walls! Oh yes it did!!! I love your story.

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  8. I married in 72 and the age of 21 and he was 22. We had very little , but we had generous parents who gave us all of their cast off furniture. Not one thing matched. I don't think we bought anything ourselves until the 80's in the way of furniture. Your photo and description bring back so many memories of the way things were in our first apartment. Thanks for a trip down memory lane.

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  9. What a sweet post! Yep, I recognize that newlywed smile. ;-)

    And yeah, I think newlyweds these days start out living much, much better than their newlywed parents. I think that's a little sad because there's something special about that first brand-new couch or washer & dryer.

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  10. It sounds a lot like my first year of marriage. You're making me nostalgic for the simplicity of our life back then.

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  11. Sweet post of days gone by. Love the photos.
    I don't do t-shirts either. Those were the days, I remember the smiles! We bought a townhouse when we got married. Mark didn't travel then either. What a difference from today and all the things our children have.

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  12. I remember our first place trying to make it look like a home with my hodgepodge furniture...before Ikea and stores like Target! Great photos love the yellow cords...ah!! I loved the 80's!

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  13. Oh yes, those were the days...we had less, but I think we appreciated it more when we got it! I still remember the thrill of my first washing machine. I had to wait a couple of years for the dryer!

    I still wear my t-shirts at home. The ones that say "Grandma and Lovin' It" or "Someone Special Calls Me MiMi" LOL They go great with my stretchy knit pants :) Ha Ha

    Love those wide smiles on your faces :) Nothing like the smile of a newlywed...

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  14. I bet the orange juice in the freezer stopped about the same time Daughter1 came along!

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  15. Aw, what a wonderful post! You two look so happy, and it's nice to hear your reflections on your first years of marriage.

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  16. Loved reading this! Reminds me so much of my first years of marriage. I kind of feel sorry for newlyweds today.

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  17. I loved the old pictures! :) I am impressed that you chilled his juice glass for him. You should start doing it again and knock his socks off.

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  18. Aww, this was wonderful! I'm reminded so much of the early years of my own marriage--so broke, but so incredibly happy. We're not quite as broke now, but we're still ridiculously happy.

    I love that you used to put your hubby's juice glass in the freezer. I think I'm going to do that tonight. :O) On the first day this past spring when it was finally warm enough for my husband to trade the winter coat for a lightweight one, I got up a few minutes early and tucked a twenty dollar bill into the pocket of his light jacket. When he put it on to go to work, he was delighted to 'find' the money and assumed that it had been there since the fall when it was put away for the season. It made his day...and mine, too.

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  19. I bet right now there is a game of quarters being played on your old oak table.

    I've seen what frats do to furniture.

    RIP Oakie.

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