An Anniversary Worth Celebrating

Home » Life June 18, 2010 26 Comments

Over the next couple of weeks there will undoubtedly be much written – both here and in the international press – about the July 5th anniversary.  Before that storm begins, however, I would like to share with you a more personal anniversary that I am celebrating today.

On this day 5 years ago, I decided to risk the freedom that life as a single man offered in exchange for a permanent companion and ever-present friend.  Thankfully this is a decision I don’t regret.

Josh and his wife at their 2006 wedding—————————————————————

Not many women have the guts to uproot their comfortable lives in America and move out to a forsaken Chinese desert…but my wife did.

Not many women would take 4 years in another country as an opportunity to help and counsel those around her instead of pursuing her own goals…but my wife did.

Not many women would work full time to support her husband’s struggling writing career…but my wife does.

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I don’t put much stock into birthdays which I can neither earn nor have the ability to stop from coming.  I am, however, proud to celebrate five relatively smooth years of marriage that represent tons of fun and plenty of effort on both our parts.  If this first half a decade is a taste of what’s to come, I am a fortunate man.

26 Comments

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  • Stevo said:
    June 18th, 2010 at 9:54 am

    Congrats, Josh. You are blessed.

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    Josh says: June 20th, 2010 at 1:18 am

    Thanks Stevo…next step will be starting a family. To this end, I believe that you are the one who is blessed, my friend.

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    Verna and Cons says: June 21st, 2010 at 3:57 pm

    Congratulations! It’s so touching….
    We miss your presence here in Karamay. We’re excited to see your next step of starting a great family ….

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    Josh says: June 21st, 2010 at 11:26 pm

    Whoah! Hey there guys! Looks like you found your way around the Great Firewall…thanks for your card and we miss you all as well!

    Verna and Cons says: June 22nd, 2010 at 12:41 pm

    just few websites but not the facebook and the youtube…. the website u gave us is blocked, too. We hope we could figure out some other ways… Say Hi to Tiff for us.

  • jessiev said:
    June 18th, 2010 at 10:07 am

    yay!! happy anniversary!

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    Josh says: June 20th, 2010 at 1:18 am

    Thanks Jessie. I appreciate your continual comments and support!

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  • Mike said:
    June 18th, 2010 at 10:15 am

    Let me add my congrats, too! My wife and I will very soon celebrate our 26th. It’s been quite an adventurous ride thus far, and it’s not over yet by a long shot! :-)

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    Josh says: June 20th, 2010 at 1:17 am

    Wow, Mike. 5 years is nothing to sneeze at, but 26…I tip my hat.

    Hope it continues to be an adventure for you and your wife like it has been for us!

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  • Chinamatt said:
    June 18th, 2010 at 11:40 pm

    Congratulations! Your anniversary is almost a month before mine (I have to start planning for that).

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    Josh says: June 20th, 2010 at 1:16 am

    Best of luck with your planning, Matt :) Are you guys celebrating 5 years as well?

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    Chinamatt says: June 20th, 2010 at 11:33 pm

    Not quite there yet. It’ll be 3 years next month. Of course, I also have to remember two anniversaries that are 6 months apart.

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  • Baoru said:
    June 18th, 2010 at 9:13 pm

    Oh my gosh! This is incredibly romantic. :-)

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    Josh says: June 20th, 2010 at 1:16 am

    I guess it’s about as romantic as a blog post can get. She didn’t even read it until the day after our anniversary!

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  • ksa said:
    June 19th, 2010 at 6:04 pm

    Congratulations guys. Thanks for all your work on this blog I suggest it all the time to people who want to better understand where I live.

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    Josh says: June 20th, 2010 at 1:15 am

    Thanks so much…I didn’t realize you were in Xinjiang while I was there. I look forward to keeping up with your blog!

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  • mipo said:
    June 21st, 2010 at 11:35 pm

    Congratulations, Josh!
    What a beautiful picture is this!
    I hope your life will be blessed with a lot of happiness ;)

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  • Joann said:
    June 22nd, 2010 at 8:01 pm

    That’s very sweet. I’m so touched. I don’t know how to describe it but you guys are brilliant. Belated HAPPY ANNIVERSARY. We missed you here.

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  • chinese chic said:
    June 24th, 2010 at 1:35 pm

    happy 5 years blog anniversary:-)

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  • chinese chic said:
    June 24th, 2010 at 1:37 pm

    omg, i made a HUGE mistake..i meant wedding anniversary!! i’ve been seeing too many posts on their blog anniversaries and so automatically wrote that despite reading your post beforehand and knowing it was about ur wedding anniversary..haha..sorry bout that!

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    Josh says: June 24th, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    No worries! I guess I could look back in my archives, but I don’t even know when my blog anniversary is :) Thanks for the well-wishes!

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  • vita and sheng said:
    July 7th, 2010 at 1:25 am

    Thanks for invitation in joining ur website. Belated, belated HAPPY Wedding Anniversary!!! You are really a fortunate man! congratulations to both of you!

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    Josh says: July 7th, 2010 at 1:29 am

    Thanks so much! We had a good anniversary and I look forward to many more.

    Glad you’ve been able to find the website and I hope you continue to find it entertaining!

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  • Sixto said:
    July 28th, 2010 at 2:10 am

    Hey guys! wat’s up? How’s it going there? it’s been almost a year since you left China. Saw your website and I really admire your passion for Xinjiang. Just wanna great you Happy five years Anniversary! Wish you all the best!

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    Josh says: July 28th, 2010 at 10:38 am

    Sixto! Great to hear from you. Thanks for your anniversary wishes and I’m glad you were able to find the website. I hope you’re enjoying your summer in Xinjiang. I don’t think I have your email, so shoot me one when you get the chance: josh@farwestchina.com

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  • megan said:
    August 2nd, 2010 at 5:17 pm

    Hey Josh, I just wanted to say hello. I can’t access any other website besides this one, so I decided to leave a comment here. What a precious post. Never saw it before, but it’s very sweet. I’m trying to adjust here and it’s slow going. I was up 4 hours last night, then went back to bed around 7 and could barely wake up for the meeting at 10….

    Well, I miss you guys. I’m living off of bread, peanut butter, and mom’s package which made it here today, thank the Lord. I haven’t yet gotten a meal card and I don’t have my own kitchen just yet. It’ll come eventually. Until then, who knows. Love ya!

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