Frequently Asked Questions

I've recently been receiving a lot of questions about how our lives are going to go in the next few months, both as individuals, and as a couple. I'm hoping to be able to refer people to this blog entry, so that I don't have to keep answering the same questions over and over. I also get kinda sad when I hear some of these, so I'm hoping it'll give answers to the questions I don't like hearing. I'm also going to write it in the 3rd person, so that you know exactly who I'm talking about at all times.

1. What exactly are you guys doing?

Marika is going back to Utah to finish school. She has 2 semesters left, but it's only 9 credits. Because her program is one of the smaller ones at UVU, not all classes are offered during both semesters, so she has 6 credits this semester, and 3 next semester. While going to school, she will be working for her dad (as his assistant), which should be 20-30 hours a week, and is flexible enough that she can come out to DC whenever she wants, which is where JJ will stay.

JJ will continue with his job here in DC, which he really enjoys, and is a great opportunity for upward mobility.

2. So is Marika just going to get a little apartment?

No. Marika's parents have plenty of space for her to live with them for this small amount of time and save money (she'd rather buy plane tickets with her dollars).

3. Don't you think it'll be hard to be married and seperate?

First of all, we're not having any kind of marital issues. Please don't read that into our short time apart--which we don't like to call a "separation" for obvious reasons.

Of course it will be hard. We're in love! However, Marika has always been very goal-oriented, and school was not a goal she was willing to give up. JJ also supports her in everything that she does, and wants her to be satisfied with her life. Getting her degree will be worth this small amount of time, so that we'll be able to feel accomplished and at-peace with everything when it's finally over.

*EDIT* JJ can do his own laundry and is a pretty darn good cook. I'm not worried about that, either.

No, this was not an easy decision. It will be hard.

4. Isn't it about time that you guys got settled and had kids?

HA, HA. Very funny. Let's talk about this when we're not kids ourselves (means NO). Finishing school will help Marika feel like an adult. We can talk about it in a few months, then.

5. What can I do to help?

Thanks for the offer, but really... acting normal around us will be just fine. It'll help us get into the swing of pretending this time is normal, in the first place. So, going to lunches, game nights, movies, everything that you would have invited US to do, feel free to invite one of us to do.

6. When will you see each other?

Marika already has plane tickets to be in DC 1 week of September and 1 week in October. JJ is planning to be in Vegas one weekend in August (Marika's birthday) and in UT one weekend in August (Walker's wedding). JJ will also be in UT for Thanksgiving, and the couple will be spending Christmas with HIS family this year (in PA or somewhere else, no one knows yet). We haven't planned anything for January-April, but it's so far away that we'll be able to get it planned in plenty of time.

In the mean time, we're going to Skype, call, text, email, send presents, and do all that cute stuff that we do anyway. We're dang cute.

SEE? There's really nothing to be worried about. We'll be just fine, as we want to be strong, independent people who are married and love each other, even when we get to live together. We've always tried to keep our friends, have time for others, and make our own decisions as a married couple, anyhow, so we think we'll function just fine.

Being apart will probably help us to be even stronger, as we'll start to appreciate being with each other even more.