Celebrating 4 years with my Technical Manager, Shrink and Sounding Board
Celebrating our 4 years together
On the 7th of June, 2019, Michael and I celebrated our 4 years talking to each other. We "met" on the internet where I sent him a message and he answered. That was the start of 3 exciting months writing long emails every day and talking for hours on end on Skype during the weekend.
Sitting in the harbor of Malaga waiting for lunch
Then arrived the day when I went to Malaga airport as Michael came for a 2-week visit. I showed him around and got the impression he liked the Costa del Sol. When he left we were both sad as we had to wait 7 months before seeing each other again as he was still working. Then came the day where he surprised me saying he wanted to retire 1 year before time. He was thinking of moving to Spain.
My fantastic 3 weeks trip in the U.S.
In May 2016 I was invited for a fantastic 3 weeks holiday to the U.S. The trip did not start well as my plane had been delayed in Paris and on arriving in New York the formalities also took very long so I lost my connection flight to Denver. I was put up for the night in a hotel. Poor Michael had driven 13 hours from Idaho to pick me up and then I was not on that plane.
The flowers which had wilted landed in the bin. It took a while till the authorities kindly informed him I was ok. The next day, standing with a fresh bouquet waiting at Denver airport there was Michael and we could start our holiday. We talked about everything during these 3 weeks while I was being shown beautiful places. We traveled 3000 km and visited 5 states. The trip ended in Seatlle.
Michael in the harbor of Malaga
Michael comes to Spain
In August Michael emigrated to Spain and we started our life together. In January 2017 I discovered Wealthy Affiliate. I got 2 websites up and running and started writing and learning. I am still writing and learning and am happy that by now I can do quite a lot of things myself. Without Wealthy Affiliate this would not have been possible. As I am not good with technology I am happy to have some extra help.
Michael is always there when I need help but he has complained I spend too much time on my computer. He is right of course. When I finish a post I read it to him and sometimes he takes those European ways of expressing things away, but not too often.
Traveling in the south of Spain
We are doing nice trips together. I am showing him Andalusia as there are many beautiful places to visit. Afterward, I might write a post about it. As I got a rock tumbler for my birthday we collect stones on our trips. Now we are waiting for a waterproof 30 meters, metal detector so you can imagine it is really getting exciting.
At the entrance of the van Gogh exposition
Our nice day in Malaga
On the 7th of June, we celebrated our 4 years together. We went to Malaga and had a nice little lunch on the new promenade at the harbor. There were some interesting boats lying in the harbor and Michael was fantasizing about sailing the seas. To do that we will first need to get our license.
Then we visited the exposition of Vincent van Gogh. It was really impressive seeing the details of his paintings on big screens all around us. In 30 minutes were shown his life in a nutshell, illustrated with lovely music. Before walking back to the underground parking under the new Pompidou museum we ate a big ice cream. It was a good 4 years celebration.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
Photo Source: Private
Recent Comments
99
congratulations, such an amazing story. Happy to know that WA played a part in your happiness. I am 6 months in WA and so planning to be successful financially. I of course am already successful as I have learned so much here. Your story is heart warming. Linda
Good evening Linda,
Thank you for stopping by and your nice comment.
Wealthy Affiliate is definitely the right place to be. I wish you lots of success on your WA journey.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
what a lovely blog. I was there with you, you created a wonderful visual.
Happy 4 anniversary
Cordelia
Good evening Cordelia,
Thank you for your nice comment.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
I have been in Spain since 1975 and been living in my old farmhouse since 1981. Yes, it is a good place to be.
All the best, Taetske
Sounds like you are doing well and enjoying life. That is as it should be. Congrats on your four-year anniversary. So glad that all worked out for you. Best wishes for your future journey.
Good evening Fran,
I must say, my life has not been boring. To think I now start snorkeling, perhaps even diving, finding treasures, not bad for an old girl.
Thank you for your kind wishes.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
Great story to read and be inspired by!
thank you for share it with us,
I m happy for you and Michael and congratulation on your anniversary!
wish you guys a wonderful day
Cia:o)
Good evening Pietro,
We had a very nice day and I hope many more will follow.
Nice to see you again.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
Good evening Marita,
Thank you for your good wishes. I also hope to make many more nice and exciting trips together.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
Happy anniversary, Teatske.
Sounds like you had a glorious day in Malaga.
Wishing you and Michael many many more years of happiness together.
Kindest regards from Canada.
Paul.
Good evening Paul,
Thank you for stopping by and good wishes. I hope all is well with you.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
Thank you, Teatske.
Everything is wonderful here.
Canada just won their their round one game of the Women's World Cup and later tonight, The Toronto Raptors will be seeking their first ever World Championship in The National basketball Association Finals.
People here are very excited.
Kindest regards from Southern Ontario, Canada.
Paul.
Good Morning Paul,
Good to hear that Canada is on top. I hope that in the meantime spring has also arrived. Here the days are getting warmer. On the coast a nice 30C but inland there were some places with 39C.
All the best and stay healthy.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
Good afternoon my dear.
Spring temperatures have finally arrived and have turned into summer over night. We have seen blooms but they were hurried.
So much rain though. Every day 5-10 ml. We have an area in Lake Ontario called 'Toronto Islands' and it includes a small airport that handles smaller aircraft. It is becoming under water.
Michael Kearns served us some very interesting posts about the changing trends in weather and the rising of water tables.
