Five: View From A Roof at Twilight In January

I took this photo from my roof last night around 5:45 or so. I happened to look out the window and liked the blue of the sky so I grabbed my camera and ran upstairs. It was the first time I'd been on the roof in months — maybe even since the end of August or so. I remember going up the weekend before our honeymoon when my friends Chad and Neil were in town for a wedding.

It was a lovely summer evening when they got back to our place and Drew and I had brought some wine and cheese up to the roof and laid out a blanket and dragged our two chairs to face the buildings in this photo. We brought up our iPod and speakers and plugged in the paper lights we'd strung for our wedding a few weeks before, and we stayed up there for hours. It was one of those nights I felt exactly where and who I was supposed to be, and it was wonderful — one of my favorite memories at this address, I'd say.

It was decidedly much colder last night and I only fiddled around with the camera a few minutes before running back inside. If I'd had a tripod, I think I would have loved this photo. As it is, I like it pretty well. Mostly what I like is how it captures an image I don't often associate with January, how it shows a beauty I don't usually think to appreciate.

The other night Drew and I were lying around on the couch getting ready to watch some documentary or something and he looked at me and said out-of-the-blue, "I know you don't like January, but it's really not so bad." And he was right: the January we were having that day — the last few days, actually — really isn't so bad. I think I'm still getting used to spending my winters in New York rather than Chicago where, frankly, I felt pretty dysfunctional the first three months of the year. And I think I'm still adjusting to being in a happy, stable relationship. And being married is definitely something that's still settling in.

I didn't think it would be like this, to tell you the truth — that I'd be so conscious of how my life has changed, but I am. I wasn't expecting marriage to feel better than just living together. But it is — at least in our case. It's so nice, really, it makes even January not so bad.

Comments

[Sarah Brown]

I really like this. I'm pro-January, but now I have even higher hopes for marriage.

[Marta]

I felt the exact same way: very pleasantly surprised by how it felt better to be married. Nothing really changed in our day-to-day, but there's something about that knowledge that makes you want to say cheesy things about being home and so on.

I'm happy for your happiness.

[Account Deleted]

The sky is stunningly blue, that sure is a beautiful sight! The view from your roof is very dazzling at night along with those lights from the building. I can imagine myself there. It’s so nice to chill out and just relax in a place like that especially after a tiring day. :)

- Max Boughner