I love having my own space, because there was a time when I didn’t get a lot of time for myself. However, since moving in with my boyfriend, I really miss him when he travels for long periods of time for work. Luckily, the second he came back, I had him all to myself for a whole weekend. A fun one too, since we had plans to attend a wedding with his family.
Keep reading if you want to travel with us down to Dania Beach (because I know reliving it in my mind will be what gets me through this week of working a lot).
Simple Love On a Friday
I stayed up all night on Friday. Part of it was because I wanted to complete as much homework as I could before the weekend, and the other part was that my boyfriend was flying a red-eye home. So when I picked him up, we went back to the apartment and slept for most of the day.
We ate when we woke up, and then I dropped him off to get his haircut because his car is still in the shop. While I waited, I read at a coffee shop, because that is a majority of my life as a graduate student (I never feel done with anything). Once he finished up, we hit the road; it might have been late in the day, but we left at a good time to avoid heavy traffic.
It was about a three and a half hour drive, and thinking back on it, I can’t help but smile. With about an hour or so left of the drive, he woke up and said, “I’m sleepy and hungry.” So we pulled into a McDonalds and ordered in the drive-through because we didn’t want to waste too much time. However, because I’m driving on the highway, I didn’t really have the hands to eat my food.
“You don’t want to park the car so you can eat for a little bit?” he asked. I said no, I was okay, that the coffee I drank suppressed some of my appetite. So I continued driving.
He’s always so concerned when it comes to my health that he wasn’t having it. Before he even got to his food, he started feeding me French fries, unwrapping my burger and getting me to bite into it, and putting a straw into my sweet tea. I tried to insist that I was okay, that I could eat once we got to the hotel, and that he should eat, but again he was not having it.
“You should eat your food while it’s warm,” he insisted, sipping his Sprite. I could swear that I had sauce all over my face and felt a lettuce shred fall into my lap, but he told me I was imagining it. After I made it halfway through my burger, he said, “I understand why you like feeding me now.”
And from the corner of my eye, I saw a look so full of love that warmed my heart and fueled me up for the rest of that car ride. After three years, it still feels like we’re in the honeymoon phase. Even better, his family seems to adore me too. There was a very warm reception waiting for us.
A Sparkly Saturday
At some point, I’m just going to say we slept just because we can sleep, but we slept in on Saturday after a long drive, of being up late, and for me, I was trying to figure out the sleep schedule thing. It worked out, because Asanti’s mom flew in and was working remotely until noon. Once she wrapped that up, the three of us went to brunch.
I found a cute place that was right on the water, and the beach kind of felt private because it was tucked away. Taking everyone’s meals into consideration, I would give the restaurant 3.5 stars, because two of us enjoyed our meals and there was a great atmosphere. Plus, there was no comparison to being right on the water like that. It was our little piece of enjoying the beach in our short time there.
On our way back, we grabbed a snowcone for dessert, and I had to swing by Walmart for hair spray (where I made the mistake of getting ultra fine when I should’ve gotten the extra hold). Then we were back at the hotel getting ready for the wedding.
If you’ve never been to a Haitian wedding, I don’t know what to tell you. I found myself wishing that I had practiced French more, because there were these points that I think were very sweet or very funny and I would’ve liked to be in on it. At the same time, I could feel the feelings in the room, so I wasn’t totally lost.
I’ve never been a dancer, but I’m getting so comfortable with Asanti that he’s really able to get me to try and relax a little more. Apparently, I’ve been able to develop some level of rhythm in three years, which is good, because everyone was dancing at this wedding. From Asanti’s grandma to the uncle that wanted Asanti to get married soon because he “wasn’t getting any younger” and wanted to see Asanti married before he died, everyone was dancing and having a good time. I guess it was a little peek into the future for me.
Playa Miami on a Sunday
No, we didn’t go to the beach on Sunday. We woke up and packed all of our things, then we drove for a bit. The night before, we had made plans to go on a brunch date with Asanti’s cousin and the cousin’s girlfriend at a place they found on Instagram.
The place is called Playa Miami, and their specialty is Mediterranean food. There’s a really cool atmosphere to the place, kind of like being nestled in a romantic rain forest. While it is a bit pricey, we all enjoyed our food, and I think part of what you pay for is the vibe of the place. According to our server, that changes depending on the time of day, but we enjoyed how low-key it was when we showed up.
After that, Asanti drove us back home. I kind of wished that I could’ve driven back, but he was telling me that it would be fair for us to take turns. My thing was that I can’t read in cars, so by the time we got home, I had to sit down and finish up the last of my homework. I couldn’t let myself nap some more, because the reality is I should’ve napped in the car.
Is there a quirky thing you like to do with your significant other? Where would you want to get married? What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “Miami”? I would love to know in the comments below!
As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog post. If you enjoyed what you read, please make sure to let me know by liking this post, commenting your thoughts down below, and sharing this post with your friends. And of course, you have the ability to make my day by subscribing to the blog, which means you’ll get an update every time I put out more content like this.
Love Always,
Kristi My
Kristi My Dao 