I'm glad you are getting the 'good stuff.' 39C seems a bit high though for Spain.
Peace, love and respect always from Southern Ontario, Canada.
Paul.
Hi,
This post is so awesome Taestke,
You know how much I love the costa del Sol it is my second home.
You look amazing by the way stunning or as we say in Spanish Muy Guapa. :)
What an awesome post.
It made me smile although I did feel for Michael when he realised you wouldn't be arriving on the flight. Luckily he got notification you was on your way.
I bet he had some mixed emotions bless him. So say hello to him from us at W.A. He should join us he would know why we spend all our time on the internet then lol. :)
I get the same chagrin from my family. Yes I am always at my computer too.
That photo did remind me of my Children in Holland as they went to the Banksy Exposition or Gallery not sure best to word it...
My kids love Holland. They love it because of the culture and the people not for the weed. As most people think that's why my kids love it.
My daughters partner is Dutch aswell so that makes a difference...
Dutch people are awesome.
Looks like you have had a wonderful last four years. May you have many many more happy years to come.
This post was lovely and it made me smile Taetske. Thank you for the share.
Happy Anniversary both of you sorry I forgot to add that in :)
Debs :)
Good evening Debs,
With all the work Michael is doing it is as if he has joined WA poor thing.
The Costa del Sol is a lovely place to live and Michael also likes the more relaxed way of living in Andalusia.
Nice to hear you like Dutch people. As I have been away since I was 15 for me Holland is a foreign country.
Happy my little post made you smile.
Abrazo, Taetske
It did Taetske
Abrazos Tambien. Que la vida es muy buena en España.
It's a bit like me I left the UK at 18 nearly 19 and I loved Spain. Albeit only to return to the UK again 20 years later. Spain will always be my home. :)
Que tengan un aniversario encantador. :)
Using Google translate the same in Dutch.
Heb een mooie verjaardag jullie beiden … Hope it translates ok. :))
Happy 4 years Taetske! You look happy and it sounds like a lovely day! Thanks for telling us your story!
Jessica
Good evening Jessica,
You know it is not so easy for 2 oldies who were living alone for quite some years to start living together. Do not forget we come from different continents!
Yes, it was a lovely day.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
Yes, that must be interesting! Relationships are hard enough when you come from the same place. My husband and I met online too.
He was back in Alaska after 5 years away in the Marine Corps. He didn't know many people in the town he was living in when he came back and just wanted some friends (he says). We both had profiles on a dating site at the time and I was the first girl he contacted (and only!). He sent me the sweetest message that said, "Wow! You grew up just like me." We both grew up in the mountains of Alaska and had parents that ran remote lodges. We both had dog teams and did things that are very, very rare even here nowadays.
We are pretty different in many ways but it has helped to have a partner who understands that life. Most people cannot imagine growing up as an only child (we both were) not on the road system, completely isolated with just your parents in the middle of nowhere. We know what it is like to be alone in the wilderness at a young age if our parents had to leave.
We also shared another unique aspect however. Both of our families had guests come stay with us from all around the world. (I think I told you about that before). So we grew up very isolated but we met people from all over who spoke all different languages and introduced us to different cultures.
We also did the same home school program and had some of the same teachers. We share a love of history, geography and philosophy and feel like we are from a different era. We don't really fit in with our age group in modern America. It can get pretty lonely so we are very glad we have each other.
Luckily, we were only an hour's drive apart when we met online.
I am glad you two found each other a continent away!
Good Morning Jessica,
I also grew up being an only child. I never had a problem with that as I had many hobbies, painting, making and writing music, working with clay, drawing, etc. As we had quite a big garden I loved to go on expeditions with our cat and dog. My Father build a tree house for me. My Mother showed me to find little fossils in the gravel on the driveway. This gravel came from the river Rhine from far away, traveling for thousands of years.
As I was born in Australia and my parents lived there for 4 years over time many Australian friends came to stay with us in Holland. Later on, my parents might have the children of these friends come to stay. My Mother made her big trip in 1987, for 1 month she traveled to Australia staying at different homes where her friends lived.
My parents did not want a tv in the house, we would read, listen to classical music and often played games after dinner. As I was quite hopeless at school, grammar and mathematics, when I was 15 I was sent to different countries to learn languages.
I nearly gave up after 11 months on this International dating site. I shed quite a few tears as stupid things happened. Before leaving I did one last search, all the countries, from 60 to 75 and it took me 2 weeks to complete. The result was 5 men, 4 in the U.S. and 1 in Poland. I wrote them all a small message and Michael is the result.
What I liked about his profile was that he was an environmental engineer, then there was a photo of a black and a white cat sitting in front of a sliding door looking out. The rest is history.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
What a great story! It sounds like you grew up kind of like me. I also had no TV, read lots of books, played board games with my parents, had a huge garden, collected rocks and fossils etc!
I am so glad you took that one last look before you gave up online dating.
Yes, it was good I had a last look. Normally I do not give up quickly but after 11 months of misery, I nearly had it.
Taetske
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Hi Taetske,
What a lovely story. I wish you a happy future together as well, in technical bliss and harmony, Best Alan.
Good evening Alan,
Are you sure that is possible technical bliss? I have my doubts.
My little laptop was saved by the bars on the windows, something most Spanish houses have. Otherwise, it would have flown out quite a few times.
I am happiest when I can investigate a bit and just write. Thank you for your good wishes.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske